Gwent

GENRE: Free to play Card Collecting Game
PLATFORM: PC, PS4, Xbox One
DEVELOPER: CD PROJEKT RED

SYNOPSIS

Designed originally for the single player RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as an optional card game that allowed players to collect cards and play with various characters, It became such a huge hit that the demand for it to become a standalone CCG is what spurred on the final production of Gwent.

MAIN FEATURES

- 5 playable factions
- Hundreds of collectable cards
- Unique resource-free mechanics
- Best of 3 rounds
- Deckbuilder and card crafting
- Free to play

THE GAME

A 1v1 card battle Gwent has elements of other classic card collecting games but has its own unique mechanics, twist and detailed lore based on The Witcher franchise. In a game the board itself is separated into two sides of the battlefield and each side has three rows for Melee, Ranged and Siege cards; players will fill up these rows each turn by drawing cards in their hand from their own deck, with each card having a combat value and many have specific abilities. The culmination of the cards placed on the battlefield determines the number of points a player has, if they have more points through direct cards, or combo multipliers, then they are winning the round and both players take it in turn to place cards until one passes. Whoever has the highest score at the end of the round wins, the winner of the game must win two out of three games.

The strategy with the game is that players begin with almost all the cards they will get for the entirety of the game, drawing 10 cards initially players choose which cards they want to play as, unlike many other card games, players don’t need to spend any resources to place a card, making it feel more like a traditional card game as opposed to a Trading Card Game. In round two players will draw two new cards into their hand, which consists of the cards they have left over from round one, and in round three will draw one more card; tactically players can choose to lose a round and try to force their opponent to use up their cards and resources if the player feels they have the cards needed to guarantee a later round.

FACTIONS

There are currently five factions available in the game, each of which allows players to create their own deck using cards that reflect how these factions are within the lore and background of The Witcher, and in turn determines the types of strategy and play style that a player needs to adopt:

Nilfgaard – Relying on subterfuge and diplomacy, the deck is able to use Spies that they plant behind enemy lines that can reveal their opponent’s cards and sabotage them even before they’ve had the chance to be played

Monsters – The realm of The Witcher is filled with monstrous terrors, which players can take control of; attacking en masse and using their Breed ability to increase their number, they rely on brute strength and the ability to consume their own and absorb their strength

Skellige – Seeking glory in death this fearsome people will willingly sacrifice their units to the Graveyard on purpose and bring them back from the afterlife stronger than before through their priestesses powers, and use their warriors who grow in strength the more damage they have taken

Northern Realms – An organized military they use their commanders on the front line to inspire and reinforce their numbers, boosting strengths and helping them overcome the various debuffing conditions that opponent’s may try to inflict on them and promote them to a veteran Gold status soldier

Scoia’tael – Agile, sneaky and cunning, the Scoia’tael can outmanoeuvre their foes in a number of ways, setting cards face down as traps to be sprung at the right time, they can also quickly bolster their number by quickly raising new Commandos, stoic and zealous combatants that have great power

DECK BUILDING

Players are able to build their deck with a simple to use deck builder that will allow players to quickly manage their many collectable cards and form them into various tactical decks. As well as earning cards through gameplay and booster packs, players will also be able to craft cards as well to ensure they can get access to those much needed units and abilities.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Currently Unknown