i’m thinking about dungeon run from hearthstone and slay the spire. both of them are roguelike deckbuilders that have really sunk their teeth into me, and i think they’re examples that show everything you can do right when making roguelike deckbuilders, but i can’t really tell what they do that their contemporaries don’t do. what is dungeon run doing that monster train isn’t that makes dungeon run so much more fun and replayable?1
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i mean i think it’s just that dungeon run and slay the spire embrace more randomness maybe? monster train very much feels like a game that rewards making the least bad decision every turn while slay the spire instead prioritizing trying to spin your deck out of control, but idk. maybe there’s a game that proves me wrong
tbh i think the design of monster train is just a little too wide and the decisions aren’t as punchy/impactful. in slay the spire/ dungeon run you can feel really OP easily by the end but i dont remember feeling that way in monster train. it was more like “nice i played that well”.
i also think the hero mechanic kind of overcentralizes deckbuilding in monster train. and the multi-lane thing is cool in theory but the only time it’s ever felt right to me was in like, inscryption.