Take the best roguelike deckbuilders such as Slay the Spire, Wildfrost, and recent hits Cobalt Core and Balatro, and combine them with the brutal survival elements of The Long Dark, Frostpunk 2, or Enshrouded, and you have new co-op card game Azoove. Just released on Steam, this new roguelike game from developer Timeless Toucan brings a unique twist to the format with periodic co-op that sees you routinely cut off completely from your allies, leaving you to work independently until you can regroup.
Azoove is a roguelike deckbuilder that’s been designed to work both as a digital and tabletop game, although it’s been launched first via Steam Early Access to help balance the game as Timeless Toucan works on the final version. Drawing from the best roguelike games, you and your allies will have to scout out on perilous expeditions that change every time in an attempt to reach the fountain city of Miz’rak, where you must seal away an evil cursed book threatening your village.
It’s a journey fraught with danger, so you’ll need to gather rations and supplies, scout carefully to ensure you’re continuing in the right direction, and take steps to ensure your party’s stress and despair levels don’t grow too high. You’ll play a series of action cards each round to help achieve this goal, which you can also exchange with your teammates to better optimize the use of the limited resources at your disposal, or share information with them.
Crucially, however, you’ll sometimes be cut off from your allies. Communication between players is cut off for half of every round, meaning you’ll have to rely on the limited information you already have to help overcome the disasters in your way, featuring everything from sandstorms and floods to golems, giant bears, and even more mystical threats besides. That means you’ll be able to strategize and plan while you’re together, but will need to make your own decisions while out and about.
Azoove is out now on Steam in early access. There’s also a Steam sale giving you 10% off until April 14, so expect to pay $11.69/£9.89 if you buy it now. It currently supports two-player online co-op along with solo play, although the 1.0 version is expected to support up to four players. Timeless Toucan says the game is expected to be ready for its full release in 2025, at which point Azoove will also be launched in its finished form as a physical tabletop game as well.
We’ve rounded up even more of the best co-op games if you can’t get enough of the spirit of working together, along with the best survival games to play in 2024.
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