I’ve played a variety of card and strategy games like Slay The Spire, Inscryption, Oaken, and even dabbled in competitive play with Hearthstone and Legends of Runeterra, as well as tabletop games like Dominion. This led me to discover Cross Blitz, a polished early-access game that creatively blends chess-like map exploration with RPG deck-building elements.
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Cross Blitz Overview
Cross Blitz is a unique fusion of several game mechanics from the titles I mentioned. It’s surprisingly cohesive and incredibly addictive, which explains why it has garnered over 50,000 wishlists on Steam. Let me share my initial impressions.
Graphics & Presentation
The game’s hexagonal map levels and character designs remind me of interactive chess pieces, adding a distinctive touch. The pixel art style, maps, and card arenas complement each other well, and the pirate theme gives it an alternate universe feeling, almost like One Piece. The card library is similar to other popular card games like Hearthstone and Legends of Runeterra. Each card and mercenary has its unique personality and theme, such as Pirate, Fortune, Balance, Pyro, and Poison, making it feel like collecting Pokemon cards.
Cross Blitz currently offers two game modes: Fables and Tusk Tales, each bringing its own flair.
Fables Gameplay
The dialogue and character artwork in Fables are well-done, though it lacks voice acting. Fables serves as the story mode, letting you embark on heroic adventures with five pirates. Upon starting, you can choose between two initially unlocked heroes – Violet and Redcroft. I chose Redcroft and immediately got hooked on the Pirate deck. The map-level design here reminded me of games like Oaken and Dorfromantik. The AI is quite challenging, making every victory rewarding.
Although I tend to skip dialogues in RPG card game adventures unless it’s a visual novel, I wish Fables had voice acting to make it more immersive. I heard Redcroft’s voice in the promo trailer, and adding voice acting to the early access roadmap would significantly enhance the experience.
Tusk Tales Gameplay
Tusk Tales’ map mechanics felt similar to Slay the Spire. This mode quickly became my favorite due to its endless replayability; each session can take 45 minutes to an hour, depending on your card game experience. Fans of Runeterra or Hearthstone will find Cross Blitz familiar and enjoyable.
I spent over an hour on my first run and was amazed by the number of unlockable mercenaries. After completing a run, you’re presented with a Mercenary screen showing about 20 more pirates to unlock. My reaction was, “Wait, there’s more?!”
For an early-access game, Cross Blitz feels complete, offering around 30+ hours of content even without the story mode. It allows you to explore hundreds of cards and freely experiment with building different decks.
The Verdict
Every win in Cross Blitz feels incredibly satisfying. It’s a fantastic single-player experience that merges RPG and strategy elements beautifully.