Forward has you creeping through dungeons, three cards at a time, facing dangers and finding treasures through easy-to-learn play that kept dragging me back.
Bringing up the page for Forward, I wanted to read more about it. However, the game just popped up in the browser, and I figured I would try my hand. The very simple look of Forward masks an intricate underbelly. I found an hour gone just like that as I dealt myself back in a 3rd, 4th and 5th time. Players who want a break from button-mashing brawlers may have a nice break while enjoying this strategic card game.
Players will start with a headless knight (with other characters to unlock as they collect coins on their run). You’ll be shown three cards above yours, and you can move straight up or diagonally. If you think it’s a cake walk and just rush upwards, you’ll be on the wrong end of a monster encounter. There are several types of cards you’ll encounter: monsters, potions, coins, shields, chests, and items. Monsters will attack you if you appear beneath them (unless you have special items to prevent this). You can negate some damage by collecting a shield and letting that take the brunt of the damage before getting to your own skin.
Special items along the way (either just random spawns or in chests) can give you an edge. I highly advise reading the description for each before you pick them up, though. Some items will take away from your strategy or are just straight-up bad. For example, a skull will increase the rate of monsters. Other items will prove beneficial depending on what strategy you’re going for. The game allows for a lot of variation despite being very short.
If you happen to perish on your journey (like I did, many times), you’ll get to keep all your coins and put them toward unlocking another character and trying out their bonuses. The knight is a great starter, though, because it starts with a map, and being able to see a few cards ahead will really help prevent having a mass of items and no HP to survive to the end.
Overall, Forward was a highly-entertaining dungeon crawl that kept me coming back over and over.
Forward is playable for free on Itch.io.
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