Do you like the fury of the arenas? Do you like card strategy? You will like Forced Showdown. Derived from Forced, this game will allow you to let off steam while believing in the soul of cards ... Yu-Gi-Oooooooh ... Ha no, not this time, I am told that by participating in this game, he was crushed by a volcanic mass after being struck down, lacerated and pierced by rays of light.
It's preview time!
Graphics
This game is far from ugly ... I would even say that I personally appreciate this kind of graphics. However, even if the spell effects are well rendered and quite nice, quite fluid on my configuration (mid-range), I find that the environments are sometimes problematic. We are not going to talk about the recurrence of the sets which, in this type of game, are what they are ... recurrent. No, what I sometimes criticize with the sets is that they harm the IPS in a rather dangerous way. After that, I only tested a beta version, so we can assume that this will be optimized later.
History
The story fits on a postage stamp. You are a fighter in an arena and you have to survive, camera tracking. You are therefore the joy of young children, even grandpa in his rocking chair being yelled at by grandma because he forgot his dentures on the edge of the sink. But let's face it, you're not for history, right?
Characters
Squire of light : a paladin using beams of light as a basic attack, possessing a shield, a wave of energy that repels and increasing the power of his ray of fire while shooting.
Volco : A volcanic warrior wielding a lava hammer that charges his primary attack when needed. He also causes a whirlwind with his flaming hammer, has a shield, and a ranged strike by smashing the ground on a wide swath in front of him, causing lava to come out.
Ravage: The illegitimate son of a butcher and an alien. The Ravager charges its enemies, jumps on them, increases its attack speed, and increases its frenzy, which increases its damage. Very violent and nagging character, but what is effective ...
Stormbringer : An archer who will electrify the arena with his arrows, chains of lightning while protecting himself with an Electric barrier. He is also accompanied by a small cloud that thunders his enemies with so much passion ...
gameplay
Getting started
Traveling will take a little time to adapt for those who are not used to it, but once taken in hand ... it's devilishly effective. A worthy successor to Forced, this game is also easy to learn and also intuitive and nervous. Using a controller (Xbox type for me) can be a really good idea.
Game Mechanism
At the start of each round, you will have to choose one or more cards, depending on your available mana. This one goes up like in a Hearstone or a Duel of Champion ... you gain one mana each turn. Each card will give you a particular bonus, ranging from allies, challenges that will increase one of your stats, increase a percentage of damage, modify your abilities, etc ... only heavy to vary the pleasures.
In addition to that, you will have a companion with a wide variety of capacities and more or less violent. I have only unlocked two so far ranging from the little dragon that swings bouboules, to the violent predator that slices everything in front of him. Pretty funny anecdote ... sometimes this companion is bigger than your character ...
Companions
The choice of companions is to be chosen according to the characters you choose. Knowing that a companion can die (but will return in the next round) if he takes too much damage. Some are at a distance, others in melee, but they all have their own skills. For the moment, having only unlocked two of them ... I could not expand on the subject.
Areas
There are different areas to choose from, each with a different effect ... ranging from increased card costs to increased or constant damage. By completing an area, you will be entitled to a stat reward that will increase your damage, your life, that of your companions or even damage to a specific type of enemy.
Wheel
The Wheel of Fortune will give you cards for currency which you will earn by fighting fiercely. It ranges from community cards to legendary cards which will give serious benefits.
Difficulty
I find that this game has a well balanced difficulty, but does not leave a lot of room for error. You will probably have to buy a number of cards in the wheel of fortune before you have decks that will allow you to move forward without too much difficulty. By then ... you'll have a number of hours your character is going to die prematurely due to some stupid mistake or protection you didn't see.
A part in brief
You start with a mana point, you launch into the arena by beating all the creatures that will block your way to the boss, gaining a mana point each turn. once this one is defeated ... you go on to another zone or you will keep your advantages of the previous zones. It doesn't sound like that ... but it's devilishly addicting.
You will thus unlock achievements increasing stats, golds, cards, champions, etc ...
Conclusion
I wouldn't give this game a rating, but I can tell you that this one is really recommended for those who like mixing game types (rpg, rogue-like, card games ...) and fast-paced action. . This game can get repetitive at times, but the different combinations with the different characters can really change part of the whole. The pvp also allows to have a ranking which, for those who enjoy the competition, should keep them in front of the screen for a good while.
Another interesting thing, a big deal that decides the price takes place. The more viewers watch streams on Twitch, the greater the reduction in the price of the game. But players who want to stream can also win different prizes, create in-game items, etc.
