I forgive you if you think Near Mint is a money management game or a wholesome customisation companion for Animal Crossing. It’s neither of those, but a deck-building dungeon crawler with rogue-like mechanics from Duper Games.
Time and time again, we’re getting a whole range of card-based games that introduce little gimmicks, or offer a new angle that perhaps none of the others has done before, or at least, that’s what the good ones do. All the others disappear into the void and hit the deck. Geddit?
Minty Fresh Presentation
Near Mint does have a few cards up its sleeve, however, and they are pretty neat indeed. The first thing that pulled me in, and why I wanted to cover this in the first place, is the visuals. Not solely the reason, but it’s a factor, and that minty green hue throughout most of the game is delish.
There are multiple characters to unlock, and they all look really good, as do the creatures you battle, and they don’t feel so samey as a lot of these games do. Instead of a side-on view, it’s between that and an isometric one, with some very familiar turn-based controls that I won’t explain, for fear of repeating myself.
Yes, you have limited turns and action points (mana), but how Near Mint differs is that the cards at your disposal are torn. The top part indicates the action points, the bottom left is the value, and the bottom right will deal an attack, shield, or other tricks to stay in the game. The best thing about these is that you can change them up with anything you like.
Devising A New Strategy
This certainly adds to the strategic aspect of the game as the cards evolve into more complex combinations and benefits, such as reducing mana if the next card placed is an attack card, or gaining an extra shield if you go on the defence. Additional elemental aspects filter through as well.
As you might expect, you have a path you choose from which differs each run. Some of these will be standard battles or epic ones, events that resemble a Choose Your Own Adventure where you read through the text and make a decision, or other encounters that award new cards or improved ones.
We’re back in familiar territory by that point, and the overall thoughts of Near Mint at this point are that it’s pretty interesting, and the presentation lives up to expectations. And that’s when it becomes clear how difficult this is, or at least, for me.
There are no permanent items that I’ve noted, and while each character has their advantages/disadvantages, the levels of health aren’t that much different. Enemies can hit quite hard, and where it’s a turn-based experience, you can sometimes watch your demise in slow motion and be pretty helpless with it.
On The Defensive
I found this happened on several occasions where I simply didn’t have any defensive cards whatsoever, or the cards dealt all had a mana cost of three (you start with five mana). This meant completing one move, having the opponent block it, then seeing their telegraphed damage connect at 100%. With no immediate relics or similiar buffs, it felt more like roulette than progress.
However, the mix up of torn cards and early access to different characters make Near Mint one worth watching. As I said, I really like the presentation and hope that the developers don’t rip out the carpets and curtains while this is going through the Early Access process as it does look like a polished game, I would just like to see a few more defensive options in there for the early game, and maybe less bleak music!
Available in Early Access, you can also give Near Mint a test drive via the playable demo on Steam.
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