Don't just build the deck. Stand in the right place.
A roguelike deckbuilder where over 400 cards combine into combos, but many only land on a specific area, so where your character stands decides everything. You move to dodge attacks, charge up for a one-shot strike, and play cards that linger or nullify an enemy's action. Two protagonists, each a different playstyle. A doujin work by the Japanese circle ExertionGame, in the lineage of the tactics game that made grid positioning the whole strategy, Into the Breach. It already plays in English, yet the West has barely found it. It is still in Early Access, not finished, but already loved.
Published 2026-06-19
01First, the one feeling
- You stop thinking of cards as raw damage and start thinking in space: this card only hits that area, so your build means nothing until you stand in the right tile.
- So you read the board, slide your character into position, and stack cards that overlap on the same spot to spike one strike's multiplier far past what any single card could do.
- Then you charge it up and let the one-shot land where you placed it. When position and overlap line up and a charged combo erases a stronger foe, a chill runs down your spine.
02Who this is for (and who it is not)
For you
- You love Slay the Spire deckbuilding but want positioning, like Into the Breach, to be the real axis
- You like stacking area cards on one tile to spike a single charged strike's multiplier
- You want a Japanese doujin gem the West has barely read, with only two English reviews, even though it already plays in English
Not for you
- You need a finished, content-complete release right now (this is Early Access, still unfinished)
- You want a pure card game where the deck alone decides it, with no positioning or dodging on a grid
03The roots of this taste
95% positiveonly 159 reviews — yet almost no one has found it
DUNGEON ARTIFACT Buried gem
A roguelike deckbuilder where position is the core of strategy. Over 400 cards combine into combos, but many cards only hit a specific area, so where your character stands decides everything: you move to dodge attacks, charge up for a one-shot strike, and play cards that linger or nullify an enemy's action. Two protagonists, each with a different playstyle, descend into the dungeon. Made by the Japanese doujin circle ExertionGame. Very Positive in Japan at 159 reviews and 95 percent, yet the West has barely found it: only two English reviews. Note: this is an Early Access title, so it is not finished yet.
Give it your first passInto the Breach The origin
The origin of grid-positioning as the heart of tactics: in 2018, Subset Games built a run-based turn tactics game where where you stand on the grid is the whole strategy. This gem is a direct heir to that positioning, fusing it with Slay the Spire-style deckbuilding, so you place cards on a grid and fire them by where your character stands.
Give it your first pass04Make this gem shine
If it speaks to you, check it on Steam and give it your first pass. Your push is what makes a buried gem shine.
You gave it your pass. The gem just caught the light.
05The bloodline of this taste
- Into the Breach Root
- DUNGEON ARTIFACT You are here
- Read-and-build games another taste