There are deckbuilders. There are turn-based tactics games. Then there’s StarVaders—a mutant hybrid of both, duct-taped to a mech suit and flung headfirst into a neon apocalypse. Developed by Pengonauts and published by Joystick Ventures and Playworks, StarVaders asks a big question: what if Slay the Spire crashed headfirst into Advance Wars inside a Saturday morning mech anime?
It’s a game that takes some time to get your bearings in, but once it clicks, you’ll find a tactical sandbox bursting with options, risk, and utterly broken card combos. It’s smart, stylish, and brutally punishing in the best way—if you’re the kind of player who wants every decision to matter.
🧠 Mechs, Decks, and Deep Strategy
At its core, StarVaders is a roguelike deckbuilding tactics game. You command one of three mechs—each with its own flavor of destruction—across a grid-based battlefield where positioning, momentum, and card synergy determine survival.
Each mech isn’t just a stat sheet or aesthetic; it comes bundled with its own ecosystem of pilot abilities, core cards, and mechanics. The Gunner Mech showers the map in bullets and splash damage, while the Stinger Mech plays like a glass-cannon ninja, darting in for quick kills and vanishing before retaliation. The Keeper Mech, meanwhile, leans heavily into summoning and spellcasting, essentially turning the battlefield into a slow-burn game of area control.
Cards power everything. Movement. Attacks. Defensive buffs. Area control. Positioning. Mech abilities. It’s not enough to have a good card—you need to know when to play it, where to stand, and who to aim it at. The result? Every turn is a puzzle wrapped in a risk/reward gamble.
And just when you think you’ve misplayed your way into a corner, StarVaders lets you flip the table—literally—with Chrono Tokens, a mechanic that lets you rewind time a few turns and undo your mistakes. It’s a brilliant system that keeps the stakes high without being cruel. You’ll still pay for poor planning, but you’re not locked into a failed run because of a single error three turns ago.
🃏 Card Combinations and Buildcrafting
With over 400+ unique cards and artifacts, there’s a near-infinite number of ways to break the game—and that’s by design.
Where many deckbuilders rely on synergy across archetypes, StarVaders thrives on the raw chaos of combo chaining. A buff card that gives you extra damage for moving can be paired with a dash card that triggers AoE on landing. Add in a passive that grants shield after every third card, and you’ve built a movement-based kill machine that dances through the battlefield untouched.
Buildcrafting here is about discovering broken combos—then surviving long enough to exploit them. Artifacts augment mechanics in unexpected ways, pushing your builds into wild territory. It rewards experimentation and creative problem-solving, especially on higher difficulties.
📈 Progression That Scales With You
StarVaders doesn’t stop at “beat the boss, unlock a card.” It scales with the player.
Each completed run unlocks new pilots, cards, and even harder variants of existing enemies. With ten pilots, each offering a twist to the game’s systems (new card types, stat modifiers, even mechanic overhauls), the meta stays in flux. No two runs feel alike, and there’s real incentive to revisit familiar maps with a fresh loadout.
And once you’re past the main story campaign? StarVaders throws in Challenge Modes, Daily Runs, and ascending difficulty levels to test your endurance. The difficulty curve climbs fast—but it’s a fair climb.
✏️ Aesthetic and Presentation
The visual style walks the tightrope between retro anime vibes and modern clarity. Pixel art mechs bounce with chunky animation. Enemy designs are readable but distinct. Explosions are satisfying. The UI is clean, intuitive, and streamlined—there’s no need for a 30-minute tutorial or external wiki to understand how anything works.
That’s not to say the game is easy to master. It isn’t. But it feels accessible in a way that many tactics games don’t. You can pick it up and understand the basics fast. Mastery? That’s another 20+ hours down the line.
❌ What Doesn’t Work
StarVaders isn’t without its hiccups.
- Learning Curve: New players may feel overwhelmed. There’s a tutorial, but it barely scratches the surface. Expect to lose your first few runs while fumbling with the systems.
- Repetition Risk: While the procedurally generated maps and random card pulls add variety, some mission structures start to blur together. Without strong narrative beats mid-run, a few hours in can feel like déjà vu.
- Balance Woes: Some cards and pilot combos are clearly stronger than others. You’ll find a few overpowered synergies early that can trivialize large chunks of content—until the game spikes in difficulty and punishes you for coasting.
- Monetization Watch: While the in-game purchases for cards aren’t required, they can make progression feel uneven. It’s not fully pay-to-win, but there’s enough incentive to raise a brow.
🧪 Should You Play It?
If the words “tactical grid-based deckbuilder with mechs” make your pulse quicken, then yes—StarVaders is worth your time. The core gameplay is satisfying, strategic, and addictive. There’s enough complexity under the hood to keep veterans engaged, and just enough accessibility for newer players to get their footing (eventually).
💸 Should You Buy It?
At full price, StarVaders delivers excellent value for fans of the genre. Between the single-player campaign, randomized runs, and challenge content, there’s easily 50+ hours of potential gameplay. But if you’re not a fan of roguelikes or tactical deckbuilders, this probably won’t be the game to convert you.
That said, it’s not a casual game. You’ll need to invest time and effort to get the most out of it. Expect to lose. Expect to rewind. Expect to come back with a better strategy—and then dominate.
StarVaders: StarVaders is a brilliant fusion of deckbuilding, tactics, and mech combat, wrapped in a polished roguelike package. It’s as much about building the perfect hand as it is about maneuvering on a grid. Every turn matters. Every mistake has weight. Every combo has potential. Yes, there are rough edges. Yes, you’ll probably rage-quit a run or two. But once the game clicks—once you pull off your first triple-dash into a reactive bomb chain that wipes the map in one hand of cards—you’ll understand why StarVaders has cult-favorite potential. – Obsidian
