There’s a reasonThe Witchermade the jump from best-selling novels to video games to a live-action TV show without missing a beat: the series is known for quality. Thanks to the superb writing of the source material and the games that came after, Geralt and company have become some of the most recognizable fantasy characters this side of Tolkien.
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Gwent: Rogue Mage,continues the franchise’s record of quality, but that’s not to say that there aren’t parts of this deckbuilding roguelike that could be improved. Building on the success of theGwentmobile game,Rogue Magegets plenty right, but by honing a few rough edges it could be truly special. Here are some of the biggest fixes the game needs.
8Better Voice Acting
Gwent: Rogue Mageis not a lengthy,open-world AAA title likeThe Witcher 3.It doesn’t have the tremendous resources that went into bringing the core games in the franchise to such a high level of polish, and it’s somewhat unfair to expect otherwise. That said,the voice acting inRogue Mageneeds some love.
The problem is one-part uninspired performances and one-part uninspired writing. As a result, dialog falls flat too often. Thankfully, the game is a deckbuilding roguelike, not a full-fledged RPG, so there’s not that much dialog in the first place. It’s just unfortunate that the dialog that is there is so rough.
7Less Generic Cinematics
Fantasy franchises tend to live or die by the quality of their worldbuilding. Whether it’sthe work of Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, or Sapkowski, the best fantasy worlds set themselves apart from the crowd. They capture a tone or an aesthetic that others don’t, and it keeps fans coming back.
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It’s disappointing thatRogue Magedoesn’t do a better job of capturing the magic of the novels and games.Fans looking for more story can find it in the cards’ artwork and flavor text, but there’s just not that much in the main cinematics and dialog to set the world of this game apart from others.The Witcheruniverse is incredibly bold and deep, but players probably couldn’t tell that fromRogue Magealone.
6A Better Tutorial
Rogue Mageis the standalone spin-off of the originalGwent,carrying over most of the rules and mechanics from that title. That’s probably why the tutorial inRogue Magefeels underdeveloped: CD Projekt Red likely believes that most people picking this game up already know the basics fromplaying similar roguelikes.
They may be right, but with every new release there are players who are jumping into the franchise for the first time, andthey would be better served with a more thorough breakdown of the rules.Not explaining the win condition until the very end of the first battle isn’t a dealbreaker, and neither is failing to explain that energy doesn’t passively regenerate, but explaining details like that would go a long way towards smoothing the experience for new players.
5Better Onboarding
The issue with a lack of information extends beyond the tutorial. Basic systems such as deck construction and map traversal will feel familiar to players of other deckbuilding roguelikes such asSlay the SpireandInscryption,but not everyone has a wealth of experience in those games, and being thrown intoRogue Magewithout basic explanations of those systems is frustrating.
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The game doesn’t need extensive handholding, since most of its systems are intuitive or at least forgiving of mistakes, butlife for new players would be much easier if there were a bit more built-in supportfor deck construction and other core concepts.
4Visual Effects During Events
As the player journeys across the map, they arrive at various points of interest. There they may find a merchant in trouble, a magical well, or a mysterious ruin that needs to be deciphered. These sites of interest feed the roguelike formula by offering various risks and rewards, challenging the player to makethe best deckand run they can from ever-changing and less than ideal circumstances.
Unfortunately,these events mostly consist of text overlaid on static backgrounds.They don’t need to be as elaborate or expensive as full cutscenes, but more animation and visual interest would go a long way towards engaging the player. The consequences of these events are unique and important, and they should feel that way.
3More Appealing Map
During the game players make their way across the map, choosing between various routes and weighing the pros and cons of each stop as they go, working their way towards an inevitable confrontation with the boss. The map inRogue Mageis serviceable at best.
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As games likeInscryptionhave proved, a map doesn’t have to be hyper-detailed or even realistic to be engaging.What they need is to set a tone and make navigation easy.The map inRogue Mageis too generic, and the banners and monuments that mark battles, events, and places of power aren’t as legible or distinct from one another as they should be.
2More Diversity In Routes
Battles, elites, bosses, treasure chests, events, and places of power are the only stops on the player’s way across the map, and since the first three of those things are just different kinds of fights, there are only three types of event for the player to encounter.Other deckbuilding roguelikeshave spiced this formula up by adding shops, campfires, other rest sites, and other specialized interactions.
There just isn’t enough diversity in routes.Yes, places of power can be distinguished by color, but that part of the game more or less blends together. The focus remains on the battles themselves, which is as it should be, but it would be nice if the journey itself was more than an afterthought.
1The Return Of Three-Act Battles
One of the strongest parts of the originalGwentis the three-act structure of its battles: rather than the player with the most points simply winning when there are no more cards to play, matches were best-two-out-of-three contests. This promoted an exciting tug-of-war because even after bad RNG or a brilliant play by the enemy, there was a chance for the other side to make a comeback.
This match structure added another layer of tactical decision-makingby forcing players to choose between conserving resources and going all-in for an early win. Losing this format is a considerable blow to the game, and CD Projekt Red should consider adding it to boss battles if nothing else, possibly reducing the overall number of battles to keep the game brisk while maintaining its depth.
Gwent: Rogue Mageis available for PC, Android, and iOS.
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