Skogdal

Roguelike deckbuilders really take you to fantastical places. I’ve tried to slay the Spire in, well, Slay the Spire; I’ve been to hell and back in Monster Train; I kept on freezing to death in Wildfrost’s tundra; and now Erlend and Kay Arne Kirkeboe take us all the way to the magical lands of… Skogdal, Norway. Let’s say it’s not a place I thought I would visit in a videogame, especially not a deckbuilder. But here we are, and actually, this nineties version of the city would be really chill if it weren’t for all of the people trying to murder us. What is going on here?

The digital version of Skogdal used to be a quiet place. The kind of town where everyone knows everyone and people care for each other. But one night, all of that changes. As you go outside your house to find out what happened, you are attacked by your previously friendly neighbours, and you fight them through typical deckbuilder combat: every turn you have an amount of energy to spend, and you can use this to play your cards. When your turn is over, the enemies will activate and do things like attack, gain block, add cards to your hand, and much, much more.

One of the first fun features Skogdal introduces that aren’t typically found in this kind of game is the option to use some of your energy to draw more cards to your hand. Since you don’t discard your hand at the end of your turn, you don’t draw an entire new hand at the start of your next one, meaning you can be stuck with only one or two cards. Introducing the ability to draw extra cards adds an entire layer of strategy to a game that is bursting with these kinds of nifty additions.

I’m not even kidding. First off, there’s the fact that you have companions that can join you in battle if you play their cards. Every single one of them, whether it’s a girl in a wheelchair, a bodybuilder, or a goth girl, will have their own unique features to bring to battle. Some will give you strength, while others will stun enemies every couple of turns, while others still will give you extra cards to use. But beware: you can only have three companions at a time, so choose wisely! Or you could use cards that will let you sacrifice them to do more damage; it really is up to you.

Your traversal through Skogdal differs from the usual deckbuilder fare as well, in subtle ways. There’s no map telling you what you can find in the next location; instead, you just move to another designated spot in town, where you’ll usually find a host of options to upgrade cards, add new ones, or get rid of ones from your deck; heal up or expand your max health; and more. There’s even an option to fuse cards together and evolve them into something better, although I found that the result wasn’t always an improvement. When you’re done with all of this, you’ll usually have to battle someone to be able to move on to the next location.

Progression in this game is far more handmade than procedural, and especially in your first playthroughs, this can feel like the game is really linear. I don’t mind this at all, but for those of you who don’t want to replay the exact same thing over and over, not to worry, the game offers far more after your first couple of successful runs. I do love the fact that this game is firmly tied to the story and intrigue of what exactly is happening in the town. There are stakes here, other than just getting the best high score, and the game really makes you wonder just what’s going on. It’s really good at hooking you in with yet another thing to figure out, making you want to keep on playing.

The mystery side of the game reminds me a lot of that nineties staple of intrigue, The X-Files, while the game’s really amazing art style has me harking back to the days of late nineties and early 2000s MTV, with shows like Beavis and Butthead and Jackass coming to mind. There’s even a bit of King of the Hill to it, come to think of it. The people who live in Skogdal are all humans, with names and lives and histories. There are no nameless monsters to be found here: these are people you know who now just want your blood!

I won’t spoil any of the mystery here, but I can promise you that the game is worth every single new playthrough. With its variety of strategies and tactics on offer, it would make for an endlessly replayable game already, but having the story come together more and more, this game truly delivers. You’ll feel for the people of Skogdal, even though all of them are trying to kill you.

The game ably captures that feeling of being young back in the nineties and what happens when your seemingly carefree life is turned upside down. Also, I need to mention this, but good god does the soundtrack slap. If you loved the music in the game’s trailer, then you are in luck, because this game is filled with rocking tunes all over the place, once again adding to that feeling of being young and music still meaning things and, in general, music being better if they’re shouting the lyrics rather than singing them.

2025 is a big year for roguelike deckbuilders, with sequels like Monster Train 2 and Slay the Spire 2 set to draw in the crowds and new titles like As We Descend and Skogdal bringing their own unique charms to the table. But I have to say, it wouldn’t surprise me if the latter ends up being one of the best of this year’s releases.