Update: While I've never been banned from the server or gotten my posts removed, there are many who have and there is tons of screenshots and evidence supporting these claims. The CEO has a history of emotional outbursts and has misrepresented their stances on early monetization strategies and prior investments and has even replied to a negative review with these embellishments before removing it after being called out on it. Looking through all the positive and negative reviews they are all saying the same thing. Most of us would have a neutral rating if Steam supported it.

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If you like Slay the Spire or auto battlers like TFT, you should give The Bazaar a shot. I’ve got over 300 hours in the beta as an early backer, and it’s been great so far. As the item pool grows, it’s become harder to force a single build, which keeps runs varied and prevents a stale "Tier 0" meta from taking over.

I won't sugarcoat it - the early monetization strategies have been questionable, the devs are clearly experimenting and the earliest backers have been the most screwed by it. They need to be very careful going forward as they will hit the trust thermocline otherwise and lose their playerbase in the long run.

The silver lining, with the removal of F2P, there are no more FOMO mechanics, and that feels much healthier for the game long term. The current price per hero might look steep upfront, but since they dropped the monthly subscription model and make the battle pass completely free, it vastly improved the player experience for those who did pay upfront. If you only want to main one hero, you’d never have to make another purchase again.

I compare it to a CCG where, instead of booster packs or gacha, unlocking a hero gives you their entire set of cards immediately, plus all future expansions for that hero for free. Your "deck" can’t get power-crept because you’ll always have the latest set for that hero. It’s fairer since everyone using the same heroes has the exact same shared pool of items and expansions at the same time. No pay-to-win, no pay-to-access-early. The closest comparison I can think of is Dominion.

I really hope the Steam launch promo sticks around or comes back often, because that kind of introductory value is exactly what would pull in more players.

Feedback for the team. Avoid rushing out drastic changes or announcements and keep the community in the loop earlier so feedback can help shape updates. Hire proper PR person or a community manager as those emotional outbursts look really unprofessional and immature. Even as a big fan of the game its embarrassing. Acknowledge your mistakes and don't ban or hide comments in discord or subreddits. Lastly, do better for your longest loyal backers. While the value of the game is still worth it, there are still many indie teams that may not be as polished but are not as snarky or overly controlling.

Overall, it’s the most polished and balanced online deckbuilder/auto-battler I’ve ever played.

Pokemon but Good

Deceptive marketing on what should be a demo and it also circumvents any Steam Refund systems in place. Since it is an in-game purchase for legendary status the 72 hour rule does not apply as well.

IRONMACE TERMS OF SALE

3.5 When you buy extra content for one of our games which you have purchased (“Additional Content”), such as in-game currency, you are purchasing the right to use this Additional Content in the game for as long as the game is provided to you. If public access to the game is stopped within 30 days of you purchasing the Additional Content, we will refund you as set out in section 7.2 for that Additional Content unless you have already used, exhausted or otherwise removed the Additional Content. Additional Content is not otherwise refundable once you have placed your order.

don't look anything up. one of the most creative deck builders out there

its aight

Play or Kanji will renovate your ass

Everything's Alright.