Chrono Ark Reviews

Somehow a game that is both more mechanically fun than STS, and also has a genuinely incredible story to go along with it. Lucy is one of the better protagonists in games I've played, especially considering how it integrates with the mechanics. If you're looking to pick this up - things start out a bit strange, but stick it out - it's all just part of the game's showmanship.

Masterpiece of a game. Don't be fooled by my gameplay hours, I've played hundreds of hours off Steam.

You have no idea how much I want to like this game. In the wake of Slay the Spire there has been a dearth of other card-based roguelites, and most are bad. Chrono Ark is one of the least bad, and arguably the best after StS and Balatro, but a lot of odd choices (the kind you see from SE Asian game dev) keeps it from reaching the heights of a game made by two people. [h2]The Good[/h2] The art, character design, and music are top-tier, hands-down. This is the sort of game where buying the OST is 100% worth it. [h2]The OK[/h2] Sadly, the story. The writing starts off pretty strong, but gets into the usual anime convoluted mess you often find in science-fiction anime stories. The protagonist, Lucy, is a fairly interesting character. Without getting into spoilers, her concept is fairly unique, and it gives her an interesting perspective on things. She's sort of the usual cool-headed apathetic girl character, but there's more going on than that, which is something I respect. The same can be said for the antagonist, who I was surprised was revealed fairly early on, but it winds up working in the game's favor because they also get a lot of space to develop. Their motivations are also straightforward and pretty novel. The rest of the cast are all serviceable. They're all the same paint-by-numbers anime stuff you've seen time and again. They take a character and give them an extreme and oddball personality, and then throw in a fairly generic "real" backstory with the tiniest sprinkling of sadness to garner sympathy. None of them talk or interact with one another outside of a few throwaway lines at camp, and each of their "arcs" (more like lines) are resolved in the same way with minimal reflection, pathos, or texture. There are three characters who join your party who don't follow this formula, but that's due to their importance to Lucy's story arc. [h2]The Bad[/h2] The card mechanics are too complicated. Sure, you can understand how the game works, I've sunk 55+ hours into this (at time of writing) and have completed the game with the true ending a few times. I "get" it, but the mechanics are way too complex to be satisfying. You're often juggling dozens of effects, all splattered across a cluttered and unhelpful UI, and of which their interactions are obtuse, partially due to banal localization and partially due to key effects sharing similar icons but having varying end effects. A full half of these effects can't be removed or mitigated, you just sort of have to hope you have enough health to get through it. Another issue is the lack of adapting as you go. Chrono Ark has a lot of items, relics, and abilities that are just flat-out bad, highly situational, and than a paltry few are the "right" picks the game designers want you to do to cheese the game. There is only one build for Hien, one build for Johan, one build for Narhan, etc etc etc. It makes the game fairly frustrating to play over and over, which is a requirement because this is one of those roguelites that gates content behind raw-hard-grinding. Do not expect to get anywhere without grinding, which means playing the same configurations of characters, with the same relics, and the same items over and over again. Very disappointing.

I. Love. This. Game. Every inch and part of it. If you are into deck building rogue like card games with a cool story, look no further.

I've only scratched the surface and so much more to do, learn, enjoy and play. This game has a lot more going for it than I originally thought so I'm very happy that I picked it up. It's quite accessible to me aswell with multi-movement keybinds and works with accessibility click-lock too for walking so I can play for long periods without flare ups. while the graphics sometimes aren't the best, the edges seem... low res or something, in some parts. Overall, it's enjoyable and challenging. Worth trying out.

Amazing game with alot of content, worth it along with its dlcs

When I first played this game I expected something similar to Slay the Spire, but I'm pleasantly surprised to receive something truly different. This game's combat mechanic is awesome, with each battle having a unique gimmick which you'll learn to play (and often plan) around. If you like strategy games in general, Chrono Ark is definitely worth a try.

This is genuinely one of the most interesting and fun rougelikes I've ever played, it's so good. Do yourself a favor and pick up this gem

An unorthodox roguelike deckbuilder that has an engaging character driven story around the looping gameplay, really motivates starting and finishing runs. Interface is a bit rough compared to games like slay the spire, enemy information can be limited (partly by design), but once I became adjusted to the mechanics and got a few runs in, it became very satisfying in complexity and decision making. If you have experience in deckbuilders, I recommend switching to expert difficulty after the first run or two. . The game is rather easy on normal and bosses get mechanics in expert that make me think the game was designed around this difficulty.

On the contrary to popular opinion, I think this game is a lot better than Slay the Spire for certain audiences. Especially if you like 2D anime style arts. The story is interesting, there are great twist and turns that will leave you on the edge of the seat (although some are forced) and the character designs, even when they are cliche, are well done. The characters have heartfelt stories and even those who seem a little morally grey has a redemption arc that makes them all the more attractive. I like how there are multiple updates over the years for this game. Hopefully they add more playable characters in the future. The game itself has a bit of a learning curve and I believe this is good because the gameplay for this genre is repetitive. If it was easy from the getgo, the game would get boring really quick. If you find this game too hard, I suggest you play on the "Hope" mode, you are not losing anything and you can just cruise through story without stressing over losing everything. By the time you clear the story, you'd have a good idea on how to use what units and how they synergize with other aspects of the game like items, relics, etc