Free deck-building RPG game

Crown is a free-to-play role-playing game from indie developer RedDecker. It is a card game where you gain allies as you build your deck. They level up and help you fight against hordes of opponents and challenging boss fights. It also features a good fantasy-medieval story that is only limited by its short playthrough. If you’re after a fun game that requires a bit of card-based strategy, this is a good game.

If you like the unique appeal of Crown, you might also want to check out a similar game with Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars.

Go forth and retake the Crown

Like most card-themed strategy games, Crown also relies on the use of different cards to alter characteristics, invoke specific effects, and make certain moves on a turn-based gameplay mechanic. However, this one introduces Ally Cards, which allows you to summon characters to help you in your fights. Moreover, they level up as you fight alongside them. This creates a variety of possible strategies for your lineups and plays.

For the graphics, it uses a pixel art style reminiscent of most JRPG games of the past. Its color palette is mostly muted to a certain sepia-looking shade, which creates an instantly recognizable visual for the game. It is accompanied by a chiptune soundtrack that completes the retro feel and helps push its fantasy-medieval theme as you play it. Together, the audio and video of the game work exceptionally well.

As mentioned earlier, this game has a short playthrough, which feels unsatisfying after getting you hooked with the concept of its cards and its challenging gameplay. There are only three major fights and a limited number of opponents between them. The story is also linear, which doesn’t help the game warrant another playthrough. A single run can be completed in less than an hour.

Deserves more content

The overall concept of its decks plus the Ally Cards is a refreshing mechanic for deck-building RPG games, and Crown executes this idea well. The game also manages to build an interesting world told through pixel art graphics and chiptune music. Unfortunately, all these great elements boil down to disappointment from the player’s end because of the game’s lack of content. A more fleshed-out storyline would do this idea justice.