A card-battling adventure about influence
Astatos is a hand-drawn card game where you fight to bring a broken land back together. Battles play out like a tabletop match: you play cards, match them, cast spells, and summon Heroes, each with their own artwork and abilities that combine in different ways. The twist is influence — you can turn the opposing team's units over to your side, so a strong board can flip against you just as easily. The story follows Vitus and Volesus, two Crown Mages who have to flee their academy as rebels close in. They unleash an ancient god and devil, and set out to uncover their past, shape the land around them, and find somewhere to call home.
Playing with your group
You can take the story on alone, or go online with other Crown Mages. Online play covers strategic 1v1 battles when two of you want a straight contest, and chaotic co-op action for up to 8 players when the whole group is around. Either way the rules are the same ones you learn in the story: match cards, cast spells, summon Heroes, and try to turn the other side's pieces to your team. Because Heroes carry unique abilities, the combinations you build together keep changing from match to match.
Choices, characters, and downtime
The country is in chaos and everyone has opinions about what should happen next. You meet characters with their own morals and desires, and you make decisions that convince them to follow your lead, whatever that costs. Between chapters there are interludes at the bathhouse: you spend mementos collected along the way to get closer to your companions, and that closeness can influence later events. So the quiet stretches matter as much as the battles. Keep an eye on who you have been spending time with before the next chapter starts.
Before you start
Astatos is in Early Access, so parts of the game may still change as development continues. It runs on online co-op and online PvP, so playing with friends means going online. The game is a card battler with turn-based tactics and a story-rich adventure wrapped around it, so expect both reading and deck play rather than one or the other.