Features

App Army Assemble: Meteorfall - an interesting card-based roguelike?

With a VERY catchy trailer

App Army Assemble: Meteorfall - an interesting card-based roguelike?
|
| Meteorfall

The second App Army Assemble of the day goes to Meteorfall, a striking roguelike played with a deck of cards a little like Card Crawl.

Fans of Tiny Touch Tales' games should be a bit fond of this one, though it was made by Slothwerks, but what about our App Army? After having a go with the game, what do they think of it overall?

You can read our first AAA covering Super Fancy Pants Adventure right here.

yt
Subscribe to Pocket Gamer on

Fernando Panero

I'm not a fan of cards games, but I found this one very fun.
Learning curve is almost flat, tutorial covers the basics pretty well, and the game lacks deep mechanics, which I'm fond of, so I can concentrate on playing and having fun.

I really like the cartoonist art style. It gives a satirical view to separate itself from others 'serious' card games. I've played many, many times. I haven't finished it yet, but each run gets me closer. There are no IAPs whatsoever. The in-game currency is won after a run - its sole purpose is to unlock cards (three per class).

Overall, the game is really polished and fun. I'd say it's well worth the price.

Paul Manchester (iPhone SE, iOS 11)

This is a colourful and charming little card game. I actually found the tutorial more confusing than just playing the game itself, but there isn't much to learn in terms of the basic mechanics and you easily pick everything up in a few minutes.

However, I think in the case of this game the simplicity is definitely going to affect the longevity as I can already feel myself tiring of it. It could definitely benefit from some challenge lists or secondary goals to complete. It's a fine toilet time killer, but it certainly won't be replacing my go-to card games like Solitairica and Onirim.

Steve Clarke

Part roguelike and part deck builder, Meteorfall is the perfect game for time-poor RPG fans who like the strategy of deck building combined with the hard luck of roguelike adventuring.

The deliverance-style banjo music sits nicely with the feel of the game but you'll either tune out or be driven mad by the constant background sound of a noisy tavern, luckily you can turn this off.

Graphically as well as thematically it's very reminiscent of the Adventure Time cartoon series, set in what appears to be a post-apocalyptic world your chosen hero is on a quest to vanquish an evil lich, slaying legions of monsters on the way.

I've only been able to spend a little time with Meteorfall but it's already won me over in a big way. The elements gel together so well I can see myself spending the few free moments I have trying, and likely failing, to defeat that loathsome lich. Maybe I'll manage it once I've unlocked some of the different heroes' extra deck cards.

Highly recommend, especially if you're a fan of games like Card Crawl and Card Thief.

Roman Valerio (iPad Air, iOS 11.2.5)

I was pretty hyped up at getting my hands on Meteorfall after watching its utterly cheerful and earwormy pre-release trailer. And the game lived up to my high expectations, to say the least.

After choosing one of four available characters you set out on a journey to defeat all evil, and you do that in a simple Tinder/Reigns fashion by swiping cards left or right. Each adventurer has got his own unique deck of cards, which you can constantly upgrade on your perilous way.

This little gem of a game reminded me a lot of Solitairica rather than Card Crawl, since to defeat an enemy you have to exchange a series of blows and to eventually avert the meteorfall apocalypse you'll have to slay quite a number of powerful foes and bosses.

I didn't notice any shortcomings or bugs in this game, but I feel like it lacks that catchy trailer music. Overall, this is a no-brainer for all card game aficionados.

Robin Crosby

If you like the grinding the is involved Roguelike games, Meteorfall can be addicting. The Adventure Time-like card animation is pleasant to look at, if slightly off-putting. The mechanics are easy to play, with just enough strategy and luck to keep pulling you in. Getting to play each round as different characters is enjoyable and allows easy access to experiment.

However, for me, I just do not enjoy roguelike grinding, having to start from scratch each time I die. I enjoy the longer progression of a single character.

I enjoyed my time with Meteorfall, and if you like roguelike games I would highly recommend it. Unfortunately, I just don't think I will last very long for me.

Slava Kozyrev (iPad 3, iOS 9.3.5)

The things I liked:

  • Breezy tutorial allows to learn the ropes on the spot.
  • The self-explanatory card design and vibrant character illustrations with cool background stories.
  • Gamebook-like interludes with locales and acquaintances evoke the actual sense of journeying.
  • Global scoreboard serves as the incentive to launch the game time and time again thus creating the replayability factor.

