Culdcept Revolt’s campaign keeps competitors competent

Culdcept Revolt is a game that facilitates multiple experiences. Some people are going to get it for the online interactions and eventually make it their primary focus, as it’s possible to play with people online or locally. Others will get it for the campaign, which is long, rich and allows you to pick which battles you challenge and when. Regardless of why you’re turning to the cards again, one thing is certain. This entry does an exceptional job of getting us set for sorties.

You’re forced into a tutorial in Culdcept Revolt. Before anything else unlocks, Alicia takes you through six tutorial quests. For an experienced player, they’re a little deliberate. Each one gradually goes through a game element, like placing monsters, investing in territory, participating in battles, using skill and item cards and earning a victory. Specific conditions must be met, teaching people the basics in the most effective manner. You can tell someone something or they can learn by doing.

Where Culdcept Revolt really shines is in its general campaign quests. This is an installment with 400 cards, with 200 of them being new to Revolt. There are multiple boards to explore. The gradually increasing difficulty levels and durations do their best to ease you into the game and prepare you for battles against real opponents with better decks and improved strategies. Not to say there aren’t virtual opponents that should strike genuine fear into your heart while you play, but that the imaginary enemies feel engineered for enlightenment.

Here’s a good example. The first two non-tutorial campaigns have rather easy win conditions. Earn 8000G! That’s easy enough. They start you out facing one other Cepter. Some maps even have plenty of territory with multicolor spaces, so you don’t have to worry about the computer building a monopoly You can focus on learning to play the proper cards and invest your power wisely. Your enemy won’t rely on fancy tactics, like monster replacing and shifting.

Except, you don’t have to take that path. Starting with Culdcept Revolt’s third Castaway Town chapter, you have alternating maps to choose from. Taking the upper path offers greater Gp rewards, but with higher stakes. Maps are more complicated, only offering the air, earth, fire and water territories. Enemies are more likely to use item cards. They won’t hesitate to adjust monsters to take advantage of the situation. You’re given a choice of what difficulty you’d like to immediately encounter. Both paths will eventually make you a better player, but with alternative “teaching” methods.

You need the best cards to face online opponents. People put their best into their Culdcept decks. The story’s matches not only give people a few cards as a reward for winning, but also the Gp needed to buy packs of additional cards from the in-game store. Even if you are only in it for the multiplayer matches, the lure of harder, better, faster and stronger cards. The sorts of cards only the campaign could provide.

Culdcept Revolt wants people to be better competitors. The extensive tutorial may seem like it’s there to ensure people are ready for the game, but it’s a hint of things to come. The campaign’s matches, with its branching paths, let you choose which challenges you feel you’re ready to face that day. The additional cards and currency make it appealing even when the online matches might lure you away. It’s a well designed game that keeps things balanced and helps every player be the best they can be.