Apple Arcade review #76: Card of Darkness

Image credit: Polygon

I was kind of dreading this review. I’m a big Adventure Time fan, and the idea of a collaboration between Pendleton Ward and Zach Gage — the man behind iOS games like Typeshift (a personal favourite), Pocket-Run Pool and Really Bad Chess — was enticing. I’m not typically a card game fan, however, so even though the aesthetic was instantly appealing, the genre was not.

I gave it a fair shot.

On the positive side: Card of Darkness isn’t really a card game. It’s a puzzle game with cards, and a very nicely crafted one. Everything looks and sounds great, and feels polished and responsive. It’s also quite challenging, which means I can’t speak to how the game evolves over time. That’s really the only negative: it’s a tough. But this also means that winning is deeply satisfying, and I’m sure there are plenty of players up for the challenge.

I was hoping for more narrative weirdness and character, given Ward’s involvement, but Card of Darkness is undeniably a good game, and you should probably play it.

Link: https://apps.apple.com/no/app/card-of-darkness/id1364257627