Fight Prediction: Pain

Deck'Em! is a casual and very fun game where you will enter a different boxing ring. In it, the fight takes place using playing cards, like in a Solitaire match. The goal here is not to defeat your opponent, but to stay on your feet for 12 rounds. Before we start the review, I can assure you: you are going to get a lot of beatings. But as old Rocky taught us, it doesn't matter how hard you hit, but how hard you can take it and keep going. Do you have what it takes to avoid getting knocked out?

Originally released for mobile, Deck'Em! received a PC version on March 7, 2023. 



An eye on the tiger and an eye on the cards 

In Deck'Em! your goal is one: don't get knocked out. Unfortunately, you will find that this is a much harder task than it seems, because Champ, your biggest (and only) rival will be right there in front of you to make sure you don't stay on your feet for long. 

The rules of the game are simple: basically, there are three types of cards that serve to hit Champs, block attacks, and heal our character. The goal, as stated earlier, is not to win, but to survive for 12 turns. 

However, you will catch up, and a lot, until you understand how things work in the boxing ring. Although you go through the tutorial at the very beginning of the game, which teaches you all the card dynamics, it is not enough to fully explain the mechanics of the fights, especially when it comes to how to block. So you will end up learning by rote how to play the game. 

To save you time, and to make sure that a few more teeth remain in your mouth, I will help you understand how fighting works. The punching and healing cards are self-explanatory in themselves, but the blocking cards are the most complicated, and in my opinion, also define the fight. To block, you will need a blocking card with the base attack value of the Champs' card (value shown in blue).

Also, for the blocking to happen, the blocking card must have equal or greater efficiency than the Champs' attack. Whenever a new blocking card is used, it enters at 15, the maximum efficiency, and it is reduced as the Champs attack. Every time he strikes, the efficiency drops to the value of the attack that was made. 

For example: If I play a blocking card with base value 4 and 15 efficiency, against a Champs attack card with 6 attack, it means that I can block because 6 is less than 15, but I will receive 2 damage because 6 minus 4 equals 2. 



So, to make it to round 12, you will need to reduce damage with blocking, while attacking Champs to reduce his attack power and heal yourself between turns. It sounds easy, and well... it kind of is, but Champs is a relentless fighter, so don't be surprised if you have to deal with extremely high-value attack cards that will knock you out in a turn or two. 

But don't be upset. Each defeat will inspire you to be a better fighter, or awaken your sense of revenge, the killer instinct that is stored inside. And yes, this game can really push you to persist even after an infamous losing streak. But why is that?

Because the matches are so fast! Rounds that last a little over five minutes alternate between humiliating defeats in the first rounds. The philosophy behind it seems to be: lose fast to get back into the fight fast. And in this way, you will realize that in an instant 20 minutes of your life have passed. In addition, we have three characters to choose from, which in a way helps to aerate the gameplay. 

Allied with this we have typical boxing sounds, nice sound effects, a simplified and intuitive interface, and very friendly graphics, with caricatured characters that all get pretty crumpled after a few punches from our all-powerful rival. 

Deck'EM! in short, is a really fun game. But since some things are like punches in the stomach, let's talk about some points of improvement that can help the game to turn the experience into something even more enjoyable.



First: our fights, even the ones we get defeated, are rewarded with an amount of money, but it has no practical purpose. I thought that we could get new cards or new characters, but no. They are only there to encourage us to get bigger prizes. They only serve to encourage us to get bigger prizes. But in my case, this feature did not work as planned. 

Second: It would be nice to have a narrative, even if basic, to understand who our characters are, who the Champs is, and why he is our only opponent. I understand that this is a game made to be really casual, but I think stories fit in any content format, it just needs to be told in the right way. 

Third: We have a ranking with the best fighters, but it also has no real functionality, since as we move up in the ranking, nothing special happens. It's more like a personal goal than something that contributes to the actual gameplay.

Overall, I think Deck'Em! got it right when it proposed to merge the Solitaire game with boxing. The simple interface and the rhythm of the matches give the tone of a game that can accompany us wherever we are, whether at home, on the PC, or on our smartphones. I believe that Champs will be not only a rival, but a companion to exchange a few punches during the work break, in the doctor's waiting room, or while waiting for my girlfriend to leave the fitting room in any clothing store. 



For this review, Deck'Em! was played on the PC, via Steam.

Huge thanks to EVOLVE PR who, by providing us with the access key for the game, made this content possible.