Just like any other English kid in the late 90s, I supported the Charlotte Hornets. Back then, American big league basketball felt like a captivating foreign country, with mystical, unknown terms, breakneck pacing unlike anything I’d seen before and superstar players that were just so cooler than anyone here in Blighty. As such, I obviously chose to support the team with the most awesome logo in the NBA. What’s not to love about a grimacing, seemingly constipated wasp?! With Clutchtime: Basketball Deckbuilder, developer Bigosaur has distilled the frantic on-court action into a series of turn-based decisions, a rogue-like adaptation of the multi-million dollar sport.
For anyone who’s ever played a deck-builder, you’ll feel right at home. Choosing from a hand of cards taken from your team’s deck, you’ll be taking 3 point shots, committing fouls on the opposition, passing for free points or any number of other actions in a race to score more points than your opponent before the final buzzer sounds. With each action costing not only stamina points from your rapidly depleting energy but also using up time (each played card taking 15 seconds from the clock), a sense of ever increasing pressure builds as you attempt to craft the perfect combination of moves to ensure your lead. Win games, add ever more complex cards to personalise your deck and elbow your way to the top.
Choosing from an abundance of both national and international teams from around the globe, there are options for a straight-forward tournament or the longer and more complex league play modes, with even longer playoffs and full seasons opening up only after proving your worth and completing these initial competitions. With each having multiple levels of challenge opening up as you complete lower difficulties, there’s plenty of gameplay on offer for those wanting to test themselves on the court.
The representation of the on-court action is simple, with a bright and bold art style that communicates each card’s actions in the blink of an eye. Looking to defend, blue cards. Taking shots, it’s pink. Easy. Whilst this works well in the gameplay’s favour, the mainly static presentation lacks a little in memorable style, especially in a sport renowned for flamboyance and flashy moves. The sounds of the action are realistic and functional, with Jordans squeaking and nets swishing from three pointers, but again lack any unique character, the only real sense of excitement coming from the crowd noise, the audio representation of a meter that builds based on your performance. With buffs coming into play such as extra stamina to spend per turn or additional cards to leave your opponents standing based on the roar of the home crowd, it’s a mechanic that can make all of the difference as the seconds tick away. That extra block or shot can make all the difference before the buzzer.
Moment to moment, you’ll be choosing whether to bolster your defense with blocks and steals, make layups or shoot for three points or even make use of more specialised cards that offer more unique buffs such as extra stamina or actions that take place outside of the ever present game clock. You’ll always see your opponent’s starting hand, so it’s possible to make plays based on what their current cards can do but this can all change in the relative blink of an eye, as they pull out a series of shots that you’ll have to watch as they cleanly hit nothing but net, eating away at your hard-earned home crowd’s hysteria. Suck it up, make the most of the hand that you’ve been dealt and fight to the very last second.
There’s nothing really to dislike about Clutchtime: Basketball Deckbuilder. It’s a fun little card collecting game that is easy to digest in small doses but at the same time, it’s never as gripping as heavyweights such as Slay the Spire, Hearthstone, or Balatro. I’m not sure if it’s my lack of familiarity with the setting or the almost overly simplistic style but it’s lacking in the moreish flavour that makes the genre standouts so compelling. With a little more pizazz, this could have been the start of a new sub-genre of deck based sports games but as it stands, this is more Valley Vipers than Lakers.