It's in the Cards

I've played so much Assassin's Creed lately that I've decided it's time to for something that is decidedly different.  Thanks to the Steam Holiday Sale, I picked up a couple of good candidates that I've been waiting to check out--Thronebreaker:  The Witcher Tales and The Banner Saga 3.  I decided to start with Thronebreaker and save myself the pain of making horrible decisions in The Banner Saga 3 for later.

Thronebreaker was a bit of a surprise to me.  I had no idea that CD Projekt was working on another The Witcher game and, as a fan of the series, I was excited to check it out.  Thronebreaker is set in the Witcher universe, but isn't an RPG in the style of the three The Witcher games;  it is a story-based adventure game that is told through the card game Gwent.  You play as Meve, queen of Lyria and Rivia, as she attempts to return home from a trip abroad.  Meve wants to get home, but her travels reveal that all is not well in her kingdom--the land is plagued by bandits and monsters and her son, who is supposed to be ruling in her absence, has obviously not tried to address these issues.  (The story gets much, much more complicated, but I don't want to spoil it)

A view of a city post-battle.

Each area presents itself as a large, medieval style map.  Players guide Meve around the map with simple point and click commands.  Exploring the map reveals resources that can be picked up; these resources are used to improve your camp, to create new cards, or for special optional story-based situations that can also be found on the map.  There are also many different special locations found on the map--puzzle-based challenges that have specific conditions that must be met (you play with a different special deck on each puzzle); special, optional story battles--a scenario is presented and you can choose to battle it out in a special game (usually there are special rules and you play with a set deck, but sometimes there are more standard games); and main storyline quests.

Everyone knows that trolls are friends and should always be helped.

One of the things that I'm really enjoying, and it's something that has always been great in The Witcher series, is the choice-based story.  Each scenario throws you into a unique situation where you are forced to make a decision--and, in true Witcher style, your choices are never clear cut or easy;  all too often it's a "lesser of two evils" thing--the choices you make do have an impact on what happens.  I've been playing Meve as an honorable ruler who strives to do the right thing.  Sometimes doing the right thing doesn't have the positive outcome that you want--rescue a group of peasants and gain a drain on resources; show mercy to a group of conquered enemies and have your troops lose morale (which has an impact on the number of hitpoints your troops/cards have in Gwent battles) because they believe those enemies should be eliminated.

The Gwent battles are more akin to the online, multiplayer Gwent than they are to the Gwent from The Witcher 3.  If you haven't played Gwent, it might take a little while to get used to the differences.  My advice is to take your time and read the abilities on each of your, and the enemy's cards.  The first few conflicts on the map serve as the tutorial and the game does a decent job of walking players through the basics of the game.  Meve/you start with a basic deck, but cards can be gained through solving puzzles and winning optional story battles or through the main storyline.  Players can also make camp at any time and use resources to craft additional cards and alter their deck.

One of the easiest choices to make.  Who leaves a cute dog?

As you progress the storyline, things happen that can alter which cards you have access too.  Just as you're starting to feel confident in your current deck...BOOM, things have changed and you just lost a bunch of cards and gained a whole new set, with completely different abilities.  This change of pace keeps the game challenging and doesn't let you get too comfortable.  Depending on the choices you make, certain characters (who present in Gwent matches as powerful gold cards with special abilities) can choose to stay or leave (which means you lose their card and its abilities).  I was feeling really good about my deck and had a strategy built around a certain character...then that character decided to leave due to disagreeing with choices that I had made; now I'm trying to rebuild my deck and find a new strategy.

Despite the fact that early on in the game my brain kept thinking in Hearthstone mode (I was so confused as to why my cards weren't getting to attack--I don't understand why this happened because I've played way more Gwent than Hearthstone), I'm having so much fun with Thronebreaker.  The story is great, the choices are difficult, and the puzzles and battles can be downright devious (but feel so good to finally solve or win).

*Special note--if you're hoping for some Geralt or that Thronebreaker will be very obviously tied to the RPG's....so far (I've played for 22 hours), those clear cut links are mostly elusive.  The enemies and story elements are very much a part of The Witcher universe.  Meve's story is linked to Geralt's (if you read the books/short stories, you learn that Geralt was actually knighted by Meve as a reward for saving her life during a particularly hairy altercation on a bridge--this is referenced in Blood and Wine when Geralt uses his knightly title to enter into the tournament) and you do actually run into some characters who are a part of the RPG's (one features rather prominently in the early story).