Culdcept Begins – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Review

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Review
S2

Culdcept Begins (Switch 2) Review

8

It’s all fun and games until you’re dealt multiple critical failures in a row

The last time we saw Culdcept was on the 3DS, in a game that was published by Nintendo in Japan but brought over by NIS America in the west. But it came out post-Switch, so if you played it, go high-five Donald, who reviewed it for us back in 2017. Culdcept Begins is a brand new game in the series, making its way out on Switch and Switch 2. The series is known for being wildly complex, combining all sorts of board game, card game, and RPG mechanics into a niche franchise. The “Begins” part of the game is important here because while this does settle into the series’ nearly 30-year history, it does a good enough job to be an introductory point for the Culdcept curious out there.

I loosely fall into that category, having spent some time with that 3DS release (I haven’t seen Donald in person since then, so we haven’t high-fived about it), but aside from typically enjoying the fusion of video games and tabletop games, I can’t claim any major familiarity with the long history of the series. That being said, I never felt lost because the tutorial is both gentle and well-paced throughout the tutorial-esque Story Mode. It slowly introduces the basic concepts of moving around boards, claiming territory, and fighting battles before tossing you into harder story levels and then opening up the world of computer and online matches.

The story involves Kamru, the son of the legendary Cepter named Origin, going on a journey of discovery after transferring to the Royal Cept Academy. I’m not going to lie: the story was not something I focused on, as I am here for the strategy elements. Still, the presentation is fine and not all that obtrusive if you’re like me. The art style is a swerve for the series, but not having major ties to the world, I actually like the new art style. It is, however, a sizable departure for the franchise. What I like about it is that it is still serious enough to tell the game’s dramatic fantasy story, but it’s cartoony and playful enough to fit into the board game structure. It helps to emphasize gameplay elements well, drawing attention to the right areas at the right time. On Switch 2, the visuals look great and the game as a whole runs well. I cannot vouch for the Switch 1 version, but unless it’s horrifically optimized, I’d expect it to run okay.

While Culdcept has changed a bit since the 2010s, what hasn’t changed is the murderous random number luck. So much of the game is reliant on dice-roll luck and after a tutorial that is seemingly engineered to be a series of near misses, the game that unrolls after that often feels like you offended some Greek god of video games who has made it his business to repeatedly stab you in the back with the wrong roll at the wrong time. I won’t claim to be a Culdcept master, but I’ve been around the block with games of all shapes, sizes, screens, and boards. Skill can help make up for some rotten dice roll luck, but it feels overly punishing at times.

That all being said, Culdcept Begins does a good job of giving you recommendations and options to change up your deck to try to get over the hump of RNG hell. Your 40-card deck is highly customizable and in short order, you can gain access to troves of cards. A collectible card game element opens up as part of the game’s overall goal is to acquire all the cards. All of the card management is intuitive and wound up being way less overwhelming than I expected. It’s easy to experiment with different builds, digging into different synergies that you can open up with specific cards.

The Story Mode features a relatively straightforward multi-chapter tale, bolstered by some beefy side quest battles, but the legs of the game are found in multiplayer. I didn’t get the opportunity to dabble in online, but I played against the computer and experimented with the Switch 2’s GameShare functionality. It works very well and for this type of more in-depth strategy game, it’s an excellent match for GameShare if you have a Switch 1 still around or a friend who you want to try to ensnare into the world of Culdcept.

Culdcept Begins is the best opportunity to experience a brand new Culdcept game fully in the west since the days of the Xbox 360 (as I said, the 3DS game came out in a post-Switch world; that wasn’t a fair shake!). It’s a surprisingly user-friendly version of a complex game that does a great job of teaching you the basics and occasionally kicking you in the face with its random-number reliance. The single-player content is a great tutorial with a little extra, but the breadth of this game is in the customizable card decks and the potential long legs of multiplayer, be it locally or online. This is likely the most approachable Culdcept has been in English-speaking countries ever, and thankfully it’s an enjoyable, somewhat-streamlined version of it.

Summary

Pros

• Engrossing board game RPG gameplay
• GameShare multiplayer
• Interesting side quests
• Well-paced tutorial

Cons

• RNG will make you cry
• Story Mode is mostly a long tutorial

Talkback

Worldwide Releases

Related Content

• Culdcept Begins – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition [S2]

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