Sultan’s Game – Smrtonosni ples karata i posljedica

• DEVELOPER: Double Cross
• IZDAVAČ: 2P Games
• PLATFORME: PC, Nintendo Switch
• ŽANR: Card-based simulation / Narrative
• DATUM IZLASKA: 30. ožujka 2025.
• POČETNA CIJENA: 24,50€
• RECENZIRANA VERZIJA: PC

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why Sultan’s Game has become such a phenomenon in China, but one thing’s certain, this card-based RPG is really fun. Unlike most games in the genre, it imposes few restrictions, giving you boundless freedom where every choice meaningfully impacts the eventual outcome. Blending moral choices, strategic depth, and dark humor with stunning artwork and an atmospheric soundtrack, it delivers a uniquely immersive experience. However, its brilliance is somewhat flawed by a steep learning curve and heavy RNG elements.

Sultan’s Game is a twisted love letter to The One Thousand and One Nights, casting you as a minister in the court of a sadistic Sultan who revels in toying with his subjects’ lives. This game blends deck-building, resource management, and narrative choice into a roguelike tale that’s as vibrant as it is vicious. Each week, you draw a card from the Sultan’s enchanted deck: Carnality, Extravagance, Conquer, or Bloodshed and have seven days to fulfill its demands or face execution.

High-Stakes Card Game

The heart of Sultan’s Game is its card-driven loop with a unique twist: you’re not just surviving, you’re scheming. Each week begins with drawing one of four Sultan Cards mentioned before, tiered from Stone to Gold, dictating your tasks:

• Carnality: Indulge in pleasures (seduce a consort, courtier, or even the queen).
• Extravagance: Spend lavishly (host feasts, shower gold on the masses).
• Conquer: Embark on dangerous quests (slay a dragon, raid a rival’s estate).
• Bloodshed: Sacrifice a life (kill a beggar, noble, or loved one).

The game challenges you with seven in-game days (each representing one turn) to fulfill your card’s tiered demands. Gold requires a high-value target, while Stone needs a more modest mark. You’ll navigate key locations like the court, bathhouse, and shadowy alleys, playing supplemental cards that represent allies, for example, your spouse or hired muscle, resources such as wealth, influence, gear, and secrets.

Your minister has three core stats: Intellect, Charm, and Might that determine their strengths and success chances. These start randomly (usually 2-4 each) and grow as you play, shaping how you handle challenges. Each action, like persuading, fighting, or trading requires a dice roll against a difficulty level, boosted by the relevant stat. Succeed to earn rewards; fail and you might lose resources, hurt allies, or trigger consequences. Allies also have their own stats, letting you assign tasks to cover weaknesses. But they can only help once per turn, and may die if things go wrong.

Your target won’t appear immediately, you’ll need to explore the map carefully to complete your mission. Every move counts: assign allies to gather intel, earn gold, or execute the Sultan’s grim orders, all while managing precious resources to stay ahead. Succeed, and time rewinds; fail, and you’ll lose your head, though earned Fates (meta-progression points) will give your next attempt an edge.

The game’s strategy revolves around managing your own ecosystem. Will you send your clever wife to spy at court while hiring a thug to rob a merchant for gold? Or will you use your skeleton advisor to poison a noble instead of killing them outright? Every choice has consequences: kill a rival, and their family may seek revenge; ignore wolves, and your people could die. The Fates system helps ease the difficulty, letting you earn points each run to unlock better starting cards, allies, or permanent upgrades like daily gold.

Choices Shape Your Fate

When the game clicks, it’s really fun, like turning certain failure into victory against all odds. But it’s not easy to learn. The short tutorial doesn’t explain important mechanics well, so expect to fail often at first. Bad luck can ruin your game immediately, like getting impossible early challenges, and progress feels too slow sometimes. There’s also no real combat, just text choices and dice rolls, which might disappoint some. Still, with many different endings (from staying loyal to becoming a rebel or even religious leader) and choices that actually matter, the game stays interesting for multiple playthroughs.

The game includes multiple difficulty options, with the easiest setting allowing card rerolls and more forgiving starts. However, balance issues remain, I once drew the same Bloodshed card three consecutive times with no alternative options. While I encountered numerous bugs initially, the developers have been diligently patching most issues. Key quality-of-life features are missing too: you can’t assign card types to specific hand slots, there are no hotkeys for quick organization, and you’re forced to sit through repetitive events without a skip option.

Most choice-driven games see players instinctively choosing the “good” path, whether out of empathy or because it’s typically the easiest option. But this game flips that dynamic. While committing terrible acts is often the quickest way to fulfill objectives, you’re never forced into evil, just pressured by the clock. With careful planning, you can succeed while staying true to your principles. Where other games offer superficial choices, here every decision carries weight, both in gameplay consequences and personal impact. It’s rare to find a game that challenges not just your strategy, but your character.

Everything pulls you into the game’s world: the moody music, beautiful card art, fancy game board, even the satisfying click sounds when you press buttons. The many interesting characters each have their own stories you can discover or change; they use classic story types that always work well. While many new stories try to avoid old-fashioned ideas, this game shows why they last: they just feel right. You get real control over how these stories unfold. It’s a masterclass in pulling you into its atmosphere.

Reactive Stories, Roguelike Soul

The writing is clever and darkly funny. Characters like the crazy Sultan or a wise-cracking skeleton named Methinks keep things interesting. What really stands out is how the game fuels your imagination; there’s no voice acting or cutscenes, just great writing and art that create a tabletop game feel. Sultan’s Game is also visually stunning, with a distinctive art style that immediately draws you in. It captures the erotic mysticism of Middle Eastern folklore, feeling like a roguelike version of One Thousand and One Nights full of style and intrigue.

However, its steep difficulty, unpredictable RNG, and mature content make it challenging for casual players or those sensitive to dark themes. Let’s not forget, you can kill any character in the game, no second chances. And with its endless replayability, no two playthroughs are ever the same. If you’re into games that just give you a lot of freedom, then Sultan’s Game should be on your radar.

Sultan’s Game offers truly unique gameplay, the only comparison that comes to mind is Cultist Simulator, though each excels in different ways. Sultan’s Game delivers a deeper, more reactive narrative where every choice matters and you actively shape your protagonist’s identity. The game often feels like it’s running on steroids, its dark humor blends perfectly with the already niche appeal. While it won’t be for everyone, it’s absolutely worth experiencing.

Recenzentski primjerak ustupio izdavač

4.3