I do like a good strategic card game, where both working out the best way forward and a bit of luck play a part in if your hand will prevail. Pairs and Perils is a roguelike dungeon crawler with a side of memory. The demo, available on Steam, has a total of 15 rounds to get through, each having an enemy to defeat, with increasing strength and power.
In Pairs and Perils you need to pair up the cards on your side to deal damage to the enemy card. On your turns, you can flip two cards. If you pair a hero with their weapon, like an archer with a bow or wizard with a staff, they will deal damage to the enemy.
Once a correct pair is found, it will be used, and then will be moved from the table. If you flip a hero and get the wrong weapon card then no damage will be dealt, and the cards will be flipped back over. However, those are not the only cards you need to watch out for. Amongst the heroes and weapons are trap cards, which will deal damage to your own health points, and when you activate a trap card it does not disappear from the table, but returns to its original place waiting for you to forget where it is.
As you progress through rounds, more cards are laid out in front of you. Additionally, between rounds you can buy relic and consumable cards using the gold you have earned. Consumable cards are one time use, and can do things like restore health points, reveal trap cards, and reduce an enemy’s attack power. Relic cards are permanent cards that provide effects, like having the chance to block. Some relic cards have two effects that can provide a bonus but offsets it with a potentially negative effect for the player.
Enemy cards have an attack power rating and health points. They don’t attack every time you pick your own pair, but instead have a countdown before they will come at you, giving you a chance to deal damage and figure out where your cards are placed. Some enemy cards have special abilities, including the chance to steal gold from you and silencing you so you cannot use the consumable cards. These regular challenges show an early promise of Pairs & Perils providing an evolving gameplay experience, though that will be dependent on the other cards that will be in the full version on both the relics side and enemy side.
The general style of the game is pleasingly minimal. In the centre of the screen is the table top with your cards, on the left your health points, the room number to say how far you have progressed, the amount of gold you have, the relic cards you have equipped. On the right is the pile of enemy cards, showing how many you need to get through, and the consumables you have. Using consumables is as simple as clicking on them and selecting the use option. You also have the option to sell your card, but the value is half of what you paid for it.
Pairs and Perils is shaping up to be a very fun card-based dungeon crawler, though that will depend on how many cards will be in the final version. It will also be impacted by how much variety there will be with hero cards, because while they do have different designs and weapons the effect is the same across them. Having hero specific abilities could really help with adding depth to some strategy. We look forward to seeing how this game grows on the run up to release.
