Deckline – Review

There’s a lot of meaning hiding in plain sight in the title of Room Games’ Deckline. It’s a card game, first and foremost, so the ‘deck’ makes sense. Its setting is that of war, and the ‘line’ likely refers to the frontline of that war. And then there’s the obvious ‘decline’. If you hadn’t guessed it yet, there’s a lot to unpack here, and we haven’t gotten into the game itself! With Deckline arriving on consoles last week, there hasn’t been a better time to get to grips with it to see if the game comes up trumps or if it slowly but surely makes our own sanity decline.

Story

Rather than the (unfortunately familiar) backdrop of one of the World Wars, Deckline opts for a much smaller conflict. The game never explicitly names the war that it is set against, and the 1990s Eastern European setting is vague enough that there are multiple candidates. Not that it truly matters whether this is the Croatian War of Independence or the Bosnian War, as Deckline’s war itself serves as a way to create tension and atmosphere instead of a history lesson. The game opens with a conversation that already seals the fate of our unnamed protagonist. He and his fellow soldiers have become trapped in a bunker behind enemy lines. With no ammunition, no communication with command, and no chance of escape, the soldiers gather around a table and play one final round of the traditional card game Durak to distract themselves from the situation outside. As the game progresses, conversations, environmental changes, and the soldiers’ own behavior reflect their growing fear, exhaustion, and deteriorating mental state while artillery and explosions continue in the distance.

Graphics

Get used to the dimly lit bunker that you find yourself in, because it’s the only environment you’ll get to see in Deckline. The game’s visual style is deliberately minimalist and retro-inspired, using low-poly models, blocky textures, and muted colors. This aesthetic highlights the game’s bleak, war-torn setting and emphasizes the unsettling atmosphere. Lighting in particular is important to the mood, with flickering lamps and long shadows across the card table building tension. Visually, Deckline is a lot more interesting than you’d expect from what is, in essence, a simple card game. The inherent austerity of Deckline’s visuals serves a dual purpose: not only does it support the mood, but it also makes it much easier to overlook the game’s rougher edges.

Sound

The raging conflict going on outside of the bunker provides a good chunk of Deckline’s ambience. Distant artillery fire, explosions, and the muffled sounds of combat outside constantly remind you of the war unfolding beyond the walls. These sounds are intentionally vague and never fully reveal what is happening outside, allowing your own imagination to fill in the details and increase the sense of dread. Ambience makes up the majority of Deckline’s soundscape too. While there is voiced dialogue, this is only used sparsely, and the soldiers mostly sit in silence, awaiting their fate.

Gameplay

At Deckline’s core is Durak, a traditional card game using a 36-card deck. In Durak, each player is given six cards, and one suit is randomly chosen as the so-called trump suit. Players then take turns ‘attacking’ by placing cards on the table, with the defender beating them by playing a higher card of the same suit or a trump card. After each turn, players draw from the deck to refill their hands to six cards. The goal is simply to get rid of all your cards, with the last player holding cards becoming the Durak, Russian for fool.

Now, had Deckline just been Durak with a war skin, then it wouldn’t be all that remarkable. Durak isn’t the most compelling, or even deep game, and Deckline resultingly isn’t a game that has a lot to offer in terms of mechanics. However, the game incorporates its setting into the gameplay, making for a convincing, immersive experience. While playing, you’ll occasionally have to interact with objects around you: a flickering lamp needs to be adjusted, you’ll need to take anxiety pills to calm your shaking hands, or light up a cigarette. If you ignore these elements, your stress level increases, making it harder to focus on the game. There are multiple endings based on what happens during the game and your actions in between turns. We did find that the console controls weren’t the smoothest, and hampered our ability to respond on time to those random events. This is a game that is probably best enjoyed with a mouse rather than a controller, and we were disappointed to find that Deckline didn’t support mouse controls on Switch 2.

The overall Deckline experience is short, with the main narrative taking around an hour or two. Those multiple endings do add some longevity and replay value to the game. There’s also the option to toggle story mode off and instead focus on online leaderboards for competitive play. We should note that although the PC version of Deckline reflects its short runtime within its €2.99 price, the console version is significantly more expensive at €6.99. While the latter remains relatively cheap, it’s still a remarkable uptick. Combined with the game being more suited to mouse controls, we’d recommend opting for the PC version.

Conclusion

By combining a simple, traditional card game with environmental interactions and the ever-present psychological tension of war, Deckline makes for a slow-paced, narrative-focused experience rather than a mechanically complex strategy title. The value here comes mostly from that unique concept and atmosphere, although the game is held back by its lack of gameplay depth and mechanical limitations.

SebastiaanRaats

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