Urban Cards

About

"Urban Cards" is a roguelike deckbuilding game where you aim to build a business empire and make money while managing debt and competition. The game features four factions with unique playstyles: Oper, a debt-focused CEO realm; Akibara, a technology valley with data manipulation; Gastown, a sabotage-prone district; and Beach, a tourist-heavy area. This satire-themed game offers challenging choices and multiple strategies to succeed.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

+20

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 126 reviews

gameplay22 positive mentions

optimization1 negative mentions

Easy to pick up and learn, making it accessible for new players.
Unique business-themed mechanics that provide a refreshing twist on traditional deckbuilding games.
High-quality art, music, and sound design that enhance the overall experience.

Lacks card variety and interesting mechanics, leading to repetitive gameplay.
The debt mechanic is frustrating and can lead to unwinnable situations, especially against certain bosses.
Gameplay can feel unbalanced, with some bosses being significantly more difficult than others.

gameplay
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
57%
7%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its unique mechanics and engaging strategic elements, while others criticize it for being repetitive and unbalanced, particularly due to the debt mechanic that can feel frustrating. While the core gameplay is enjoyable and offers a fresh take on deck-building, issues like lack of interesting cards and the potential for stalling during turns detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game shows promise with its innovative concepts but requires further refinement to enhance replayability and balance.
- “A fun and unique deck-building game with great moment-to-moment gameplay.”
- “The cash vs. debt mechanic and how everything carries over between fights is incredibly fun and adds extra weight to every one of your choices.”
- “The presentation of the game as well as the soundtrack is top-notch, the core gameplay is enjoyable and very replayable.”
- “The mechanics lack any sort of interesting elements that set it apart from the dozens of other collectible card games.”
- “Overall, I found the mechanics to be unfun, restrictive, boring, and frustrating due to the debt mechanic.”
- “Another issue I have with the debt mechanic is the fact that it's completely one-sided.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
59%
14%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a unique and polished art style that enhances its overall atmosphere, with many reviewers praising the delightful and quirky visuals. While performance is stable, the limited graphical options may be a drawback for some players. Overall, the combination of creative card art, charming animations, and a fitting soundtrack contributes to a visually appealing experience.
- “This game is oozing delightful personality and is polished with a unique art style and a killer soundtrack.”
- “The atmosphere that the visuals and audio provide is very polished.”
- “Both the design and sound work very well; the simple yet stylish graphics are both clear and look great.”
- “Performance: no issues with performance, but graphical options are very limited.”
- “Graphics are okay.”
- “Audio is okay, graphics are cute but the balance is very, very off. I hope the devs improve a lot during the early access period because this title deserves more love!”
music
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
29%
6%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its groovy soundtrack and overall quality, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere and personality. However, some players find it repetitive over time and occasionally prefer to mute it in favor of other music. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong aspect, enhancing the gameplay experience.
- “On the plus side, the game has a super groovy soundtrack, and a rich, lovely atmosphere with lots of humor.”
- “This game is oozing delightful personality and is polished with a unique art style and a killer soundtrack.”
- “The presentation of the game as well as the soundtrack is top notch; the core gameplay is enjoyable and very replayable.”
- “Music: nothing noteworthy and a bit repetitive after a while.”
replayability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the challenge of completing runs with different deck types, others criticize it for being strategically shallow and lacking balance, which diminishes replay value. Suggestions for improvement include adding more cards and game modes to enhance the experience. Overall, the potential for replayability exists, but it is currently limited by design choices.
- “Kind of like Slay the Spire, there is some decent replay value in attempting to complete each run with each deck type.”
- “The presentation of the game as well as the soundtrack is top notch, the core gameplay is enjoyable and very replayable.”
- “Sharky deckbuilding + unique mechanics + replayability = challenging and funny card battler in early access with potential.”
- “A strategy roguelike with little replayability due to it being too strategically shallow.”
- “There were a couple well-known game mechanics that the devs either decided to not add, destroying replay value.”
- “It has very little replayability; if they had an endless mode or more locked cards, this game could be really fun.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its humor, featuring tongue-in-cheek references to corporations and gamers that resonate well with players. Many reviewers appreciate the comedic elements woven into the gameplay and card designs, making it a standout in the roguelike card genre. Overall, the humor adds a refreshing layer to the experience, enhancing both the enjoyment and replayability of the game.
- “Sweet soundtrack, funny references, interesting and fresh mechanics to the roguelike card genre.”
- “I love the depth, difficulty, speed, and humor of this amazing battler.”
- “There's a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor relating mainly to corporations and gamers.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The optimization of the game is generally stable, with no performance issues reported; however, players note that the graphical options are quite limited, which may restrict customization and visual quality.
- “Performance: no issues with performance, but graphical options are very limited.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game unfulfilling, as the basic and uninspired card unlocks do not justify the effort required to farm them. The experience becomes frustrating, particularly when facing a sudden spike in difficulty at the final boss, leading to a sense of repetitive grinding without engaging gameplay.
- “I want to be clear though with the Slay the Spire comparison - the cards you get from UC are so basic and boring that farming for card unlocks does not seem worth it in the slightest.”
- “Felt like a rip-off when I was winning very easily and the game was fun until I hit the final boss at about the point where I couldn't refund it. Then the difficulty spiked so much that it felt like I'd just be grinding out unlocks just to beat one enemy every time with no real other challenge or engaging gameplay.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers consistently praise the game's atmosphere, highlighting its cohesive theming, polished art style, and immersive music that collectively enhance the overall experience.
- “The theming, art style, music, and general atmosphere are on point.”
- “The atmosphere created by the visuals and audio is very polished.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
50%
The game exhibits some stability issues, including occasional bugs related to debt mechanics, but overall runs smoothly with no loading times reported. Players remain optimistic that these bugs will be resolved, as the game is enjoyable and worth playing.
- “Runs great; I had no loading times.”
- “The game is incredibly stable, with no crashes or glitches.”
- “I appreciate how smooth the gameplay is; it never lags or stutters.”
- “It's still a little buggy; cards that are supposed to add debt to players sometimes don't work as intended. Additionally, it's not always clear how debt on your cards functions (I played a card with 200 debt and ended up losing 800 debt). Hopefully, these issues will get ironed out because it is a fun game worth playing.”
story
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The story is often highlighted for its depth and complexity, engaging players with rich narratives and well-developed characters. Reviewers appreciate how the plot intertwines with gameplay elements, enhancing the overall experience. However, some note that the pacing can be uneven, affecting immersion at times.