It’s starting to feel like every week or so I’ve been having to introduce and review yet another roguelike deckbuilder. Though I do understand that some people have had their patience worn thin by how many of these have invaded the eShop over the past few years, I would argue that when they’re implemented well they can be quite interesting. 

Though for whatever reason its art design and some other elements remind me of Tamarak Trail, Deathless does have a style all its own when it comes to some of its gameplay beats and cards its 4 characters can use in their decks. Throw in minor details like its much more narrative style, describing your potential routes in some detail, and you can get much more invested on your journey through each step rather than simply choosing by some generalized icons. While not everyone may find this more verbose style of helping you choose your path to be a plus, I was often drawn in by this method, helping me better internally visualize the grand adventure I was on. It’s a small detail, but one I absolutely appreciated.

The other detail that drew me in was how some of the characters and their cards changed up the tactics of many engagements. While every game has had their own variations in cards, I particularly liked some of the ones Deathless had that would make use of slain foes before they fall. Rather than each enemy you’ve dispatched immediately disappearing, here they’ll linger and you can either gain perks or get some added use out of them to your own ends. It may not be a major detail, but variations like this that can be exploited in a number of ways are different and exciting, giving you the motivation to curate your deck a little more thoughtfully, and to be sure to get the most out of each card.

Make no mistake, there’s absolutely a challenge here as well, and in particular some of the bosses you’ll encounter will require different approaches. In a couple of cases you absolutely needed to have your act together right out of the gate, as some of their cards and buffs would tend to get you behind the eight ball quickly. Only by being aggressive and doing as much damage as possible quickly could you sometimes stay ahead of the escalating threat they posed, usually encumbering you with cards you’d be forced to waste your action points on in order to not take some tough penalties. While there are still some better examples of the genre out there, I’ll give this one credit for feeling at least somewhat distinctive in a pretty crowded field.