Poker Deckbuilder With "Practical" Effects Instead Of Generic VFX

This is Deadhand Theater, a dark, turn-based roguelike deckbuilder that's something like Slay the Spire meets Balatro. It's set on a theatrical stage and turns poker cards into weapons, with every hand bringing its own unique combat properties.

In a recent update, developer Bag Track Games replaced particle flashes with 3D impact animations, making every hit feel more deliberate and fitting the game's style really well. It'd be interesting to know how this affects performance, how much the effects can be tweaked, and, of course, how they'll sound.

Apparently, a playtest is coming to Steam soon, with the release date to be announced later. In Deadhand Theater, there's no shortage of tools to help you craft your own performance. You'll collect and upgrade talismans to boost your combat abilities, refine your deck, and even make sacrifices with your own body to survive one more fight.

And there's more to come: items, unique modifiers, bonus levels, and different enemies across a variety of stage settings. Future updates will also add different starting decks and special characters, each with their own unique powers, along with meta progression that carries upgrades across runs.

Wishlist Deadhand Theater here. Need more interesting indie games to keep on your radar? Check out UNPAINTED, Orbitals, Stillsun Ark, sobosuba, Sandcastle, Psych Rift, and Wobble World.

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