Cardinal Quest 2

There are tons of indie games out there and a large portion of those offer something similar. The sequel Cardinal Quest 2 is one of those niches that on the surface seems to be the same dungeon crawler as a lot of other titles. However, this reworked idea is a lot more than what people would categorize in the “roguelike” section of games. With new and bigger levels, a challenging item system and more variety, it’s even more captivating than its already top-notch progenitor.

Its pixelated classic looks of simple colors and shapes viewed from atop strikes true with the simplistic theme of hacking and slashing. Unlike the original Cardinal Quest that only delved into dungeons, the sequel also goes into towns and forest areas. The green locales also double as a new stealth mechanic that offers cover, but takes away defense in turn. This creates additional ways to play. The interface has also been centralized on-screen and leaves most of the rest of the screen open for playing. Only, intrusive pop-ups from skills and potions could be integrated more delicately or more transparent, as they now hide a large portion of the playing field.

Music stays the classic course with some charming bleeping tunes that will complete the sense of playing an old NES game in modern times. There isn’t an overabundance of added effects, but it’s better basic than obnoxious.

One of Cardinal Quest 2’s strong points is choice and versatility. In short, it’s a basic feature where just movement is needed, as combat is automated by pressing towards enemies. Perhaps a few clicks will be needed too, but that’s the basic form of input that would make for progression. However, a lot of options are added for marvelous flavor. There are 6 classes, each with their own approach. For instance, a rogue would need to use shrubs and wall corners to spring from the darkness and deal deadly damage by surprise. However, a ranger would just need to keep distance and send forth a pet to do their bidding. In addition, this roguelike also has a few simple RPG elements. When players level up, they can choose from skill trees custom made for each character that will be critical to the success of later levels. A good character build together with clever use of equipment is vital.

More so, skills and items will also need to be managed. This sequel goes the opposite approach of most loot dropping games. Here, only 5 skills can be carried at a time and only 5 items. This requires players to make tough decisions and decide exactly how to best use any particular element. Skills and items can be found across the map, but once the inventory is full, all that isn’t taken gets left behind.

Skills also follow a unique cool down model. Instead of rigid movement points determining when a skill can be used, some will require experience or other modifiers to work. Some skills may only recharge after several successful hits, others will require gaining more experience. Especially healing spells are affected by this system, which intensifies the decision to heal now or hold out for a more critical point. Characters also don’t regain health when they level. Instead, the area must be abandoned for the next, which may leave important items or experience behind. Every decision matters and gets weighed in a risk versus reward system. It’s this brutally challenging factor that makes Cardinal Quest 2 a game that exhilarating at all times, even when its basic appeal doesn’t seem like much. Less is more and in this case there is more of less, if that makes sense.

The game throws down the gauntlet for sure. Enemies quickly feel like they’re much more powerful than they ought to be and some tougher creatures take away almost all health in 1 simple blow. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in this game, but that’s also what encourages restraint. Retreating and trying a different approach might serve a better purpose than going in guns blazing. Still, faster foes will periodically bring a swift and almost unavoidable beat down that is tough to counter.  It’s a bummer, but luckily it’s only dependent on patience whether or not this is a crippling factor. Again, patience is a virtue and it’s the careful approach that gets the gold.

So far, Cardinal Quest 2 looks like it will land as a successful hacking and slashing adventure with tons of replay value and high adrenaline gameplay. There are lots of ways to play and possibly several different ways to die. It may not be the pixel version of Dark Souls or not even aspire to that, but as far as a hefty and satisfying challenge goes, the two titles could shake hands with each other.

You can watch several live streams here.

You can should help this title get made by promptly funding the Indiegogo campaign here.

Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed. (@Daavpuke)