Ever since Slay The Spiral, it feels like an ongoing deluge of roguelike deckbuilders in the indie space. So it’s nice that there are still a few titles that actually bring a new energy to this saturated subgenre.
My Card Is Better Than Your Card! is developed by Finnish indie devs Utu Studios and it lets you relive the childlike wonder of playing card games as a kid. The title says it all, schoolchildren going “nu-uh” and one-upping each other with how their card is better is effectively the game’s big draw. Cards can be modified with stickers, which adds in more abilities to the card, to the point that it can comically tall just to fit all of them in.
What’s more, My Card Is Better Than Your Card! also draws its childlike energy with its cereal box-esque aesthetic. Bright, contrasting colours, smooth curves and chirpy, upbeat chiptune beats fill the reveal trailer.
Outside of battling other kids by bedazzling them on how cool each other’s cards are, you can also partake in other kids past time all in the name of bettering your deck. From treasure hunts to sticker book trades.
This is a roguelike, so each run of My Card Is Better Than Your Card! will see you face different neighborhood rivals and earn different cards.
(For the Malaysians reading this, no this isn’t a game about our identification card, MyKad, which can be argued to be one of the better cards now that it’s used to claim subsidies limited to Malaysian citizens. Topical reference! But please don’t go alienate people with that pun.)
For the kids, and the inner kids in adults that yearn for simpler times, My Card Is Better Than Your Card! is currently in Early Access on PC (Steam).