Phenixx Gaming

I love a good twist on already tried and tested formulas. After a while, you start thinking that a concept like Tetris can’t be revamped or improved upon…right? Well, Drop Duchy may not improve the concept, but it does issue some new ideas that are surprisingly interesting.

Drop Duchy is a Tetris-esque deck-building city Builder Rogue-like that turns every Tetris block into a piece of terrain or a building. You start with several cards that serve as “pieces,” each with differing effects. You’ll use these to gather resources, and as you get more cards, you’ll use those resources to upgrade them.

At the same time as you are managing resources, you are also preparing for combat, as eventually you will face military opponents who will take the form of pieces on your board. Each enemy piece will have a different effect as well, such as getting stronger near certain terrain types or getting stronger due to placement.

So, on top of trying to complete lines on the board in typical Tetris fashion, juggling resources to upgrade cards, and managing combat, other mechanics are slowly added in. What starts out (at first) as a simple enough idea turns into a rather complex Rogue-like.

Progression takes the form of missions (achievements) and the progress tree. As you complete missions, you’ll get points to put in the tree which will unlock new cards and mechanics. You’ll also unlock new factions, which serve as different “characters” in a typical Slay the Spire or other Deck Builder game.

The mechanics and progression are rolled out slowly enough that it isn’t overwhelming. However, there are only 3 factions, which is slightly frustrating since it makes it difficult to explore a lot of different play styles, especially early on.

The only other issue is that there isn’t an undo button, so I’ve accidentally misplaced a piece that completely ruined a board before. It isn’t a huge issue if you’re being careful, but sometimes one wrong turn can mess things up.

All in all, Drop Duchy is a blast. It has that “just one more run” quality to it that keeps me excited to play. On top of that, it is a calming, relaxing sort of Deck Builder that will offer a gentle style of play for less hectic evenings.

A PC Review copy of Drop Duchy was provided by The Arcade Crew for the purposes of this review.

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Drop Duchy

$14.99

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Strategic Gameplay
• A Variety of Difficulty Options
• Lots of things to unlock

Cons

• No Undo Button
• Limited Build Options in the beginning