Decklings is out now on Steam, bringing more than 100 magical creatures to collect, train, battle, put to work, and, rather importantly, feed. If you don’t feed them, they can leave.
Dark Lizard Games’ creature-collecting deckbuilder launched on September 25th, published by 2 Left Thumbs, with a mix of 3v3 card battles, base building, crafting, farming, cooking, and resource management. The goal is to work your way up to becoming the Deckling Champion, although keeping your collection from wandering off hungry is an important first step.
More Than 100 Decklings Are Waiting
There are over 100 different Decklings to find across the game’s islands, each with their own stats, abilities, and specialties. Some can be attracted using crafted lures. Others hatch from mysterious eggs you find while exploring. There are even rare Holo Decklings to hunt down if collecting the regular versions isn’t enough to keep you busy.
Your creatures grow alongside you too. Leveling up can unlock new moves or improve existing ones, while certain Decklings can evolve once you meet the right requirements and take them to the Altar of Ascension. So far, so familiar for anyone who has ever lost several evenings to filling out a creature collection. However, then Decklings adds dinner.
Meals keep your team fed, and neglecting them for too long can send your creatures running away. Suddenly, cooking isn’t just a cozy little side activity, it’s employee retention.
Your Decklings Have Jobs
The creatures you collect aren’t only there for battles. Back at your base, cards handle pretty much everything. Stack them together to gather resources, plant crops, cook meals, craft equipment, and keep the whole place running.
Your Decklings can help with those jobs too, and eventually you can build production lines that automate tasks like farming, lumber gathering, and cooking. It gives the collecting side of the game a bit more purpose.
A new Deckling might become part of your battle team, but it could just as easily end up helping around the base while somebody else handles the fighting. Hopefully everyone has agreed to the rota.
Three Decklings Walk Into a Card Battle
When it is time to fight, battles take the form of 3v3 card duels against other Tamers. Positioning matters, as do elemental matchups. You can buff your own Decklings, deal with negative effects, and throw a few problems back at the opposing team while trying to find a combination of creatures, equipment, and abilities that works together.
Defeating Team Leaders unlocks new islands, which means more resources, recipes, and Decklings to collect. Also, because raising 100 creatures, building a base, and becoming champion isn’t stressful enough, there’s also Survival Mode. Lose all of your Decklings because they run away and you lose everything. So maybe check the food stores before starting that one.
Out Now on Steam
Decklings launched on PC via Steam on September 25th and currently has a 15% introductory discount running until October 9th. There’s also a free demo if you want to try the creature collecting, base management, and card battles before jumping into the full game.
Early players seem happy with it too. At the time of writing, 94% of its first 18 Steam reviews are positive. There’s a lot going on here, but the idea behind it is easy enough to understand. Find creatures. Build your team. Grow your base. Become champion, and whatever you do, don’t forget lunch.