As a combination of roguelike and deck building, “Alina of the Arena” offers a challenging game mix. Because in order to master the gladiator fights with card attacks, brains are required.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s “The Binding of Isaac” or “Hades”: Roguelike titles have now become more established in the video game scene than almost any other genre. “Alina of the Arena” combines the whole thing with deck building à la “Hearthstone”. A combination that has it all.
The game’s story is not very complicated and is already explained by the title. In the role of a gladiator named Alina, players compete in an arena. This is where the genre mix comes into play: on the one hand, the game offers an almost infinite number of computer-generated levels full of enemies, but on the other hand, it also offers the many tactical combinations of deck building games.
As a gladiator you find yourself in the middle of a hexagonal playing field where hordes of enemies surround you. However, which cards together lead to effective attacks is more indicated than explained in detail. So you find out a lot more through frequent losing and new beginnings. But this is intentional.
Because with every attempt you learn something new, for example how best to position yourself on the map and how to take the ever-stronger opponents out of the game. In return, you get useful equipment and upgrades for the character classes.
As for the graphic style, “Alina of the Arena” relies on simple but effective pixelated visuals with no frills. The quite difficult fights are likely to make some people despair at the beginning of the game. But as long as you are up to the challenge of “Alina of the Arena”, both roguelike connoisseurs and ambitious beginners should have fun with the game, which lasts more than ten hours.
“Alina of the Arena” is available for PC and Mac via Steam and costs around 13 euros.
