My favourite modern success story in gaming is that of Balatro. I could have never guessed that a Roguelike deck building game would be able to capture the hearts of the masses, but by using playing cards and poker hands the most accessible game in the genre was born and took the world by storm. The reason I’m talking about 2024’s indie darling is that I couldn’t help but be reminded of it when playing The Royal Writ – which also features cards and scores to beat with them, albeit with a hell of a lot of differences to Balatro. I got to try this new Yogscast published game ahead of time to see what makes it special, and the answer it turns out is: lots of things.
The Royal Writ is made up of battles, where you’ll need to deal a set amount of damage to win. You do this by playing cards of course, which take the form of animal units. These all have numbers on, which either signify the damage or the multiplier that’ll apply to it at the end of the turn. This probably all seems pretty straightforward, and it would be if you didn’t have to worry about placing these cards on the battlefield.
So in each card fight there’s a grid where you’ll put your cards in order to deal your damage. You’ll slot them in on the left, and then each turn they’ll move one space to the right after helping deal their damage. This means you’ll be able to place more cards to bump up your damage numbers next turn, and that your original cards will now be able to stand in a new column which grants a bonus to their value. In writing this might sound a little overwhelming, but for your first few battles especially all you really need to think about is that big numbers are what you want.
That simplicity doesn’t last for long though, as in true Roguelike deck building style your cards will need to work together to unleash their potential. In one of my first fairly successful runs I tried to gather a plethora of ant cards, which are great in large numbers because they all gain bonus power based on how many allies are with them. In another run I decided to place a lot of stock in pure power, and ended up with an adorable animal nun (it may have been a bunny) who was ridiculously strong if we had no money. Coupled with other strong cards that had a slim chance to instantly perish I was almost unstoppable, and made it further than ever on my quest.
If you’re going to build a deck you’ll need to get some cards, and there are plenty of ways to do so in The Royal Writ. Between fights you’ll be tasked with navigating those branching paths that Slay the Spire made popular, and choosing which icons you want to visit to improve your chances on the battlefield. Shops carry new units and powerful relics that you can spend your gold on, but other icons are much more unusual. You can visit a horse race and bet on how far the pony will be able to run to upgrade a card. You can also spin a terrifying wheel which has the potential to hugely buff or massively ruin a selection of cards you hold in your hand. There are of course ways to remove cards from your deck too, by sacrificing them at the dentist (obviously) to help you streamline for future battles.
Above all the other ways to improve your army though, it was the upgrades to the battlefield which really felt impactful while I was playing. For a bit of extra cash you can extend each lane to ensure the maximum time for each unit to deal damage, and even buff the multipliers on each column to add a whole lot of extra passive power. Saving my hard earned cash for this was how I came closest to victory in The Royal Writ, and it will hopefully lead me to victory one day.
I have to admit that it took me longer than I expected to understand how best to succeed in The Royal Writ, but once I did I had a blast. This isn’t just another Roguelike deck builder, with combat with more complexities than it seems and so many creative ways to upgrade your army. The Royal Writ is a game to watch, because it could just be your next obsession.
The Royal Writ is coming to PC.
