Storybook Brawl, from developer Goodluck Games, follows in the footsteps of Hearthstone Battlegrounds to blend the popular auto-battler genre with more traditional card game elements. While a steep learning curve makes the game initially intimidating, the ability to practice against AI and clear signposts for where a specific game’s build is heading help make for a compelling title that has a lot of promise moving forward, too.
For those unfamiliar with the genre, Storybook Brawl sees players select from a pool of heroes before a game begins, each with a special ability that helps dictate the cards they’ll be interested in and the way their game will play out. Initially, players will only be able to select from two heroes randomly, with an option to purchase one of another two heroes using one of two in-game currencies. Free currency is a little difficult to come by overall, especially given the depth of the pool of heroes available in the game’s early access on Steam, but there is a nice tradeoff in that none of the heroes feel particularly useless. That helps make limitations on who to select more palpable for new players.
Once the game begins properly, it’s highly reminiscent of Hearthstone Battlegrounds, an obvious main source of inspiration for the title. Iterations on that gameplay make Storybook Brawl stand out, however. Players have two rows to play cards on, with priority given to the front row of characters. The back row offers some nuance to strategy, with some characters offering bonuses to ones directly in front of them. Others don’t obviously want to be in the back row but, as a player grows more familiar, it will become clear they’re better-suited to it; similar experiences occur with proper itemization, treasure usage, and combat organization.
Storybook Brawl can feel like a lot at first, in a way that Battlegrounds doesn’t. That initial learning curve gives way to a game that has a lot more depth to it, however. Turns have a complexity to them that makes it feel like there was nearly always something a player might have done better with a bit more information or time for deliberation. This in turn gives Storybook Brawl that much-needed “one more game” factor that free-to-play experiences like these often live or die by. Even in the midst of a brutal losing streak, the game offers lessons to learn and modes of improvement that will entice fans of strategy.
Storybook Brawl‘s deceptive complications are most reminiscent of Magic: The Gathering, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to those familiar with the team behind the game – its comprised of former professional players, and the DNA of the card game is adamantly built on a similar formula of dizzying tactics fueled by just enough randomization that a worse opponent might still steal a game with some luck.
For an early access title, Storybook Brawl also runs incredibly smoothly. Its portraits and character designs are excessively charming, and the lore that they draw on – often from real-world mythologies and fairy tales – makes them familiar enough to enjoy even the more generous interpretations. Ultimately, Storybook Brawl appears to have the right formula for a long run as a potential strategic giant; how it proceeds in the next three, six, or even nine months will highlight just how potent its mix of auto-battling and card strategy really is.
Storybook Brawl is available in Steam early access now. Screen Rant was provided with bonus in-game currency for the purpose of this preview.
