By Chris Picone, 07 November, 2025

Decktamer is a fun new card battler with some strong Pokemon vibes - which might send up a red flag except it's very much inspiration rather than a copycat and it's been executed surprisingly well. 

Aesthetics

The art style is bizarre, like Pokemon meets "Mambo." The creatures look cool and the cards are well-designed, with very clear signposted information and easy-to-read abilities and attacks on the cards. Each battle is played on a decorative playmat which resembles some sort of fitting landscape.  Some of the UI could use a touch more polish but otherwise it's a good looking game, if a little odd.

Gameplay

There are so many card battlers out there and of course all inspired by great grandaddy Magic: The Gathering, which makes any card battler that successfully stands apart worthy of attention.  Decktamer plays more like Pokemon, where you as the "tamer" throw your monsters at the opponent's monsters and they do battle.  The first point of difference is that Decktamer battles work on tracks - sometimes 1, sometimes 2, sometimes 3, which means battles can be 1-on-1, 2-on-2, or 3-on-3.  Some monsters really lean into this mechanic, letting you set up tricks with monsters in different lanes to snipe some of the more dangerous enemies, or to protect each other.  You can swap up to one monster out after each attack or as they are defeated, and many monsters also feature interesting "enters the battlefield" abilities. You'll need to consider speed, hardness, attack strength, synergistic abilities, and plan sacrifices because your enemy get them all too. The one thing that gives you an edge is food, which you earn after each level and which can be used to both heal your creatures and also tame enemy monsters. Taming creatures is important because you'll definitely lose a few and if you can't replace them you'll die to attrition. Sometimes taming a monster can also help you win a battle because it might help you dodge an attack. However, every food hurled is one you then can't use to heal your own creatures so it's always a gamble. There's a heap of other items with various boosts and nerfs that you'll need to take advantage of if you want to survive.  There are quite a few layers to battling in Decktamer, and that's what makes it so good.

Verdict

I went in expecting to enjoy Decktamer, on the premise that I enjoy most card battlers. But I was pleasantly surprised at how innovative Decktamer was, in terms of its lane and taming mechanics.  It's a fun game, and somewhat intriguing. 

Links: 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2870340/Decktamer/