Review: Mahokenshi
I haven’t done much diving into deck-builders, which seems to be riding the trend wave in the indie market. I’m honestly not sure why, since every time I’ve interacted with one, I’ve enjoyed it. Take, for example, Mahokenshi.
I tried the demo of Mahokenshi a long while back and came away impressed, yet somehow the final release still snuck up on me. Its mix of board-game style, turn-based, card-centric gameplay felt rather powerful in my first experience, so I was excited to see how the whole package turned out.
Mahokenshi (PC) Developer: Game Source Studio Publisher: Iceberg Interactive Released: January 24, 2023 MSRP: $24.99
Mahokenshi depicts the Celestial Islands, a series of landmasses floating above the world. They’re places where the Oni have never set foot, but when that changes, the people call on the titular samurai, the “Mahokenshi”, to aid them. Each of the Mahokenshi is aligned to a creature from Japanese folklore, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, they all have a different playstyle and deck of cards, which allows you to find one that suits you best.
Your Mahokenshi is frequently solo but often outnumbered. Starting out, your main goal is to gather up your deck by landing on various towns, shrines, castles, and statues. Your starter deck is usually underpowered, and a lot of the gameplay revolves around picking up cards and creating your strategy. You can also upgrade your cards and remove your weaker ones, turning yourself into a tower of card-slinging power.
It actually feels great when you get your deck together. Combining cards that increase the number of moves you can make in your turn, playing ones that let you draw further, and using cards to buff your strength to the moon
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