Roguelike deckbuilders are one of the most saturated genres in the indie market right now, and for good reason. Roguelikes are practically designed to be addictive, especially given that they often come packaged with a gameplay loop that offers players as many (or as few) bite-sized play sessions as they have the time for. It stands to reason, then, that as more of these games hit it big, any up-and-comer would have to try that much harder to stand out. Talystro flaunts a few tools to accomplish this, but could use a serious lesson in presentation.
Talystro’s Presentation Lacks a Lot of Polish
Talystro puts its inspirations front and center, which saves it the trouble of drawing too many comparisons by mistake. Most of the game’s cards have a fantastical feel that is straight out of Slay the Spire, while the UI sticks pretty close to the one seen in Balatro. These are aesthetic similarities for the most part, but ironically, the aesthetics are where Talystro struggles hardest.
There’s no other way to say it: Talystro is ugly. And I don’t just mean visually. In fact, sound design is one of the biggest culprits. Everything the player does is met with a crunchy array of sound bites that are a far cry from the satisfying dings one comes to expect after playing a hundred hours of Balatro. This is a meaningful problem, too, as it does a great deal to pull the player out of the otherwise tight-gripped loop these games are built on.
As I referenced earlier, the visuals could use a bit of work. The main character is a rat with a rubberhose-like design, and while he looks fine enough, he seems entirely out of place compared to the fantasy elements in the rest of the game. Likewise, this makes the card art look out of place compared to cartoony elements. In other words, there’s just not a lot of cohesion to tie these two worlds of design together.
Every enemy in the game is based on a number, and while the designs look solid, they’re pretty unremarkable. This point is made doubly sticky because of the homogeneity of these designs, as there’s no variety of enemies beyond the standard numbers. Any one of these presentation hiccups might be forgivable on its own, but they add up fast, and leave Talystro in dire need of another full round of polish to give players any sort of satisfaction.
Talystro’s Unique Combat Mechanics are a Major Saving Grace
On the bright side, Talystro does offer up gameplay mechanics that might just make the effort worth it. The structure of a run is nothing special; players float down a semi-linear path and get a bit of choice in the difficulty of each encounter, and by extension, the rewards they’ll reap. When you actually get into combat, that’s when Talystro really starts to shine. Battles are mathematical puzzles in their own right, and they require players to use every tool in their kit to survive unscathed. Those tools are pretty varied too, amounting to a mix of dice, cards, and “resources.” Resources are simple but powerful options like rerolling a set of dice. Dice, meanwhile, are placed on cards to attack. These cards are more or less equations that must sum to the number represented by the enemy you’re targeting.
Talystro’s math-based battles are unique for one, and even provided a solid challenge when I waded into the higher difficulties. Not that I found myself losing very often either way, but I was forced to think at the very least. In fact, I could see Talystro’s general focus on numbers making it a solid educational tool for students. If developers want to hold the attention of anyone beyond that, then I think an audiovisual overhaul is in order.
