While I enjoyed the story and the matches of Gwent (puzzles included), I cannot recommend this game as it punishes you way too much for playing it like an RPG.

Resources are finite and very hard to come by. If you misspend your money then it's gone, no vital building upgrades or unit unlocks for you. The decisions you make in the game can also cause you to lose characters permanently, which wouldn't be a problem if those characters weren't also vital in your ability to beat the game.

I didn't play the game optimally, I mismanaged my eco, I made choices that caused characters to leave and I was left with a selection of cards that made it impossible to beat the game and worse yet, I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't make any more money, I couldn't get those characters back - I was stuck. I could reload an old act (there's no manual saving, it's ironman - but allows you to restart at the begginning of an act) but why should I have to do this if it's an RPG?? It should be possible for me to make non-optimal choices and still beat the game.

Idk, maybe skill issue.

++

near perfect steam deck game