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Squirrel's Pick Squirrel's PickThe best game on this page. If you only try one, try this.
Dark FantasyChoices MatterBase-Building
$19.99 ~25.4 hr median no co-op 89.9% of 8k
The Squirrel's verdictVoiced narrative at a level reviewers compare to Disco Elysium, RPG exploration, and permanent dialogue consequences define Tainted Grail: Conquest as something beyond a straight deckbuilder. NPC quest outcomes carry over between runs: pick the wrong dialogue once and services or questlines can lock out permanently across all future runs. Median playtime is 25.4 hours, but full card unlocks across all classes push far beyond that.
Not for you if permanent cross-run lockouts from dialogue choices or randomized NPC locations will feel unfair rather than consequential.
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Turn-Based TacticsTactical RPGDungeon Crawler
$19.99 ~28 hr median no co-op 86.1% of 3k
The Squirrel's verdictTrials of Fire trades Cross Blitz's card-battler combat for hex-grid positional fights, with party selection from 9 classes and a morale meter forcing tough calls about how much of the map to explore. It's a finished 2021 release, so no early-access volatility, no waiting on patches. Suits players who want deckbuilding wrapped in slower, distance-and-positioning tactics rather than pure card combos.
Not for you if you want fast card-combo chaos rather than deliberate positional kiting, or dislike morale limiting exploration.
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Budget Pick Budget PickThe best game here for the least money.
Turn-Based TacticsFantasyAdventure
$1.74 ~26.7 hr median no co-op 83.9% of 5k
The Squirrel's verdictPaint and brush resources fill in a walkable overworld map, and two heroes swap in and out mid-fight — both systems are structural departures from Cross Blitz's tighter loop. Card rewards and act bosses follow familiar deckbuilder conventions. Reviews flag corrupted saves and stuck runs as unresolved issues, and combat animations are locked to 1x speed. Median playtime is 26.7 hours.
Not for you if slow map traversal and fixed animation speeds will frustrate you — reviewers estimate close to an hour of downtime per run.
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Hidden Gem Hidden GemLoved by the players who found it, but still under the radar.
SpaceExplorationDark Comedy
$3.99 ~19.3 hr median no co-op 88% of 767
The Squirrel's verdictCard fusion is Zet Zillions' central mechanic: combining cards is how decks spiral toward broken states, replacing the skills-and-weapons approach of Cross Blitz. An FTL-style branching map handles run structure. At $3.99 and 88% positive, median playtime is 19.3 hours. Reviewers warn that the fusion system delivers fewer real combinations per run than the premise suggests, and progression turns grindy.
Not for you if you expect deep fusion variety each run — reviewers find the actual combo space narrower than advertised.
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Hidden Gem Hidden GemLoved by the players who found it, but still under the radar.
Turn-Based TacticsCharacter CustomizationPerma Death
$14.99 ~48.2 hr median no co-op 88% of 443
The Squirrel's verdictBreach Wanderers keeps the card-battler roguelike loop of Cross Blitz but changes the deckbuilding contract: instead of drafting blind each run, you preselect your starting deck and the card pool you'll draw from, then grind toward unlocks that expand what you can pre-build. Reviews call the core balancing strong; the progression grind is the tradeoff.
Not for you if you want blind-draft randomness each run rather than pre-building your deck and pool, or dislike heavy unlock grinding.
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Trading Card GameCyberpunkTabletop
$12.99 ~17.3 hr median no co-op 87.5% of 289
The Squirrel's verdictZero Division uses a cyberpunk aesthetic with class-based augments and a Slay the Spire-style map structure. Reviewers describe completing and 100%-ing the game in around 30 hours, and the balance skews easy — degenerate combos appear consistently and the Failsafe system makes them repeatable. Median playtime is 17.3 hours. Suits players who want a deckbuilder with a reachable endpoint.
Not for you if you want a challenge at higher difficulty — reviewers find it easy even with all modifiers active.
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Closest Match Closest MatchThe most similar game to the anchor, by what players say.
Arcanium: Rise of Akhan
PC
LootTrading Card GameTactical RPG
$19.99 ~29.6 hr median no co-op 82.2% of 814
The Squirrel's verdictArcanium offers character-synergy deckbuilding with status effects, raw damage builds, and enough combo variety that Slay the Spire veterans describe it as a fresh alternative. Reviewers with 600–800 hours in similar games rate it highly, though the UI is a consistent complaint — achievement screens obscure gameplay, and in-battle information is poorly surfaced. Released fully in 2022, median playtime around 30 hours.
Not for you if a clunky overworld and in-battle UI will pull you out of the experience.
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Trading Card GameDungeon CrawlerTabletop
$19.99 ~23.9 hr median no co-op 81.5% of 558
The Squirrel's verdictHeroes Wanted's poker-adjacent mechanic — scoring bonuses for straights and three-of-a-kind card plays — sits on top of an elemental triangle system, giving it a structural layer Cross Blitz doesn't have. Cards and artifacts offer build variety, but reviewers note no meta-progression or unlockable content between runs, making individual runs feel samey over time. Median playtime is 23.9 hours.
Not for you if you rely on unlockable meta-progression to sustain long-term interest — several reviewers found runs repetitive without it.