I really enjoyed this game. Had me hooked for a few days.

The moment to moment gameplay is quite good, and it's really satisfying to slowly watch how much of a stage you've covered, and traversed through.

My biggest issue with the game, and something that held me back from enjoying it even more, was the story segments. I think a game like this would benefit from a more subtle method of storytelling, rather than the scripted moments you get locked into, and unskippable dialogue segments. These can really take you out of your flow, and whether it's sub par writing, or bad translation, it just feels like it could be axed without negatively impacting player experience.

Pretty fun rougelite card game where you manage your resources while you navigate through the map. The story was pretty interesting but I did feel like the game went on a bit too long. I will say part of that is my fault as I kept getting lost and taking longer than it should have to get through some parts lol. If the game is on sale I would say give it a shot as it was pretty interesting take on a card game from others I've played. Enjoy!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3669681910
There will be a TL;DR at the end.

~

The second I saw this game, I had to get it.

I’m a huge fan of Lovecraft, Body Horror, Bioarboribus, Deckbuilding, ingenuitive gameplay, MEAT MOSS - and this embodies all of it!

The developers nailed the presentation and atmosphere - the sound effects and visuals are stylized and juicy, perfect for the kind of game we’re in store for!

Initially, I really took a liking to the game. The first spark effectively sets a fire, and playing the part of an ancient evil consuming all life becomes a terrifying joy.

There is a particular novelty to playing the bad guy - like a little occasional treat - and it’s made all the more interesting by controlling an unstoppable elder god.

The first bite is with the eye, and the second gives a very pleasant taste; everything comes together in concert with the level exploration, deckbuilding, and thematic unraveling of the world. It’s unfortunate that the momentum doesn’t stay.

Even now, I have very mixed feelings about my time with Roots Devour and, in some way, almost feel like recommending it on principle. The truth of the matter is, at this point, I am so disillusioned, frustrated, and sick of the experience that, in all honesty, I can’t bring myself to play any more of it. While I want to be polite and focus on the good - I can’t in good faith let the silver lining get in the way of the rainy truth that lies just under the surface of this seemingly grand experience.

It started out like a juicy steak that was enjoyable - but when I went back for more, it became a dehydrating bolus of tough, chewy, and flavorless ‘meal’ that wasn’t worth my time or attention anymore.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3669681312
Roots Devour sets out to accomplish a lot - and the expanded vision has a very particular delivery. It’s competent, very competent, and that’s the twist that makes the stab more painful.

Does Roots Devour have Strategy / Puzzles? YES! Sorta. Technically. It works.
Does Roots Devour have Exploration / Worldbuilding? YES! Sorta. Technically. It works.
Does Roots Devour have Roguelite Elements? YES! Sorta. Technically. It works.
Does Roots Devour have Deckbuilding? YES! Sorta. Technically. It works.
Does Roots Devour have an Overworld with mission select? YES! Sorta. Technically. It works.
Does Roots Devour have Perks and upgrades? YES! Sorta. Technically. It works.
Does Roots Devour have Resource Management? YES! Sorta. Technically. It works.
Does Roots Devour have Multiple Characters? YES! Sorta. Technically. It works.
Does Roots Devour have an interesting story with cutscenes? YES! Sorta. Technically. It works.

It’s easy to get excited when these features initially roll out. They all hit like a truck and make it feel like this is going to be some epic experience - but as these elements boil away, all that’s left is a dehydrated amalgamate of self-conflicted mechanics wrapped up in an admittedly gorgeous wrapper.

Mostly everything’s connecting point A to point B. If there isn’t anything there, use a card. If you don’t have a card, get one. It’s square peg in square slot sorta thing. They do throw some curveballs in the way to try and make movement more decisive and nuanced - but it sadly falls flat; there’s only so many ways you can make “connect the dots” a thinking game, and most of what can be done is to simply make it a bit frustrating. You have money (blood) and HP. Connecting the dots short distances costs a bit of money, connecting larger distances or making mistakes costs HP - connecting to living things earns money. That’s it. That is 100% of the game. Not hard, just increasingly annoying. That’s the core game. All of it. There isn’t a lot of replayability in spite of many attempts to make the idea of stringing through static levels attractive somehow.
Sometimes you get some cards put into evil Magic The Gathering packs that you open to get 3 at a time - use the packets to get boosts, tools, and place nodes to help you along dead-zones. Every so often you will be able to choose between two randomly selected card types to add more to your random roster. It’s… completely random - and not all cards are created equal. Is it neat to try and build a good deck to help you keep your blood and water while growing? Yes! But, in effect, you’re often going to be frustratingly ripping through packs to find a card or two that you’re looking for and either getting what you need, or having to move across the map to spam-open them in a random place that has enough room. It sounds good in theory, but becomes the most frustrating bottleneck very quickly.
Once done with a level, things move to the overworld where upgrades and items can be bought. What the upgrades do is turn the game’s initially difficult introduction and transform it into a cakewalk. You get slots to put trinkets. Some are incredibly good and break the game, others leave you wondering if they put it in to meet a quota. In the end, I don’t believe either of these elements should have been in the game at all; could have been left out without much value being lost.
What does the game’s Story look like? Bad. It’s there, it’s just not good at all, sadly. Nobody is expecting writing on par with Lovecraft himself, but the perspectives, motivations, rules, and themes shift constantly like a formless chimera from scene to scene. Rules are made, broken, re-established, and nothing is explained. It’s all very melodramatic, mean-spirited, and fraught with portent without having the strength to drive anything home. The dialogue is always cryptic and unhelpful, always alluding to some grander truth that they never specify or clear up - never have payoff for. If you listen, it’s a meandering and shambling mess. Things aren’t “deep” or “complicated” - it’s easy to follow, and painfully misguided.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3669681134

I really wanted to like this title. I got it on release and put a lot of hours into it!
But after a little while, I just couldn’t play it anymore. I couldn’t bring myself to it. It’s a gorgeous package with a LOT to offer - there’s a lot of writing, lots of cards, lots of things here and there and everywhere! Yet, in spite of all of this stuff, it’s all a bit of a mess.

There is currently no saving system, which bites the experience in the legs, but even when that gets patched in, it won’t save these elements.

Why do you get upgrades in the overworld? So that you can play connect-the-dots for 2-3 hours a level. Why do you play connect-the-dots for 2-3 hours a level? To read the poorly written story. Why do you read through the poorly written story? To get to the overworld and buy upgrades!

It turns into a slog.
The first hour or so was interesting, but by 4 hours I felt that progress was slow and the RNG elements were getting in the way of things. By hour 8 the experience had completely dried out and I was gnawing away, connecting dots long after the flavor was gone.

I didn’t finish the game.
I’m a massive fan of every tag that this game has and I simply don’t want to continue playing it.
That’s the review.

~

3.5/10
Roots Devour is a Flawed game.
It’s horror themed connect-the-dots.
They put a bunch of stuff in there to fluff it up, try to make it a lot more than it really is, and it all ends up getting in the way of things. It’s not so much a juicy steak as much as a dry chunk of flavorless meat you’ll be chewing on for hours without ever really feeling fulfilled.