If I said the words “roguelike, deck-building blackjack game,” there’s a pretty good chance I’d conjure up the though of Balatro. It is, after all, a hugely popular and highly influential example of a similar concept, albeit based loosely on the rules of poker.
But Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers – which finally saw a console release this month – very quickly proves to be a different beast, with altogether more flavourful “runs” that take place across themed areas full of unique opponents, mini-games and opportunities to tempt fate. It is also, despite the game of blackjack being a beautifully simple one, a rather more complex deck-building experience that more closely resembles a tabletop trading card game. The core of blackjack remains, where you draw cards one after the other in an effort to score as close as possible to 21 without going over. Your goal is not high scores or chips, though, but to whittle away your rivals’ health points, dealing proportionate damage either when your hand scores higher than theirs or they bust.
The sheer number of unique cards to add to your deck, outside of the standard number and face cards you’d expect, can make this an overwhelming prospect over the first few runs. Numerous concepts and potential strategies abound, and cards fold in and out of your deck frequently as you happen across bonus rooms, challenges and shops to spend your chips on. This means Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers is maybe not as elegant as some of its contemporaries – I’ve had runs ruined by virtual stalemates where mine and my opponent’s cards interacted in ways that stalled play. But by the same token, happening upon a completely broken build can be incredibly satisfying.
But D&DG is propped up most of all by its strange art and sense of humour, especially where the cards themselves are concerned. There are cards here based on absurd things like library cards, memory cards, blood donor cards or hall passes, and plenty of references to other video games with cards based on The Witcher, Magic the Gathering, UNO and a personal favourite – the Charred Lizard, clearly borrowed from a legally distinct creature-collecting TCG. These aren’t just surface-level references or gags but all have very thematic effects and strategic offerings, which I love. Throw in goofy one-liners from opponents that could be anything from an aggressive-playing Pit Boss to a dog that has absolutely no clue how to play Blackjack, and there’s a lot of reason to keep coming back for subsequent runs.
Reviewed on PS5 | Review copy supplied by publisher
Great
- Fun, retro-tinged aesthetic
- Lots of scenarios, characters and gags to discover
- A surprising amount of depth for having blackjack at its core
- Mini-games and branching paths add replay value
- Huge card library full of absurd pulls
Not great
- Not the most elegant deck-building balance
- A complete run can be quite long
Born into the world of video games through SEGA, and in particular Sonic the Hedgehog, Kieron’s gaming tastes now consist of the latest, shiny AAA thing, an indie darling or two, and an embarrassing number of hours of Balatro.