If you’re a fan of Runescape‘s old-school aesthetic and don’t have a top-shelf gaming PC that can run the latest and greatest triple-A releases, then Inferni: Hope & Fear is the game for you. Made by developers with experience on Rust and Jagex’s epochal MMORPG, it combines the look of classic computer games with the cards of Magic: the Gathering, all in a four-player battle royale where spells fly at you from every angle.
It seems strange to describe a deck-building card game as a shooter, but when people are launching orbs at you from several directions, well, it’s like you’re a hectic gunfight. In Inferni: Hope & Fear you compete in multiplayer battles betwee four teams of two. There are several character archetypes that each come with a pre-made deck, and the action pauses regularly so that a draft of new cards can be drawn.
Each card is played as a spell, and that spell takes time to cast and then flies off toward your selected opponent as an orb. With everyone standing on the edge of the arena, it’s a bit like Hungry Hungry Hippos. You can cast defensive spells that help you absorb damage and even spells that interact with the orbs mid flight. Some make them go faster, giving their target less time to prepare a defense, while others double their damage or negate it entirely. You can even target yourself and your teammate, so there’s a surprising amount of strategy that goes into what looks like a simple game.
I played the demo last week and had a blast. I loved the Leather Man, a character dressed in a…’suit’ who specializes in spells that work better the lower his health is. There’s also a story revolving around destruction and hell and different realms, and you’ll be able to dig more into that when the game fully launches Monday, July 1st. In the meantime, you can play the free demo now. Just head right here.
If you want a more typical FPS game, then check out our list of the best on PC right now. Or, if you’re a fan of deckbuilders, you might like some of the best roguelike games, too.
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