Intro

When I first started playing Lost For Swords, I wasn’t 100% sure what I was getting into. The opening level felt a bit simple/easy/basic - like a chill solitaire session with dungeon vibes. As someone who’s poured hundreds of hours into deck-builders like Slay the Spire and Balatro (I think I bought Balatro on every platform like a total degenerate and have 100s of hours logged), I couldn’t help but wonder: Is this just a casual card game, or is there some more depth?

Spoiler: I was pleasantly surprised…

Game Overview

What I Liked…

Deceptively Deep Gameplay - The first level might lull you into thinking this is just a basic card battler, but starting with the second tower, the game begins flexing its puzzle-solving muscles. There’s a nice ramp-up in complexity so I can’t just brainlessly move my card around killing enemy cards - I need to sit back, assess that battlefield and put thought into the best approach/strategy for that board.

Retro Vibes Done Right - I’m a sucker for a good pixel art style, and Lost For Swords nails it. The visuals have that charming, retro look without feeling lazy or generic (love the card art in particular). The music and sound are solid too - nothing revolutionary, but it sets the mood and gets the job done.

Bang for Your Buck - At $9.99, I would’ve been happy with just one playable character. But the game includes other characters with unique skills resulting in different approach/playstyles, which will definitely add some great replayability.

Could Be Better…

Not much to complain about, just a few minor gripes:

3x Boss Fights? Why? - As soon as you get to the final boss of the tower, you defeat ‘em and they make you rinse & repeat 2x more times. From what I can see it’s not higher in difficulty or different in the board layout in any significant way, so not sure what the devs had in mind when they designed the finishing of each dungeon/level. It just seems redundant, if I beat the boss once, I’m confident I can do it again 2x more times and I’d rather just move onto the next tower.

Controller Support - The controller support seems incomplete, some typical actions like hitting ‘B’ (Xbox) to close menus is missing, or advancing (via ‘A’ or ‘Start’ button) aren’t there either. I’m guessing this was ported from mobile versions and it’s still based on touch UI.

Conclusion

Lost For Swords won me over after some initial hesitation. With multiple characters to unlock - each bringing their own unique skills and strategies - I’m excited to keep exploring what the game has to offer.

If you’re into deck-builders, this one’s definitely worth the $9.99 price tag. For my next trip/travel I’m definitely double-dipping on the iOS version - this would be absolute fun to play any time I have some downtime while I’m away from my PC.

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1  All games selected in Random Game of the Week are personally purchased and played. Every opinion shared is 100% my own - honest, unfiltered, and concise.