Voice of Cards again, with monster catching mechanics | Review: Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden

Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden is the third entry in the Voice of Cards trilogy — a series of narratively-driven table-top RPG card games. But if you’re coming into this review without having played the first two games, don’t leave just yet, as Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden is another standalone title that you can start the trilogy with, just all set in the same world. They all came out at the same time for both iOS and Android which might make it confusing for newcomers, but you can play them in any specific order.

🟩Pros

+Table-top RPG based aesthetic and gameplay

+JRPG style combat with monster capturing mechanic

+premium game with no ads, or pay-to-win mechanics, but there are in-app purchasable cosmetics

🟥Cons

-non-table-top RPG players might find the game slow paced

Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden features a nice persona change from its other two predecessors, by featuring a female protagonist with a story narrated by a female game master, in what seems like the best performance out of all the narrators so far.

The setting of the game takes us into the player named character’s underground home village, constantly besieged by monsters coming from above. The character is a young but fierce warrior, who alongside other abled villagers, regularly defends their village from monsters.

As with the title, the game features a sinister tone, and one that has the most darkest premise  out of all the games, and players will soon find that out very early in the story. Tragedy will soon befell on the character and it sets her on a path of revenge and self-discovery.

Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden adapts basically the same gameplay format from the Voice of Cards series, where the whole setup is a typical JRPG, but instead of the world rendered as 3d models or 2d sprites, every element is represented by cards. For example, the world is just a grid-like arrangement of cards with each card depicting the terrain; like a grassland, a town pavement, or a mountain range. Each character, shop, door, or chest are instead cards that the player interacts with a game piece. As inherent with the series, the game is slower paced than most games, but there is a high speed option in the settings to help alleviate some concerns.

When you’re exploring dungeons, combat encounters will randomly appear and take you into a traditional JRPG turn-based battle format albeit with a card game makeover. Each of those characters — which are cards themselves — have different card abilities that they can use, and all the combatants take turns attacking each other.  While the combat is basic, they try their best to make it as lively as possible; when performing actions such as attacking or activating abilities, the cards are animated complete with matching visual effects.

In the early parts of the game, the main character will also discover her special ability to capture and control monsters using monsters cards (yes, the main character is using cards in a game already made with cards) in a Pokemon like fashion that adds a much needed layer and freshens the gameplay a little bit for those who have already played the first two games.

In Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden, the narrative takes precedence while the somewhat still engaging but simple gameplay takes a backseat. The story is heavy and depressing. It is much more personal and the main motivations are coming from the main character, instead of the companions.

Despite being the third game, it still felt like an expansion or a bonus story, featuring the same underlying core mechanics (and some assets) that are copy and pasted throughout the series.

Wrapping it up, Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden is a decent expansion to the amazing table-top RPG game series Voice of Cards. It adds further refinements to the game mechanics, especially with its unique monster capturing element. Generally, it still feels more of the same, and it’s not a full-pledged sequel one might expect. But as a game at face value, especially with its darker and more heavy narrative theme, it stands well on its own and it’s a worthy play at $12 especially for those already on the fence.