Yes, there are a lot of roguelike deckbuilding games available right now; that much is true. There seems to be a near constant stream of them, with a wide range of subject matter, play style and mechanics despite the genre feeling somewhat overcrowded. We’ve checked out another new example of a roguelike deckbuilding game: The Spirit Lift. Is it worth checking out? Let’s take a look, with our review of The Spirit Lift!

What is The Spirit Lift?

So yes, we’ve already established that roguelike deckbuilders are ten a penny these days, but The Spirit Lift really does have a unique take on the genre. There’s light elements of role playing, with putting together a small team of characters who each have their own personalities and a deck of appropriate “weapons” and objects to take into the hotel. There’s the fact that you explore each floor of the hotel in first person, much like (and I’m showing my age here) long-forgotten video game classics, Dungeon Master or Eye of the Beholder. Collecting evidence, as well as piecing together clues or finding surprising interactions with the environment.

Of course, there are card-based combat encounters too, against a variety of supernatural entities. Don’t be expecting too much in the way of horror here; there’s a distinctly Ghostbusters-esque style to the weird menagerie of apparitions you’ll be taking on. With its teen cast and ghostly goings-on, The Spirit Lift is not unlike Goosebumps, a less comedic Scooby-Doo or Stranger Things with deckbuilding.

Is The Spirit Lift Fun to Play?

One of the best things about The Spirit Lift is how it establishes such a great ambience so quickly. It achieves this with a consistently excellent visual style and a fantastic soundtrack, which perfectly sets the tone. It’s gently spooky and atmospheric without actually being scary or horrifying; to clarify, that’s not a bad thing, by any means.

The gameplay is also refreshingly unique too, in terms of navigation at least. The grid-based, first person exploration is really well implemented, with a helpful map. It’s certainly a big step up from the usual “points-on-a-branching-path” method found in most roguelike My only complaint when it comes to exploring is that it takes far too long to get the opportunity to visit a shop as you ascend the floors of the hotel. They’re few and far between, which means you don’t get as many upgrades or new gear in comparison to other deckbuilding games.

That said, the gear and upgrades are really well done, with characters such as the artist granting access to paints and other art supplies, as you can see above. There’s a nice sense of progression, and with characters, as well as new cards, gear and other upgrades to unlock as you play each run, there’s a lot to discover. It might not take long to complete a run, certainly when you consider how long it takes to finish a run in, say, Slay the Spire or Balatro for the first time.

Though it might not feel as challenging to play, the floor-based exploration really lends itself to longer play sessions and gives you the chance to soak in its gently spooky vibes. Tooltips are generally on hand when you need them, and they’re pretty helpful too, giving The Spirit Lift a nicely accessible feel to non-veterans of deckbuilding roguelikes.

The card-based combat mechanics themselves aren’t particularly unique, though there’s some clever stuff done with combos, statuses and the way that multiple-enemy encounters plays out. However, those same encounters can’t help but feel repetitive at times, in terms of the types of enemy that’ll be battling your team of teens.

It’s worth noting that The Spirit Lift works brilliantly on the Steam Deck, and is ideally suited to playing on a portable console too.

The Card Gamer Verdict

The Spirit Lift is available on Steam now:

Check out our reviews of other spooky, digital card games, such as Out of Hands and Hungry Horrors.