App Army Assemble: Meteorfall: Rustbowl Rumble - "Another great entry in this excellent series?"

Meteorfall: Rustbowl Rumble is the latest entry in a series that's proven quite popular here at Pocket Gamer. Catherine enjoyed Meteorfall: Krumit’s Tale, and our App Army had good things to say about the original. Two for two is a good record, but could Slothwerks continue that hot streak? We handed Rustbowl Rumble over to our App Army to find out.

Here's what they said:

Meteorfall: Rustbowl is a roguelike deck-building and tactical card battle game with a lot of funny and stylish elements, the hand-drawn art, vibrant animation, and playful music. For difficulty, I would say in a few minutes you get used to its terms like items, abilities related to heroes like strength, dexterity, faith, its combos and their effects. You’ll lose often, but each run feels like progress. Also, while I don't think this game adds anything new to the genre, it is worth playing.

Meteorfall: Rustbowl Rumble is a rogue-like card battler set in the Meteorfall universe. Battles occur on a simple grid with your team taking turns against the opponent team. You attack and defend by playing cards that give your team. various abilities. As you progress, you can upgrade cards and ditch unwanted cards.

As a newbie to the Meteorfall universe, I found the learning curve to be a bit steep; the tutorial helped, but not enough. Gameplay gets complicated fast when wild cards are introduced. I was a bit lost as I played, which rather reduced my enjoyment of the game. Graphically, the cartoon graphics look good, if rather strange. Not a game I enjoyed playing.

This game has lovely animations, music and voice-overs. I love the character designs.
It’s a card brawler. Which I’m still kind of new to. So a lot of the depth escapes me for now. That being said, it’s rather compulsive and has a just one more go hook. Yeah, I got my assed kicked a few times and also kicked ass. I think I will reach a level where I can start kicking ass, I get my ass kicked, and then I will want to return to another run.

You can upgrade characters and buy new cards to progress on your run. I am still trying to learn the strategy of the game, but I really like what I am playing so far. Definitely one I will be playing when waiting for the bus or on the train. Recommended

Meteorfall Rustbowl Rumble is colourful, full of fun details, sounds and animations that emphasise the atmosphere of the Meteorfall series. This is also my criticism of the game, although interesting and engaging: my tastes in roguelikes and deck building favour a soothing atmosphere with relaxing music and a simple, dynamic interface. As a result, I find this game a bit too noisy and hectic. It's a matter of taste, no doubt, and anyone who appreciates the franchise should be delighted with this quality new title.

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After a so-so story introducing the plot and some of the main characters, you are taken to the arena fight. M: RR is a game mixing troop placement strategy with a card brawler. The gameplay is easy to get into, but takes quite a while to master. As it is turn-based, you can take your time moving your heroes into position and plan what cards to use.

The animations when attacking are swift, and status effects are easy to keep track of, such as poison or freeze. Between bouts, you get to upgrade your deck, heroes and plan for the next round. There is a lot to unlock, learn, and the gameplay loop of a roguelike gives it a long playtime. Recommended as a more lighthearted Slay the Spire.

I’m a Meteorfall fan, and this doesn’t disappoint. It’s a fun and challenging card battler with a few twists- like wild cards, sequence of attacks, and a few other features not covered in the tutorial. Kind of a steep difficulty hill to claim, but the animation keeps me entertained and trying. And those twists make it different enough to keep me interested. Fans of Meteor Fall, especially, and card battlers, will enjoy.

Meteorfall: Rustbowl Rumble blends deck-building, roguelike, and turn-based tactics with a vibrant, cartoonish art style reminiscent of Adventure Time. The game has engaging mechanics. The mix of card-based combat, wild Cards, and crowd-pleasing feats creates dynamic, replayable battles. Synergies between heroes and cards allow for creative strategies, rewarding experimentation. 

It is also highly replayable. The game starts with 3 heroes (5 unlockable, 8 total), varied fight schedules, and unlockable content; every run feels fresh. The game teaches through failure, making progression satisfying without artificial difficulty reductions. Fans of Slay the Spire or Balatro will find familiar yet innovative gameplay.

The tutorial doesn’t fully explain mechanics like crowd challenges or Wild Card usage, and the first fight can overwhelm new players. Difficulty spikes, particularly against the Uberlich, may feel unbalanced. It’s a must-play for roguelike enthusiasts seeking a fun, replayable experience.

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Meteorfall: Rustbowl Rumble