The creation of Balatro was the death knell for my productivity. Not because of Balatro itself, but because of the inevitable deluge of a gameplay loop that is just so engaging I don’t want to stop playing. Combolands, developed by the creators of Broforce, is the best combination of several things I like, such as Balatro’s Rogue-like setup and Dorfromantik and Islanders-like city building.

In Combolands, you have several in-game “Weeks” to go from a blank map to a sprawling metropolis. You start with two of eight “guilds” (decks) and use those decks’ buildings to create point combos to reach certain milestones. Buildings interact with each other and the surrounding environment in different ways and can only be placed in specific ways.

In addition, you can unlock things such as heirlooms (jokers in Balatro, or relics in other Roguelikes), potions, building upgrades, and even “the city council,” which gives passive upgrades to various factions as you invest time to fulfill their requests. There is a lot of depth, especially as you dive in and start unlocking more buildings and other guilds.

That is the beauty of Combolands. Its gameplay is simple in design, but it has a complex depth that asks you to not only learn how to work around its procedurally generated maps, but also how each guild synergizes with other guilds. The pixel art is both crisp and well done, and not over-simplified. The UI is easy to read, and you can easily understand what is going on at any given moment.

I only (currently) have one complaint with Combolands. I wish there were an option for a slight camera movement. Sometimes placing things at the edge of the map in certain areas is… tricky. I would also say that Combolands could use a little bit more map variety, but the simplicity of how things work is also a strength, so I can’t complain too much about that.

In reality, Combolands is a simple-to-learn, yet difficult-to-master, experience that I’ve found myself really latching on to lately. The beauty of its simplicity makes it perfect for either future expansion content (with new guilds) or even workshop support for people to expand on it themselves.

If you like games such as Balatro, or even want a twist on things like Dorfromantik, then I think Combolands is a fun ride to enjoy. I may take some time away so I don’t burn out, but I can easily see myself coming back when I need a few rounds of something chill.

A PC Review copy of Combolands was provided by Crux Games for the purposes of this review.

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Combolands

$10 USD

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Engaging Roguelike Gameplay Loop
• Lots of synergies with buildings and heirlooms
• Cute pixel art style
• Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master

Cons

• There should be a slight camera adjustment option.