''Duelyst'' was a

free-to-play Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...

digital collectible card game A digital collectible card game (DCCG) or online collectible card game (OCCG) is a computer or video game that emulates collectible card games (CCG) and is typically played online or occasionally as a standalone video game. Many DCCGs are types of ...

and

turn-based strategy A turn-based strategy (TBS) game is a Strategy video game, strategy game (usually some type of wargaming, wargame, especially a wargaming#Unit or map scale, strategic-level wargame) where players take Time-keeping systems in games, turns when pla ...

hybrid developed by Counterplay Games, who initially self-published the title but was later published by

Bandai Namco also known as the Bandai Namco Group and generally Bandai Namco, is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, formed from the merger of Bandai and Namco on S ...

. It had been released in an open beta period in 2015, and the full game was released on April 27, 2016. Due to declining player counts, servers for ''Duelyst'' were shut down on February 27, 2020. A fan-made remake, titled ''Duelyst II'', has been announced for release on Steam, Android, and iOS. The development team is composed of former Duelyst players who were given permission by Counterplay Games to remake the game using the original game's assets. On January 10, 2023, the complete source code and assets for the game were uploaded to

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under the

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license.

Gameplay

In ''Duelyst'', two players battle across a tactical battlefield, taking turns in which they play and position minions and spells, represented by cards drawn from a custom built deck, until one of the players eliminates the enemy general. There are six factions in Duelyst, each with its own unique characteristics that affect strategy and gameplay of the decks the player builds. The game offers a practice mode, puzzle-like challenges, a ranked season ladder and a draft-style tournament mode.

Development

''Duelyst'' development was led by Keith Lee, a former lead producer at

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, who co-founded Counterplay Games. Lee cites the ''

Fire Emblem is a fantasy tactical role-playing game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. First produced and published for the Famicom in 1990, the series currently consists of sixteen core entries and five spinoffs. Game ...

'' and ''

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'' series as inspirations for the game. ''Duelyst'' was designed to accommodate short play sessions, a game lasting around ten minutes on average. The game was part funded through a

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crowdfunding campaign, raising $137,707 in April 2014. Originally intended to follow an up-front pricing model, the game switched to a

model in 2015. The developers believed that a free-to-play model would allow for ongoing updates to the game rather than relying on less regular

expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game or collectible card game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, or an ...

s. The game entered

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testing in October 2015, and was released in April 2016 , 2016 on both

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and

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platforms. The iOS version, however, was subsequently removed, and the game exists only for Windows. The first major expansion "Denizens of Shim'zar" was released in August 2016. A second expansion, "Rise of the Bloodborn" was released in December 2016. A third, "Ancient Bonds" followed in March 2017. The fourth, "Unearthed Prophecy" was released in July 2017. The fifth, "Immortal Vanguard" was released in November 2017. The sixth and latest expansion, "Trial of Mythron" was released in November 2018. Originally self-published, it was announced in July 2017 that the game would henceforth be published by

Bandai Namco Entertainment is a Japanese multinational video game video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in ...

, who would take on responsibilities for marketing and customer support. Counterplay announced in January 2020 that due to declining player counts, the online servers for ''Duelyst'' will be shut down on February 27, 2020 at 3PM PST, and the game will become unplayable after that. Three years later, the studio announced that the code and game would be available as an open source project.

Reception

The game was well received and holds a rating of 82/100 on reviews aggregation website

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, based on 14 reviews. Tom Marks, writing in ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...

'', described ''Duelyst'' as his favourite card game after ''

Hearthstone ''Hearthstone'' is a free-to-play online digital collectible card game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. Originally subtitled ''Heroes of Warcraft'', ''Hearthstone'' builds upon the existing lore of the ''Warcraft'' series by u ...

'' and awarded the game 84% in his review. Matt Cox, in his review for ''

Rock, Paper, Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' (also rendered ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun''; short ''RPS'') is a UK-based website for reporting on video games, primarily for PC. Originally launched on 13 July 2007 as an independent site, ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' was acquir ...

'', praised ''Duelyst'' in comparison to its competitors, adding that the game "does so much more by slapping on a whole other game to the tried and tested CCG formula".

References

External links

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