Earlier this week, the homebrew developer Cursed Bootleg released the first demo for Trick Tactics, a promising new card-based RPG for the original Game Boy.
The demo sees players embark on an epic quest across a fantasy world after their village is attacked by monsters, wandering through various towns and dungeons, gathering food, weapons, items, and money. The twist, however, is that everything here is represented in the form of a card, with players having a choice of four action cards that cannot run out (movement, attacks, examination, and speech), alongside additional cards that can only be used a set of number of times.
At the start of the demo, players will pick a random starting card from a deck (which can either be money, a shield, a sword, or a piece of health-replenishing food) and will then have to gain additional items through talking to NPCs, looting objects, defeating enemies, or visiting shops. Despite the demo being rather brief (it only lasts until the second boss of the game), it has won us over with its surprising amount of freedom in how it lets players approach different situations.
For instance, you may be able to talk to a character to open a door, unlock it with a key, or force it open using an attack at the expense of your own health. Similarly, you can also attack enemies directly, flee through nearby doors, or use objects in the environment to inflict debuffs to turn the battle in your favour.
You can download the demo here, to try it out for yourself. It can also be played in your browser of choice.