Relentless was reviewed using Osiris web 3.0 browser
There’s another Trading Card Game that has entered the fray. But instead of the usual high-fantasy setting that is popular with the genre, Relentless has you leading a zombie army to stomp out your enemies. It’s up to you to pick your zombie champion and see whose army can best all the others.
Relentless, formerly known as Zombie Battleground, has many of the same staples as other TCGs out there. You can create your own deck, trade cards, sell cards, and play P2P battles. What makes it different is its strive for simplicity and friendly approach for new-comers to the genre.
Before you can do anything in the game, Relentless will drop you into their tutorial. It gives you a rundown of what information pertains to what on a card and how turns work in battle. It’s a great “TCG for dummies” setup that brings players up to speed in the quickest way possible without glossing over any important mechanics. After you’ve completed each tutorial, the game then tests you in everything you’ve just learned and have you play a dummy battle. If you lose, that’s okay – the battle will just start over again until you win. Relentless won’t drop you into the real fray of things until its certain you have a full grasp of the mechanics.
How it keeps things simple and new-comer friendly are its strict turn-based battles. Other TCGs employ a timer countdown for each player’s turn, with most lasting about 30 seconds. In Relentless, however, there is no timer. So you can spend as much time as you want to mull over what strategy to take and how to end your turn. One thing that may turn off veterans of the genre is that it may be too simple. As an example, a mechanic that does bring depth to a card game is the graveyard mechanic, where used cards can be brought back to fight again. Relentless doesn’t have this, but it may add it in the future to spice things up.
Another great little quality-of-life measure the game has over its competition is that it can be played on multiple platforms, such as on iOS, Windows, Mac OS etc. So, if you’re out and about, you can just whip out your phone and play a quick game and then later on carry on your laptop at home. It’s a small feature that goes a long way to make sure you can play however you want.
Of course, besides engaging in P2P battles, one of the main hooks of a TCG are the cards. Relentless has a wide selection of cards, from different elemental cards to item cards, and the prices are reasonable to boot. A pack contains 5 cards and you have the option to buy 5, 25, and 100 packs, with the prices being 0.0403 ETH, 0.1900 ETH, and 0.6800 ETH respectively. There aren’t any special packs, such as Legendary or Shiny packs, to denote what type of cards you’ll get. It’s all random so the odds are equal for all. If you do want a more specific card that falls under the rarer category, you can browse the marketplace and purchase them there. It all depends on whether there is stock, however, or if a player is selling that card.
As for visuals, Relentless uses a similar art-style to that of other popular TCGs, such as Hearthstone or even Gods Unchained, where the color palettes and character-designs are similar, with the main difference being zombies as the subject and focus. It uses more modern symbols and aesthetics, so it looks different enough to separate it from other games similar to it out there. It’s not quite boring to look at, but, at first glance, you may confuse it for more of a spin-off of another franchise rather than it being its own game.
Overall, Relentless is a great option and addition to the TCG genre, especially in the Blockchain space. It uses simpler mechanics to help ease-in even the most unfamiliar player and is great for those jump-in-quick experiences, even if its simplicity sacrifices other mechanics that other veterans may be looking for. If you’re looking to get into another TCG and are looking for something with more affordable options, then Relentless is a great place to start, especially for fans of the undead and zombie apocalypse.
4/5
