Game Reviews

Cardinal Quest 2

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| Cardinal Quest 2
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Cardinal Quest 2
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| Cardinal Quest 2

Cardinal Quest 2 plays by the mobile roguelike rule book.

It's simple to control, its square-cornered pixel-art graphics are easy on the eye, and it definitely sits on the cruel side of the difficulty spectrum.

You poke your way around a top-down fantasy world swinging a sword or casting spells to cut down swathes of goblins, bandits, werewolves, and other creatures.

There are potions, suits of armour, magical weapons, extra powers, and loot-filled chests, and it all bimbles along with the urgency you'd expect.

But there's nothing really new here, just the same swipes, taps, and randomly generated grind that you've seen a handful of times before.

Cardinal sins

You move around the fantasy world by pushing on the screen in the direction you want to head. You push up against foes to attack them.

These scraps are sort of turn based, with your attacks and powers recharging over short periods of time. Likewise, the potions you drink to buff up your stats only last for a matter of seconds, so it's best to down them when a fight breaks out.

Each of the characters you unlock behaves in a slightly different way, and a variety of different perks can alter the play a little more.

But only a little. The shuffling rhythm of the action never really alters that much. And while the game tries to keep things fresh, the different styles and classes just aren't different enough.

And that problem is compounded by the vague and slightly ineffectual controls. You don't always head in the direction for which you're aiming, for one. Sometimes, however, you're not sure whether your blows are landing or you're just standing still and taking a beating.

A bit too roguelike

When Cardinal Quest 2 gets into its well-worn groove, it's a perfectly acceptable roguelike. And there's enough new content, characters, and levels to unlock to keep you playing for a good long while.

But that play just isn't robust enough to really spark the imagination, and the subject matter just isn't different enough from the swathes of other fantasy roguelikes on the App Store.

Cardinal Quest 2

Cardinal Quest 2 does most things perfectly well, but it doesn't carve out enough of an identity for itself to really stand out
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.