Ironclad Tactics

USgamer: 4 / 5 by Cassandra Khaw

Ironclad Tactics is a mean old coot beloved by Lady Luck. He fights fair but your hand of cards may disagree. Seemingly allergic to the very idea of tutorials, Ironclad Tactics has an incredibly hands-off approach to player guidance and a no-holds barred attitude when it comes to battles. It will smack you around. Hard.

PlayStation LifeStyle: 7 / 10 by Paulmichael Contreras

There's a lot to like in Ironclad Tactics, but many of its positive aspects are weighed down by some design issues. You have to prepare a deck carefully, but unfortunately it's a blind preparation the first time through any campaign mission. There's a large variety of cards, but without memorizing what each card does you'll barely have enough time to play them properly before the computer attacks. I truly believe this game could have benefited immensely by including an option for real-time battles. Suddenly, a frantic button-mashing battle would become more akin to a chess game, each piece carefully selected and positioned as the player plans their next four moves before actually executing on them. Unfortunately, with the game as it exists right now, only those who can commit to learning the quirks of the turn system and limited deck size will find the game rewarding.

GamingTrend: 83 / 100 by Victor Grunn

While the awkwardness of the campaign mode's storyline is unfortunate, the game more than justifies its cost in terms of inventive mechanics, a refreshing setting and a well-thought-out realtime tactical system – all without the looming threat of microtransactions and booster-pack expenditures that so often are matched up with any card-based game.