Seoul Exorcist 1111 is a stylish deckbuilder RPG in a hurry. Does its impatience cause it to stumble? Read our review to find out more.
Deckbuilder games may feel like they’ve reached saturation point, but as with any other sub-genre, there’s plenty of room for experimentation, and provided you go looking for it, you’ll find that.
I must admit it wasn’t something I was all that enthused about until Firaxis’ Midnight Suns awoke my interest in it—one of many lovely surprises with that game.
And turn-based games seem especially suited to it. Likely because of the shared DNA with tabletop games and their wait your turn nature. It gives you a moment to study your deck and make an informed choice. In truth, it’s just a fancy way of choosing between semi-random moves, but the tweak to the formula is compelling.
Seoul Exorcist 1111 adds a touch of chaos to that formula. There’s a strict 7-minute time limit to defeat every enemy on a run, and enemies make their move as soon as you do. It takes a turn-based approach, adding urgency and pace to the gameplay.
Using an anime-infused visual style, Seoul Exorcist 1111 is viewed from a 2D perspective, tasking you with the role of the ultimate exorcist, where you purge evil not by twirling rosaries and citing biblical verses. Nah, you save the cursed by beating the crap out of them. That style, Seoul Exorcist 1111, is a visual delight every time you make a move, with high jumps leaving your character suspended in the air for a moment before launching a flashy ground attack—or summoning chain lightning to cook foes in unison. Big screen or small, Seoul Exorcist 1111 is an eye-catcher.
Seoul Exorcist 1111 Review: Decking Demons
There are four characters to choose from, each with eight unique attacks, and two passive traits. The characters have just enough differences about them to make experimentation worthwhile, and given a run, successful or not, it’s only a swift seven minutes, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to try.
In those 7 minutes, you face seven maps’ worth of foes and polish it off with the climactic boss battle, provided you get that far. If you fall, the whole thing is reset, but there’s a bit of roguelite in there to alleviate the potential for frustration. If you clear a map 3 times, you unlock some progress. There are also coins to collect, which help build out your deck with stronger cards.
And you’ll need to build a better deck because this isn’t seven minutes in heaven. You’re pretty powerful, but your demonically possessed foes are capable of knocking the blessings out of you. As you progress, you’re given a set of upgrade cards to choose from that enhance your power and grow your arsenal of demon-bashing abilities. By combining the right character traits, items, and cards, you can create cocktails of combative chaos that can wipe out multiple demons in one go.
And that’s a compelling hook. Finding what works with what well, trying it out, and seeing the flashy results is not only pleasing the first time, but with the variety and fast-paced nature of Seoul Exorcist 1111, each discovery is a snack-sized joy.
The rapid stylings of Seoul Exorcist 1111 mean it’s not an exceptionally long game, and there’s a point where its style overrides the gameplay loop, but I’d had a good time out of it by then, and it had almost run its course anyhow.
The beauty of it’s that it’s simple, bite-sized, and visually appealing. All of which make it a refreshing spin on deckbuilders and turn-based games.
Score: 7/10 – Good
Developer: Snow Games
Publisher: Snow Games
Reviewed on: PC
Seoul Exorcist 1111 review code purchased by review author.
Seoul Exorist 1111 is available now on PC via Steam
