Deckbuilders and roguelikes alike are all about the thrill of creating new and exciting combinations of old parts. Learning from defeats and failed strategies can be even more important than winning, and with an army of monsters trying to take the player down, there are bound to be losses in the player’s future.
About the Obelisk makes excellent use of both genres, offering players the chance to build a classic fantasy feast, then use each character’s unique card decks to battle their way across the land, earning and upgrading cards as they continue their quest . While many of these may sound familiar to fans of the genre, About the Obelisk does a few things different from other deckbuilder roguelikes. Here are some great tips to get beginners off to a good start.
7 Play to the strengths of each class
About the Obelisk is an amalgamation of the deckbuilder and roguelike genres, so it naturally borrows some signature elements from both, including character distinctions, with some excelling in one area while offering little elsewhere. Each character and class has many little nuances that the player can pick up later, but at the beginning it is enough to know the basics of each role.
The player starts with one character from each class that is unlocked by default: Magnus (Warrior), Andrin (Scout), Evelyn (Mage), and Reginald (Healer). This squad composition will be familiar to players of most RPGs: the Warrior can focus on melee or blocking, the Scout adds range, stealth and poison to the mix, the Mage can deal elemental damage, and the Healer keeps everyone alive.
6 Watch the madness
Most games offer different types of difficulty, allowing the player to tailor the game to their experience, give new players a warm welcome and give veterans of the game a chance to challenge themselves with something more difficult. Roguelikes and roguelites often go one step further, offering numerous customization options that allow players to switch their already randomized runs, increasing the replay value that much.
About the Obelisk follows suit, with a Madness Difficulty Scale that allows the player to buff monsters, nerve their own rewards and otherwise make the game more challenging. It also offers players the chance to use Corruptors, optional variables that make runs both more difficult and more unique. These options are great for players who are already familiar with the game, but new players should leave them alone until they are more familiar with the mechanics and strategies.
5 Use it or lose it
Roguelikes differ in how much progress they allow the player to keep between runs. Some of the most punishing ones allow the player to take nothing after death except the memory of their mistakes. Others have extensive advantage systems that allow the player to slowly gain strength even if he dies over and over.
About the Obelisk rewards the player with a chest, which can be exchanged in the city, after each run. The resources these chests provide can be very useful when you first start out, but the game only stores three rewards at a time. If the player doesn’t cash one of his chests by the time he completes his fourth run, the newest chest is lost. Therefore, if the player already has three chests on hold, it’s always good to claim one, even if they don’t need the available resources right away. That way no raw material is wasted.
4 Have a day in the city
Because About the Obelisk is both a roguelike and a deckbuilder, the player is not tied to a playmat as the only setting. Instead, the player can travel through the countryside, facing threats and earning rewards as they build their deck and get closer and closer to the end of the game. After a hard day of adventure, they can also stop in the city.
Town offers a variety of important services and it is good for new players to familiarize themselves with those services right away. The first is the Armory, a shop that sells a variety of cards from weapons and armor to pets. The Altar allows the player to upgrade his cards. Each character starts with a stack of 15 cards and by spending gems at the altar, the player can improve these cards, giving them a better chance in battle. The Magic Forge allows the player to create new cards, the church removes cards and the cart gives other rewards.
3 Chart your course
About the Obelisk is divided into four Acts, where the player travels through an area, fighting the monsters within, and dealing with random events. Following in the footsteps of some of the best roguelikes, the player can see the journey ahead, allowing the player to make decisions about what activities to undertake or what to shy away from.
One of the most important decisions when charting your course is which character to unlock. Arriving at certain locations allows the player to start the quest associated with specific characters. If the player completes that quest, he will unlock that character, even if the player dies afterward. Failing the run doesn’t mean the player will leave with nothing, as long as they complete the character’s quest first.
2 Travel with friends
Unlike many roguelike deckbuilders, About the Obelisk can be played alone or with friends accompanying someone for the trip. Because of this multiplayer aspect, things can get interesting when it comes to plotting your course around the map. After all, what happens when players disagree about where to go?
If players disagree on where to go, the game uses a role system to determine where the players go. If, on the other hand, the players can agree on where and how to travel, they can continue their merry way together without the intervention of the game. This system strikes an almost perfect balance between careful, cooperative strategies and the hilarity and chaos that often accompany team decision making in board games.
1 Follow initiative
Every great deckbuilding game needs a way to determine the order in which the different sides move. In Across the Obelisk, character actions are ranked according to their speed. The player can see the turn order at the top of the screen and see at a glance which enemies and teammates will move and when. Using turn order to make decisions is extremely important, especially in the game’s more difficult battles.
Initiative tracking is less important at first when the player’s deck is simpler, but as the deck grows in power and complexity, so will enemies, and it becomes increasingly important for the player to time his actions correctly. Knowing that the player can perform an additional attack and kill the enemy before they can strike, eliminating the need to heal and further spare the characters is just one example of the importance of this system.
About the Obelisk is now available for PC.
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