Trials of Fire is a new legend for single-player strategy. Combining all the best of tactical board game combat, deck-building, and narrative, this game is a contender for best roguelikes available right now. It does have some flaws that keep me from recommending it categorically, but nothing that overwhelms the depth of strategy at play here. I have long been starved as a fan of turn-based combat, and Trials of Fire has finally erupted from the depths of the earth to satisfy that need.
Trials of Fire just has so much to offer. Addicting combat, awesome art style, old-school charm, near endless amounts of replayability, and just tons of unique options. Couple that with the option to tailor your experience to your own time limits, and there’s very little not to love. Honestly, as I said before, my sole criticism of this game is that it presents the narrative in an okay-ish format. But it’s easily forgiven with the sheer amount of everything else available.
A outstanding game that is part Slay the Spire part Xcom, a lot of options and opportunities and the right punishment. A game that any Deck builder and Roguelike fan must play...
Even as playing boardgames in person becomes a reality once more, we suspect that Trials Of Fire's baggy charms will ensure it keeps us from the table on a fair few evenings to come. [Issue#358, p.110]
Trials of Fire is a great game for beginners or veteran of deck building games. The variety of challenges, characters, and cards to choose from allows you to use your brain and strategize while also having fun and completing the challenges.
When you fail a Trial of Fire, you learn and you move on. The thing about this game is that every single run is better than the last one, even if it’s decidedly more short-lived. In fact, that’s actually a blessing in disguise - more time for another go before bed, eh?
At its heart, Trials of Fire is a survival game in the way only roguelikes can be: where each battle, decision, and knock-on-effect can determine your demise further down the road. It’s also very tough as many encounters spawn a random number of enemies. Trials of Fire’s card system makes being outnumbered feel a little unfair at times too, as the opponent has more cards to work with, as well as more potential mana, more armor, and more movement to gain from discarding them. However, its smart mechanics, survival play, and deck-building make up for any criticisms I have leveled at it. I’ll definitely dive back in for another adventure before too long, though perhaps on a lower difficulty…
There are some rough spots with the UI, a bit of repetition with some overworld aspects, but nitpicks aside Trials of Fire was actually highly enjoyable both as a strategy game, and a deck builder. The fact the game has some strong Heroes of Might and Magic vibes going on is icing on the cake. The problem comes through that a single play (~2-4 hours) is about all it takes to get most out of the game. After that players likely won't be back.
I used to love playing Magic The Gathering, but it become hard to keep up with the cards and find the time to play a game. I stumbled across this in early access and have been playing it over the past couple of years as the devs and the community shaped this into one hell ****. It was great from the get-go, now it’s pretty much spot on. I must have put in 100 hours easily and every time I play it, i learn something new, a trick, a new tactic. It’s immensely enjoyable and infinitely replayable.
Amazing how varied AND balanced this game is. I've had constantly fun for 50 hours playing this game and beating it on ''cataclysm 1'' is the most satisfying gaming moment I've had in a long time.
I enjoyed the deck building and card playing in the game, also appreciated the various different characters available for choose, with each having completely different playstyle. Graphic and effect are not good, stories and be repetitive after a few rounds, but overall it is an enjoyable game.
This game could have been so much better. The card based game play is great and there is a cool option to include your own character portraits and models. This is a must as the included character portraits are horrible especially for the warrior. It looks like a weird medusa like woman. However, bad unrealistic characters and bland repetitive story let this down. Graphics and effects and pretty bad while the card art is nice. Feels like playing a game from the 90s in terms of quality and overall aesthetic. Again, excellent idea but very poorly executed. I hope they get a chance to make a sequel and improve on it.