PC Gamer - UK (2021-12)

Ifyouhadn’tguessedalready,thisis
set in the gritty cyberfuture, and
frankly the city is an utter state. The
streets are packed with cyberscum,
and it’s up to you – as one of three
bounty hunters – to cleanitup,one
crime boss at a time.
Essentially, you hop
between randomly
ordered events until
you reach the boss and
beat the scenario.
Events include vending
machines and traders,
cops demanding ID,
and violent gangs.
Combat is turn-based, but not strictly
‘I go, you go’, as you can choose to
use all four cards in row. Not all will
likely be weapons, but you may want
to chug a healing potion, or throw an
unneeded ID card at the enemy. It’s
worth a shot, as this frees up a slot
for another card.

However,aftereveryactionof

yours, your opponent will sneak a

token into that free slot – a token

you’ll eventually have to click on to

free it up. This initiates the enemy’s

turn,duringwhich they’ll launch an

attack on you. After,

you’ll regain the slot,

and can click the ‘Find’

button to scrounge up a

random card. So it

goes, turn by turn, until

the battle is won.

I hope it doesn’t

sound complicated, as

itisn’t in practice, and

everything you need is handily placed

on the same tiny yet handsome

screen. It’s a neat, novel system

whether you’re fighting a gang of

thugs, or trying to placate a security

guard, and it’s particularly satisfying

when you’re asked for the ID card

you’ve been holding onto, just in case.

Likewiseacashcard and a weapon

dealer,resultingin a gun that will kill

thebossinasingle click. It’s all down

torandomchance, but sometimes the

starsalignjustright.

PUNKED

IfoundVespiaryfar too easy though.

Youalwaysseem to have the

advantage, given how often you can

act in relation to the enemy, and

how frequently guns and body

armour seem to pop up. Moreover,

you get nothing for beating the game

• no ending, no unlocks. You’re
  merely dumped back to the menu.
  The ‘Escape from New York’ feel
  of Vespiary appeals to me, and I
  enjoyed its novel take on
  deckbuilding combat. But without a
  difficulty curve – the whole thing
  stays at the same level, from your
  first encounter to the crime boss


• the game ultimately grows
  seriouslymonotonous.

68

It’s original, and I love the

gritty, futuristic setting.

But Vespiary was too

easy to keep me

engaged.

VERDICT

I

f modern games have taught me anything, it’s that in the future
every outcome will be decided by the drawing of cards. Taking the
bins out? Draw a card from your recycling deck. Crap, you drew
the ‘stepped in bin juice’ card. Roguish sci-fi game Vespiary is not
too far from this hellish scenario, as you can only do what the four
cards in your hand allow you to do. Weapon cards are self-explanatory, but
you can also bribe cops with cash cards, or uses viruses to hack machines.

DECKED OUT

Cyberpunk card game VESPIARY puts the deck in Deckard

Everything you

need is handily

placed on the

same tiny

screen

NEEDTOKNOW

WHAT IS IT?

A cyberpunk game

where you use cards to

win battles and other

random events

EXPECT TO PAY

Free

DEVELOPER

Harley Wilson

PUBLISHER

In-house

REVIEWED ON

Intel Core i7-10750H,

16GB RAM, GeForce

RTX 2060

MULTIPLAYER

No

LINK

bit.ly/VespGame

COOLTITLESFORNOCASHbyTomSykes

FREE GAMES REVIEWS

FAR LEFT: (^) Body
armour will absorb
one enemy attack.
LEFT: (^) Sometimes the
boss escapes to
another area.