The things I didn't like:

  • 1. As of now the game is available only in English and Chinese languages. The absence of proper localization into other major languages makes it almost impossible for non-English speaking players to grasp the rules.
  • 2. Although this is just a card game, occasionally it was a bit sluggish on my device.
  • 3. The introductory poetic text appears every time I begin my journey, by now I know it almost by heart.

Although the game was obviously inspired by other hybrid card games it feels and plays originally. It entertained me well enough so that I plan to continue swiping left and right until I unlock all the cards and position myself in the top 10 of the global leaderboard.

On our hands (pun intended) we've got a light-hearted, laid-back solo deck-builder, a welcome change of scenery from the plain old-fashioned card games with awful design that take up to 90% of the dedicated section in the App Store.

For the time being Meteorfall for me personally is in the same conversation as such App Store trendsetters as Reigns, Solitairica, Card Crawl, Onirim and just a handful of others.

Mark Abukoff

Meteorfall is a surprisingly simple deck building game. It's very easy to pick up and very similar to others. The art and graphics are cartoonish, but look good if quite simple. I enjoyed playing it, but to be honest there is little to make me choose this over any number of similar games.

It's enjoyable and fine for a basic time-waster, and it will probably satisfy people who want a simple deck builder. But, it's not really interesting, different, or distinctive enough to warrant much play from me.

Funem

I have been playing Meteorfall on and off since its beta started and I can sum it up in four words: it's a great game.

To add a little to that, the game has a story. It's not that important, but it still adds to the atmosphere of the game. The main mechanic revolves around balancing your health and stamina as you fight your way past each adversary which leads you to a boss which then eventually leads you to a big boss.

Along the way you can buy new cards to give you different attacks or buff other cards. The game from early beta was like a finished product, though the beta served to bug fix niggles and tweak game-play. Overall it's a great, polished game with lovely artwork and loads of replay value. Highly recommended.

Chanandler

I just don't get the point of roguelike games. You play and build up a character and then you die and have to start all over again. What is the point of that? None whatsoever, that's what!

Yeah this is a well presented and slick card game but having to keep starting out, over and over and over again, I just don't see the point in bothering. I do however know this style of game is very popular with a lot of people so am sure that it will do well. But for me, I'll pass.

Pierpaolo Morgante

I played a few card games on Android, and I have to say that Meteorfall is cool! We all agree that it's a roguelike game, so I was expecting to have all of the characters like the magician, the knight, the thief, and the witch (of course, no healer!).

Every character has its own cards and you can add more and more cards using the gems you get in the game. In my opinion the game is cool and the graphics are enjoyable. I totally loved the cartoon-style, but I don't think it's going to be a game you play for long.

I mean, it's pretty repetitive and after a while you may be bored of the same dynamics over and over again. One suggestion for the developer - after the turn is over, remove the "Continue" button. We are playing, we know at some point we have the enemy's turn.

Oksana Ryan (iPad Pro)

I don't usually choose to play card games but for the purpose of this review I found this one easy to follow. The cards were varied and gave me plenty of decision making. I got past several levels with ease before calling it a day. Although the card game players in the App Army will be delighted with this game I'm afraid I'm still not converted to the genre.

Quincy Jones (iPhone 8 Plus)

I think of this as the card game for people that are not really into card games.

Right off the bat the art style is really fun and humorous and the story is a fun one. The game mechanism is pretty straightforward and easy to get into and the game itself it not terribly difficult.

It's great having different characters with their own abilities and special cards to unlock. I would definitely recommend this one

Ed Davis

This reminds me a lot of games like Card Crawl and Card Thief. I'm a fan of the deck building, cartoon-style card games. There is usually some element of humour to them, but they can often be quite strategic and that is no different for this one.

The rules did appear a bit daunting at the start (a lot to remember), but after one quick game it's fairly straight forward and easy to learn.

Emily Sowden
Emily Sowden
Emily is Pocket Gamer's News Editor and writes about all kinds of game-related things. She needs coffee to function and begrudgingly loves her Switch more than she lets on.