Sometimes you come across products that manage to take mechanics from successful games and mix them together in a winning recipe, although not always easily understandable without getting your hands on them directly. The case in point is The Bazaara roguelike PvE deckbuilder with Asynchronous PvP. Did you understand something about it? Not even the writer, at least until he spent an entire evening there without almost noticing the passage of time.
The game is still in closed beta and it is possible to purchase the now classic founder’s pack for 40 euros. In addition to the access key, the buyer is given 2000 gems (the game’s internal currency), one skins for one of the three available characters and a code to share with a friend to allow him to play. The Bazaar will enter an open beta downloadable for free at January 2025only to be released a few months later. The product, therefore, is substantially completed. Aside from a few bugs and occasional connection issues, the experience is smooth and without too many issues. But what does it consist of?
The Bazaar it is described as the first game hero-builder. At its base, there is a mix of Slay The Spire And Team Fight Tactics. Before each game, players can choose one of the available characters, each equipped with specific items and abilities. The matches are divided intoday” and “night”. The first phase is against artificial intelligence (PvE) and the one most similar to a roguelike. In fact, players will proceed for a certain number of turns, indicated as “hours”, in which they will meet merchants, come across events or defeat monsters to earn gold, to be spent to purchase passive upgrades and objects.
The latter, divided into various categories including weapons, properties and so on, will assemble the build on the game board, built like a carpet which, as you level up, widens giving more space to deploy other objects. At this point, the phase most similar to begins Team Fight Tactics. Once the “day” phase is over, in fact, we move on to the “Night”, in which you clash with other players (PvP) in mode auto battler. Exactly like in the game of Riot Gamesthe positioning of objects on the game board is essential to activate their synergies.
The peculiarity of The Bazaar is that the PvP mode is asynchronous. Players are not grouped in lobbies before the game and can leave and return whenever they want, exactly as if it were a single player. There is no timer to complete the “day” phase, therefore giving you all the time you need to calmly reflect on which strategy you intend to adopt. At the onset of “night”, the game select randomly two players of equal or similar level to clash. As in Team Fight Tacticsyou have a life bar, called “prestige”, which is reduced every time you are defeated by a player. Once you reach zero, you receive a power-up and one last chance to complete the run and get 10 victories, which is necessary to obtain a ticket to spend to play ranked mode.
According to data released by the developers, The Bazaar has already achieved some success despite still being in closed beta and not being included in the Steam catalogue. Once launched in full version, it will also be available on smartphones. The product, as made clear by the description we have given of it, is very particular and refreshing.
It breaks away from the now saturated market of roguelike deckbuilders or auto-battlers, uniting them and creating something new which not only these two categories, but the entire world of video games, is starting to really need.