Against The Moon is a new roguelike deckbuilding game from indie studio Code Heretic. It fuses turn-based strategy mechanics with a complex (and unique) deckbuilding system.
You are commanding the human’s last stand in the city of Arx as waves after waves of chthonic monsters – strange creatures from the moon – assault your forces.
The storyline is focused around the Ultori – these are powerful superhumans tasked with defending Earth. These Ultori make up the core of your army, each with their owns special abilities and talents.
In terms of worldbuilding, the art style is fairly unique. While the battle system does look much like other turn-based deck builders, it’s the animated environments and storytelling that provide an atmosphere for the game.
Against The Moon’s novel take on deckbuilding is what sets this game apart from its predecessors (games like Slay the Spire or Hand of Fate.) Each card has two paths of evolution – this allows you to adapt your tactics mid-fight and craft the perfect strategy.
These cards are directly impacted by the different Ultori, these are your commanders whose abilities have an impact on your strategy. Each one has their own style of fighting – such as a Duelist. They also command unique units.
Combat is based on strategy – a sort of rock-paper-scissors effect, where certain types and abilities counter each other. You need to analyze your opponent’s troops and put together a deck best suited to the fight.
The main aim of each battle is to work towards your combo attacks. These powerful ultimates can be the difference between victory and defeat. It’s wise to pay attention to your combos.
Against The Moon is a roguelike, so each run will be unique. You can select from a range of different cards and commanders as you progress. On each run, you can collect more cards and slowly progress through the combat and narrative of the game.
Published by Black Tower, Against The Moon comes from a good pedigree of games, such as Encased, a turn-based RPG that was released last year to good reviews.
Against The Moon is out today on Steam. You can check out the game’s Steam page here or visit the developer’s Twitter for more information about the game.
