Thank you NIS America for sending us this game to review!

Culdcept originally released in 1997 on the Sega Saturn. It was later released on other platforms in Japan and the only Western release was on the PlayStation 2 in 2003. Culdcept Revolt is a fitting 20th anniversary release and it looks great on the 3DS.

The story isn’t very remarkable, but it serves the purpose in teaching you the basics of how this board/card game works. Your male character whom you get to name is an amnesiac who is taken in by a rebel group call the “Free Bats.” As it turns out, magic users called culdcepts are being hunted down and they want to escape the walled city for their freedom/safety. There are many henchmen of the count who want to wipe out the remaining culdcepts before they can ever escape.

In the beginning, you have to play the quest maps, but once you complete the tutorial levels, you’ll unlock the computer, local, and online battles. Up to four people can play and like many games, the more the merrier. Sadly, there are not many online matches to join, but at least you get a free card/gift for connecting online every day.

The board game aspect reminds me a lot of Monopoly. To win the game you must accumulate a set amount of magic/money. Magic is earned by collecting tolls on your properties and by passing through gates and making laps around the game board. Properties have elemental values to them and the creatures you summon there have neutral or elemental affinities as well. It’s best to match creatures and properties with the same element. Having multiple properties causes a chain effect to make your offense even more powerful. When you first summon a creature, they will be fatigued until a lap is completed.

When landing on an occupied property you can pay the toll or fight the creature guarding it. If the attacker wins, the territory will become theirs. If the attacker cannot afford to pay the toll, they will have to sell their properties until they can do so. Fighting is only possible if you have a creature in your hand. Along with creatures, your hand may consist of various power-ups that will increase the strength, health, or fighting order of your combatant. At the beginning of your turn, a card is drawn and you can only hold a maximum of six in your hand. Any extra cards will have to be discarded at the end of your turn.

Besides power-up cards there are also strategic ones you can use. There are cards available that let you preemptively attack an enemy from anywhere on the map. Other cards let you alter the number of dice or total result of them for any player. These cards can come in handy by forcing people to land on your territory or to slow them down from reaching a gate.

The cards in your book make or break your performance in-game. The starter books are nice, but eventually you’ll want to customize them with card packs you purchase in the shop with in-game money. The more expensive the card pack, the higher the chances of better cards inside of them. You can sell unwanted cards. The card books can be duplicated and customized to your heart’s content. The online DLC shop that uses real currency lets you customize the game further with various cosmetic changes for the book covers, dice, and so forth.

As you progress in the story mode you’ll unlock various AI characters to play against. Some of them are rather formidable opponents. If your friends own a copy of the game you can play against them too if they are online or nearby.

Before considering this game for yourself or your friends to play, take note of these moral issues within it. Like many fantasy games there are undead creatures and magic spells used. Some of the monsters are undead and all of them have to be summoned to protect their territories. Some of the creatures like the male Amazon have an aversion to clothing. There are some female characters can use more attire as well. Last but not least, there is some mild language (d*mn, d*mmit, hell) in the game.

In the end, Culdcept Revolt is a solid strategy card/board game. It’s well polished on the 3DS and the background music and voice acting is well done on it. I’m not a fan of the paid DLC, but there is plenty of free DLC available as well. I hope that multiplayer grows for this title, but until then I’m having fun playing against the AI.