Not the most polished deckbuilder, but full of great ideas and charm. The basics of positional attacks and turn-based dodging feel great, especially with a controller, where pulling a trigger on one side pulls the ship in that direction.
The more advanced unlockable characters are a bit of a let-down by comparison. A crew of 3 representing 3 distinct card pools stretches things a little too thin compared to, say, Monster Train's 2-clan system, especially when several characters have parasitic mechanics that only interact with that character's own cards (e.g. Drake's overheating mechanic)
Where the 3-person crew shines is in showcasing the characters and their relationships, such as Riggs the excitable possum and Peri the serious business rhino. Rougelick game as literal time loop isn't the most narratively impressive, but the game's ridiculous amount of dynamic dialogue steals the show. The crew not only comments on hits and misses but hits after misses, not only on specific artifacts but on synergistic combinations of artifacts, not only on what happens in combat but on other characters' comments about the combat. With dozens of possible crew combinations it feels like there's always more to see. My favorite part has to be Isaac's drones that attack for you, which he gives random names to as they're sent out, such as Ludwig or Chosen One - there's no mechnical meaning behind tracking a specific drone's name, yet he does keep track of them and laments them by name if they get shot down.
The more advanced unlockable characters are a bit of a let-down by comparison. A crew of 3 representing 3 distinct card pools stretches things a little too thin compared to, say, Monster Train's 2-clan system, especially when several characters have parasitic mechanics that only interact with that character's own cards (e.g. Drake's overheating mechanic)
Where the 3-person crew shines is in showcasing the characters and their relationships, such as Riggs the excitable possum and Peri the serious business rhino. Rougelick game as literal time loop isn't the most narratively impressive, but the game's ridiculous amount of dynamic dialogue steals the show. The crew not only comments on hits and misses but hits after misses, not only on specific artifacts but on synergistic combinations of artifacts, not only on what happens in combat but on other characters' comments about the combat. With dozens of possible crew combinations it feels like there's always more to see. My favorite part has to be Isaac's drones that attack for you, which he gives random names to as they're sent out, such as Ludwig or Chosen One - there's no mechnical meaning behind tracking a specific drone's name, yet he does keep track of them and laments them by name if they get shot down.