Kevin C. Wong

Apple Arcade - Spelldrifter (2019) [+]

Spelldrifter is a combination tactical turn-based combat and deck building game. It's fantasy based and you have a stable of characters each with their own decks. Some of the characters:

Korghan Twice-Born - warrior
Faydin, the Sellsword - finesse warrior/swashbuckler
Lavella, Star-Touched - healer
Rohin Garrett - rogue
Renna, the Embermage - fire magic

In each combat you choose three characters and can customize their decks. Characters level up and get stars which you use to choose special abilities (and can change them out before any combat). You get gold which you use to buy more cards and getting a good card combination is nice.

In each turn everybody moves in action point order (your characters win ties). Every action costs a number of action points. Once a character goes their action point total increases and the lowest total action point combatant moves next. Big attacks take more action points and some cards take place the next turn. You have to be cognizant of when each combatant goes.

Good graphics and sounds. There's a standard fantasy storyline. I did get to the point where the two locations I can battle are both too hard. Unfortunately there's not that much grinding (or maybe too much). You can repeat old adventures but rewards for repeat are minimal, not enough to be worth it to grind, so I kind of stopped playing. But it was fun for a few hours.