Rainbow Legends: Review of a Card Game with Good Premises but Mediocre Representation

While narration in this game primarily serves as a framework for the roguelike experience, guiding the player through various adventures, random encounters, and paths that intertwine with the peculiarities of the available classes, it does contribute to the lore. Each character has their own background and faces a series of events that help give personality to the game's universe, but the true protagonist remains the strategic gameplay, with narrative progression mainly unfolding through runs and unlockable content.

Rainbow Legends is a 2D Risk

Rainbow Legends' gameplay revolves around a very simple idea: conquer and maintain control of territory. Each combat takes place on a grid composed of squares that can be occupied, defended, or contested by the two factions. The cards used by the player are not exclusively for attacking or defending, but also allow for modifying the battlefield, placing special structures, and influencing the control of various zones. The damage dealt at the end of each turn also depends on the difference in controlled territory between the contenders, a mechanic that makes managing available space fundamental.

As in any roguelike deck builder, the player starts with a limited deck that is progressively expanded during the game. After each victory, it's possible to obtain new cards, relics, and power-ups that allow for customizing one's playstyle. The choice of rewards becomes crucial, because an seemingly modest card can become devastating when combined with certain relics or class abilities.

The available classes offer very different approaches. Some specialize in combos and duplicating attacks, others focus on rapid territorial conquest, while still others prefer creating structures or summoning units that influence the battlefield over the turns. This variety significantly alters the pace of matches and encourages experimentation, greatly increasing replayability. 

Outside of combat, the player traverses branching paths rich with random events, special encounters, shops, puzzles, and bosses. Each run presents different variables that force continuous strategy modification. There is no universal build capable of guaranteeing victory in every situation: the game rewards adaptability and the ability to make effective decisions based on the opportunities offered by the current game.

The true strength of Rainbow Legends' gameplay lies precisely in the union of deck building and territorial control. While many genre exponents focus exclusively on hand and resource management, here every card must also be evaluated in terms of its position on the field and the strategic advantage it can guarantee in the long term. This makes each clash more tactical and less predictable, offering surprising depth that distinguishes the title from most of its competitors. 

The fact that it's well-designed on paper doesn't make it immune to situations that quickly become annoying. A crazy balance, cards that are not very incisive, not very diversified, and mechanics that squeeze very little out of your imagination, for a final result that doesn't stimulate players' imagination, even for those who have the desire to be