Images courtesy of Humble Bundle
It’s a great time to be a fan of digital deckbuilding games; there a plethora of excellent titles available on just about any platform you can think of, with sequels to two of the best known and most highly regarded deckbuilders, Slay the Spire 2 and Monster Train 2, announced and on their way too.
If you’re stuck as to which deckbuilding games you want to try next, Humble Bundle has got your back. Right now, thanks to Humble’s Deckbuilder Bonanza bundle, you can get your hands on six deckbuilders for the PC (all of which are Steam Deck compatible) for just $20. Considering that together, these six games would normally set you back around $150, that is a serious bargain!
So what’s in the bundle? Let’s take a look.
Ash of Gods: The Way
A gorgeous game with superb animation and visual design, Ash of Gods: The Way is a story driven, tactical combat game in which units, equipment, and abilities are brought into play with two decks of cards (characters and support), each of which can be refined as you progress through the campaign.
It’s based around the concept of The Way; a wargame that an enemy nation is using to teach their young warriors the art of war. Your character is tasked with learning how to play The Way, against the enemy’s commanders, and stop them from invading your homeland.
Backpack Hero
It feels like a bit of a stretch to call Backpack Hero a deckbuilding game, though it does have many elements that’ll be familiar to fans of the deckbuilding roguelike genre. In Backpack Hero, you must manage your inventory of items according to the space you have in your backpack; if it doesn’t fit, you must leave it behind.
If you think of items in your backpack as cards, and the backpack itself as your deck, the careful arrangement of them to make use of different synergies can, at times, make Backpack Hero feel somewhat like a deckbuilder. Its map exploration and Slay the Spire-style telegraphed combat also helps to reinforce that feeling, though it’s the least card game-esque title in the bundle overall.
Death Roads: Tournament
Most deckbuilding games can feel quite deliberately paced, especially given their turn-based nature and the fact that you’re able to take your time to make your next move at any point. Though the turn-based elements remain in Death Roads: Tournament, its post-apocalyptic, Mad Max-meets-Slay the Spire action feels incredibly fast paced and impactful. There’s a great sense of speed and hard hitting combat, with a fantastic selection of vehicles to equip with weapons and move cards you can build into your deck. Death Roads: Tournament is a superbly designed, unique deckbuilding game which steps away from the usual fantasy, sword and sorcery formula to bring players something that feels incredibly original, despite having familiar deckbuilding, roguelike tropes.
Fights in Tight Spaces
Speaking of non-fantasy deckbuilders, Fights in Tight Spaces is another one to add to the list. Its incredible, silhouette and white background style is reminiscent of time delay FPS SuperHot, as are the action movie-style scenes you’ll need to battle through. Using your deck of attack and move cards, you’ll take down assailants in various small arenas (the titular tight spaces), and also use the environment against your enemies. It’s a superb game; Fights in Tight Spaces is an excellent addition to any card gamer’s digital library.
Hadean Tactics
We’ve already covered Ash of Gods: The Way, which features grid-based tactical combat, and Hadean Tactics features a similar melding of deckbuilding and battling. However, the timer and auto-battling, pseudo-real time combat in Hadean Tactics sets it apart, as does the strong focus on building up a party of unique characters.
Hellcard
With a unique pop-up storybook aesthetic, Hellcard is a lot more charming than its title would initially suggest. Hellcard is also unique among the games in the bundle due to its co-operative and online elements, as well as its almost tower defense-style, card driven combat.
Which brings us to the end of the list of six games available as part of Humble’s Deckbuilder Bonanza. With a percentage of each purchase’s proceeds going to charity (in this case, The ESA Foundation), fans can pay what they want, with the $20 price being the minimum cost for all six games.
The Deckbuilder Bonanza bundle is on sale until the 7th of March, 2025, and can be purchased here.
Check out other digital deckbuilding games in our list of the 5 card games on Steam you should play, and take a look at our review of the tabletop version of Slay the Spire.
