Aestheta

Aestheta is a unique blend of Clash Royale-inspired mechanics with roguelike elements, developed primarily by a solo developer. Players appreciate the charming anime-influenced art style and the variety of fantasy races, which add flavor beyond typical Clash Royale units. The single-player focus allows for accessibility features like instant deployment, enhancing the gameplay experience. The game includes engaging character dialogue and lore, which players find enjoyable.

However, the game struggles with balancing and difficulty. The AI is often described as unintelligent and predictable, leading to repetitive and stale strategies that dominate matches. Many cards and relics feel unbalanced, with some being overpowered and others nearly useless. The UI and presentation have issues, especially with font readability in vertical mode and a lack of clear information on card stats and upgrades. Bugs persist, and the game is considered short, with limited content variety. Despite these flaws, the community sees strong potential if improvements continue.

Highlights

Players praise the art style for its charm and anime aesthetic, especially the character designs. The game successfully emulates Clash Royale's core gameplay mechanics in a single-player roguelike format, offering accessible and casual gameplay. The variety of races and thematic decks adds diversity, and the character interactions and story dialogue are well-written and engaging. The inclusion of relics and deck customization provide some strategic depth, while the vertical mode improves mobile and PC play experience.

Criticisms

Common criticisms focus on the poor AI behavior, which is often described as dumb and easily exploitable, making the game too easy. Balancing issues plague many cards and relics, with some being brokenly strong and others underpowered or ineffective. The lack of tutorial and unclear UI hinder new players’ understanding, compounded by small fonts and missing card info. The game suffers from bugs affecting gameplay and card functionality. Additionally, the game’s short duration and repetitive content limit replayability and long-term engagement.