Alina of the Arena

Alina of the Arena is a dark fantasy tactical roguelike card game. It was developed and published by PINIX, an independent Taiwanese studio that draws inspiration from such productions as Slay the Spire and Into the Breach. The game has been nominated for the Indie Game Awards 2022 in the "Best Project" category and reached the finals, but eventually lost to Peglin - a production of Canadian studio Red Nexus Games. The game was released on Steam in early access on January 19, 2022, and players can also download and play a demo version of it.

Plot

The title immediately throws the player into the vortex of action. The player takes control of Alina - a gladiator who fiercely fights for her life in the arena, which slowly fills up with more and more diverse enemies.

Game mechanics

The main idea of the gameplay is to fight to the death with increasingly stronger opponents. The game has two difficulty levels: Rookie (beginner) and Brawler (normal).

Alina of the Arena is divided into stages. The player must defeat a set number of enemies in order to be able to face the arena master. During the fight, various useful information is displayed at the top of the screen, such as the order in which enemies attack the heroine, the number of coins collected (which can be exchanged for attack, defense, movement bonuses, etc.) and the amount of life. At the bottom you can see the amount of energy the player can use for one of his cards.

Some of the cards allow the player to launch a specific attack, others have a typical defensive use, allow the player to take the initiative in battle and so on. After each victory the player is awarded more cards, thanks to which he can develop his own, unique deck.

The heroine can not only strike and cover herself from attacks, but also impersonate her enemies or use the terrain to her advantage. Her attacks are also enhanced when she uses a two-weapon combination. By wielding two daggers at the same time, for example, she can inflict additional damage and with the sword and shield combination she can repel and strike back more effectively.

Technical aspects

Alina of the Arena features simple, 2D graphics in pixel art and Japanese animation style.

Last updated on 09 November 2023