A CCG and strategy game that doesn’t flop!

Floppy Knights is a top-down tactics game with a mix of CCG (Card Collecting Game) by Rose City Games. While you would expect the gameplay to be similar to Fire Emblem or even Final Fantasy Tactics, the twist here is that Floppy Knights adds a map element. Similar to how the popular NFT game called Axie Infinity implemented its combat system. Let’s take a look at the game’s strengths and weaknesses in this Floppy Knights review. Does it fall short of my expectations? Is it even fun to play? Let’s dive into the review quickly!

The simple act

You play as Phoebe, a talented inventor who wants to move out with her parents. Phoebe created the Floppy Knights, which she explained as tangible projections created through a combination of magic and computer code.

She wants to prove that she can handle herself without facing her parents’ boring magic job. Phoebe started the Floppy Knights so they could help her get odd jobs around town and make some money.

The gameplay

At the beginning you get a unit that acts as a leader. Once the leader dies, you would lose the level. Each Floppy Knight has individual stats such as HP (hit points), ATK (attack), SPD (speed), and RNG (random number generator). HP is the total health your character has, while Attack is the amount of damage it can inflict on a single enemy. SPD affects how many tiles your character can move, and RNG determines their attack range. You can identify your leader if the unit has a crown icon over the HP.

Each turn, the Commander/Leader generates (bound to) a special card for you to use. Accompanied by the special card, you draw five cards from your deck that you can use to move, strengthen, or command units to attack enemies. You have limited energy per turn, and each card use has a certain energy consumption, which makes players face more obstacles since you cannot play every card in your turn. Each unit also has one free attack per turn, but additional attacks using cards drain energy, so be careful. To add even more challenge, unused cards go into the trash can at the end of the round.

Each level has different objectives, and completing all of them will earn you more gold to expand your deck or buy powerful cards. Building your deck is the most important component in the game, as this will determine what cards you will receive and what moves you can make throughout the level. Make sure most of your cards play well with each other. The best cards in the game allow you to regenerate energy to ensure you have enough to make more moves during your turn. Last but not least, there are terrain bonuses that depend on the type of map you are playing. Units that receive bonuses usually contain additional armor that replaces your life points when you take damage.

Sound and visuals design

The sound design fits the overall theme of the game, which is light and bouncy in a way. From the trendy sound of the menu to the sound effects and the background music, everything fits together nicely.

The graphics won’t blow your mind, but you’ll learn to appreciate the game for what it is, a simple, fun, and cartoon-like art style that’s sure to please your eyes. The character designs look unique and even some of the floppy knights look cool I think, especially the monster knights. There are also multi-level designs based on the area you are exploring.

Will Floppy Knights captivate players?

While the gameplay and core mechanics are all polished, there is something about the game that doesn’t draw me in to invest more hours into it. The main obstacle for me was the limitation of the map system for a strategic game. There are times when you have to rely on the RNG gods to give you a good card, but you end up getting a bad one and losing the entire level. Unlike Final Fantasy Tactics or Disgaea, in Floppy Knights you can’t outclass enemies. The only way to pass levels is to understand the game and have multiple backup plans if the map you want doesn’t appear.

Regardless, for some people who are into strategic games with a touch of RNG like TFT (League of Legends Chess Game), this game is for you. It’s still a fun and unique game, although expect a steep learning curve once you decide to grab the game.

Verdict

This is Floppy Knights, a good game with a solid foundation for its deck building mechanics, and it all comes together nicely. From the cheerful graphics to the melodic sound design and its snappy gameplay. It’s not a revolutionary game by any means, but it’s a solid game nonetheless.

Floppy Knights is available now on Steam and Xbox One.

If you liked this review, check out some of our other reviews!

This review is based on the PC version of Trek to Yomi. The key was provided by Stride PR