It is time for another RAVE. After our last RANT, I have decided to bring it back to positivity. Funny enough tho for awhile, this RAVE might have been changed to our new category which is called 'OKAY' but after playing it again and at higher difficulties, I came around to appreciating it again. On that note: Let's talk Indies' Lies!
Indies' Lies is a surprisingly deep deck building rogulite created by Fun Square Games set in the fantasy world of Mecca. Even without the DLC, the game comes with 3 main classes whom are the Wizards, the Mechanist (my personal favorite class) and the Rangers with the Knights being added in the DLC the Alrayan Undertow. Each class comes with 3 main characters so you'll have a adequate pic of characters to use. The character art is one of the highlights even tho some of the female characters do spin towards Dragon's Crown top heavy-ness (players of the game y'all know whom I am talking about). Despite that, the male character are just as robust and heroic and there is some really good designs. It helps that the characters have 'character' because each one comes with their own exclusive story mode which is unique for this type of game and the story even expands into the main game. All in all, its a pretty game and you won't mind looking at it. The world is colorful the backgrounds are diverse and as par it's genre, the animation of what there is, is well made and illustrates the point of what you are doing, be it attacking, defending or casting spells.
However with the visuals being a highlight the audio and the very repetitive sound track is definitely a lowlight. I think I have maybe been spoiled by Hopoo's games and their super talented composer Chris Christodolou (RAVE about him still coming) but it being an indie game might mean one of the things they cut back on was the soundtrack. The music plays it safe and after awhile becomes nothing but background noise and half way through my full playthrough of the game I turned it off completely and started using my own soundtrack. I just turned it back on for this review and it sadly reminded me why I turned it off. Its not bad, it just not memorable and one thing I've noticed is a lot of indie games I've been enjoying lately also have very good soundtracks. Of course, Risk of Rain 2 and Deadbolt come to mind by Iratus: Lord of the Dead and Katana Zero also had some really good tunes. The actually sound effects, the grunts and sounds of slashing and blocking are also very serviceable but again nothing memorable. I honestly can see myself playing this game on mute and not missing much. It definitely does not detract from the game tho but it is worth a mention.
Where Indies' Lies does shine through is it gameplay. Clearly inspired by Slay the Spire (another amazing deck building rogulite which helped me get into the genre) and other deck builders like it, Indies' Lies is all about turned based battles as your explore a dangerous grid of randomize enemies and events. Along the way, stop at some stores, heal at alters and plot your way to the end boss of 3 challenging areas. Along the way, you earn and trade for cards to help build your deck/ build you are aiming for. Wanna go hog-wild and do nothing but stab folks? Go for it. Poison is your jam? That is possible. Want to be become such a tank that 94 damaging hits from enemies just tickles you? Yep you can do that too. The game does not feel restrictive at all and eventually you'll find something that suits you and your playstyle. Like all deck builders, finding your own synergies and broken OP combos is half of the fun.
However if it was a carbon copy of Slay the Spire (which some haters have called it on Steam) it would not be a RAVE and I would not be telling y'all about it. However Indies' Lies brings of it's own unique nuances to the board and those are what made me enjoy it more.
First are 'Rune' cards. Runes are simply utility cards, some give you extra energy to play more cards, some let you restore health, some help you recall a banished card, some help you inflict poison on enemies. Rune cards by themselves are helpful but where the fun really comes in is when you combined the Rune cards with your battle cards. Now your battle card does 6 damage x 6 now poisons the opponent as well. How about the gaining double the energy but also being able to recall a card you just banished which was previously only usable once or my personal favorite, energy cards that lower the cost of battle cards so a massive nuke card that does 60+ damage goes from a 2 energy card to a ZERO energy card. Rune cards when used correctly can really change the game and the game even has a feature where you can even add Runes to cards who did not have Rune spots by 'Punching' it at the Blacksmith or adding extra Rune slots for really powerful cards to make them even more powerful.
The second unique element of Indies' is the ability to play with a team. After beating a stage you can add a partner whom uses a deck different then yours. Partner do not have their full deck of abilities (because that would be broken) but the abilities they do bring can be very helpful in a pinch and some can really turn the tides. Again the customization in the 'main' game allows you to choose out of 3 partners each time you beat a stage or if you want to, even forego a partner and get a extra buff. This unique mechanic turns it from just a deck builder into a Squad deck builder as well. I enjoyed making a team which is catered to my build and the flexibility it brought. I could have a squad member like Daniel (a mage) be my healer and Rohan (a knight) be my tank whilst I'm the main damage dealer. This flexibility and customization made each run unique in its own way.
However as I mentioned about, Indies' Lies almost was a OKAY and not a RAVE because as I was playing it, I started getting bored of some of the elements. It also did not help that one of the story modes I was playing had a very broken boss and I felt their was no way around him. I tried to fight this boss multiple times and he kept wiping the floor with me and my team to the point where I almost gave up. I, however had a change of heart and I began exploring and like how Risk of Rain 2 rewards you for doing certain objectives, I realized Indies' had a similar way of rewarding achievements. Play at higher difficulty levels (which there is a lot!) unlock more cards, beat a certain character a certain way, another unlock. Beat the main game with no partners, unlock. This different way of approaching the game and forcing me to play ways I had not tried before really revitalized my interest in it and the OKAY became a RAVE again and that is why we are here. I am still unlocking more difficulties (some which are really challenging and force me to think outside of the box) and I finally found a way to beat the OP boss I mentioned above by doing just that. Surprisingly most Roguelites I've enjoyed playing I start with playing for fun and then ramp up the challenge with subsequent playthroughs and Indies' Lies has tapped that need in me as well.
In conclusion, if you are a fan of the genre, enjoy strategic based gameplay, like cool kind of anime/ kind of high fantasy art or just a big fan of boobs (I had to throw it in there... sorry). Indies' Lies might scratch that itch for you. I think you'll find it worthwhile and have fun with it because would I lie to you?
AV
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