This expansion for the Isle Dragon board game allows players to see new lands and play with all-new creatures while challenging others. It also adds some more complexity in terms of ranking, which is a nice touch.
Voice of Cards is a game that has players answering trivia questions. The game is played with the help of cards, which are placed on the table in front of each player. Each player’s turn consists of asking one question to their opponents and then drawing two cards from the deck.
Voice Of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is a card game unlike any other (pic: Square Enix)
The designer of NieR: Automata and Drakengard is behind a turn-based RPG with a tabletop look, in which a fantasy world is totally represented by cards.
Card-based video games are a divisive topic for many people. You’re either completely absorbed in games like Hearthstone and Slay The Spire, or you’re perplexed as to why anybody would choose to play with virtual cards in a medium capable of much more intricate escapism. Despite this, many people who originally dismiss such games end up appreciating them, particularly considering how diverse they may be.
Inscryption, a psychological horror game, was released earlier this month, demonstrating that card-based games have showed more originality in recent years than nearly any other genre. Voice Of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is unlike any other card game, but that’s because it’s not really a card game. It’s set up like a classic role-playing game, with turn-based combat, a party structure, and an open-ended overworld to explore. The distinction is that it has the appearance of a tabletop game, with characters and an universe created completely out of cards.
Why replicate a card game if it isn’t a card game? While the game is mostly a visual gimmick, certain tabletop mechanics are used to give the aesthetic significance. You flip cards around you to uncover the environment as you travel across the planet using a board game piece. Random fights, blocked roads, towns, hidden riches, or periodic occurrences – such as weather risks or other perils – are all concealed behind them, and your safety is decided by conversation choices or a die roll.
Random factors may also be found in battles. The effectiveness of special strikes, as well as the affliction of status ailments like paralysis or freezing, is often determined by the number of dice you roll. These assaults are carried out by using crystals collected between rounds, with stronger attacks costing more crystals. This works well with chance cards, which vary the strength of specific elements or character attributes for a turn at random. As a result, fights are all about exploiting flaws, balancing your party’s abilities, and praying for good fortune.
Surprisingly, Paper Mario could be the greatest parallel for Voice Of Cards, since both rely on a flat, 2D style for its visual attractiveness. Turning over cards to reveal a whole region is satisfying, and transitions between menus and landscapes all have the crisp, tactile feel of a deck of cards.
A narrator recounts aloud the interactions of characters in cut moments in the adventure. You can turn this off, but the dramatic pronunciation of the sometimes ridiculous language fits the whole tone well, particularly when paired with the card animations that scurry across the screen or bob up and down to imply laughing.
Even though the visual style is a touch generic, the character cards are gorgeously detailed. But it’s the script that sells their individual characters, and although there aren’t any fourth-wall breaking gags like Paper Mario, there’s a sense of the show’s inherent ridiculousness throughout. Bruno, for example, is over-sexualized to the point of comedy, which is made even more absurd by the fact that he’s purportedly a piece of card boasting about his bulging muscles.
Given that NieR creative director Yoko Taro supervised the project with developer Alim, the look may seem irrelevant to some. There are allusions to NieR in the form of cosmetic DLC items and a similarly outstanding soundtrack from regular collaborator Keiichi Okabe, but anyone expecting a story to match may be disappointed by Voice Of Cards’ simplicity. There are some amusing surprises, but the primary thrust of going on a quest to slay a dragon doesn’t really take off until the last few chapters, when the individual interactions take precedence.
The Isle Dragon Roars: Voice Of Cards – an universe built of cards (pic: Square Enix)
Taro’s writing, on the other hand, is plentiful for those who seek it. As you beat adversaries and converse with people, you’ll acquire side tales that give the characters in the environment a fuller past. It’s a pity that this narrative isn’t mirrored on the surface, since many of the towns and non-player characters you encounter are just cut-and-paste duplicates with varied language. It’s possible that having copies was done on purpose to provide the impression of going through a deck of cards, but it makes each town appear aesthetically monotonous and unclear.
The adventure’s duration, which can be completed in roughly 15 hours, leaves the player feeling underwhelmed. The first five chapters (of of a total of seven) go by quickly, and it’s not until you have all five party members to choose from that the game’s combat complexities become apparent. As you go through the game, each character gains new talents and powers, which you must experiment with in order to defeat boss encounters in later chapters. The last stretch of dungeons lengthens the game, but it still wraps up just as it hits its stride narratively and combat-wise.
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Beyond the campaign, Voice Of Cards provides a variety of diversions. In the Game Parlor, there’s a genuine card game concealed away. You build sets of cards (whether a pair or three in succession) to earn the most points, with specific pairings offering abilities to impact the game, such as blowing up all sets including the number eight or canceling a player’s turn, similar to Rummy with extra power-ups. It’s chaotic and surprisingly enjoyable, and you can play it locally with others by passing the controller around. It’s a bad there’s no online version to extend its life, but it’s still a fun diversion.
Voice Of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is a fun and appealing role-player in need of a more broad sequel, limited only by its curtailed scope (and bad name). This is a promising first hand full of untapped potential, with tons of fantastic concepts and a colorful and interesting fighting system.
Summary of Voice Of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars
In a nutshell, a classic turn-based role-player that charms and polishes its tabletop disguise, but isn’t lengthy enough to properly exploit its themes.
Pros: The fighting mechanics is fantastic, and the tabletop display is charming and enjoyable to explore. The script is entertaining, as are the characters. The music is fantastic.
Cons: Its short length restricts its potential as a role-player. It’s easy to get a sense that the environment is repetitious and sparsely drawn. The main plot is a little lackluster.
7 out of 10
PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Nintendo Switch, and PC are the available formats. £24.99 price Square Enix is the publisher of this game. Alim is the creator of this game. Date of Release: October 28, 2021 Age Rating: 12
Adam Starkey’s contribution
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Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is a card game that has been developed for the Xbox. This game is currently available on the Xbox One and Windows 10 platform. Reference: voice of cards: the isle dragon roars xbox.
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