Originally published at: https://statelyplay.com/2019/05/07/shards-of-infinity-arrives/
- iOS, Android, PC
It figures that on the day of a major mobile release I’d be stuck at home with two sick kids. As such, I’m a day late in letting you know that the long awaited (and much played in beta form) Shards of Infinity from Temple Gates and Stone Blade Entertainment is now live on iOS, Android, and PC.
Shards of Infinity is Stone Blade’s follow-up to Ascension. Both are deck-builders in which you can buy cards from a randomly dealt card row and both use multiple currency to get the job done. Shards of Infinity, however, has a few new wrinkles that separate it from its forebear.
First of all, the game isn’t a victory point chaser. Instead of VPs, you’re looking to win in one of two way: smack your opponent in the mush enough times until they’re a lifeless puddle of goo, or build up your Mastery enough that you’re able to turn your opponent into a lifeless puddle of goo. Yes, the end result is the same, but the journey down each path feels very, very different.
Apart from the ‘slap your opponent in the face’ addition, Shards of Infinity also adds Mercenaries. On the surface this might not seem like a huge change, mainly because 90% of the time you’ll buy and add mercenaries to your deck just like any other card. You can, however, choose to buy them and instantly play them to your tableau instead. You lose them at the end of the turn, but that quick boost could be the difference in having a huge, game-changing turn or something akin to a wet fart.
What I’m getting at is Shards of Infinity has a lot of strategic decisions that I didn’t get from plays of Ascension. That, and it plays very fast even with 4-players.
This is only Temple Gates’ second card game foray onto the App Store, but you wouldn’t know it. The game is polished and shiny and multiplayer ditched the awful ‘friend code’ thing in exchange for using your friends email to build a friend list in-game. It’s not perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction. The online choices are many, with timers that will force live play all the way to timers that will allow players like myself — players who keep forgetting to play their turns — time to finish a game.
If you have any interest in mobile deckbuilders, you should be on this. I’m not a fan of deckbuilders, but I’m finding SoI to be a blast to play. Hope to get a full review up in the next day or two.
- Shards of Infinity for iOS Universal, $8
- Shards of Infinity for Android, $8
- Shards of Infinity for PC via Steam , $8