Deckbuilding battle royale Inferni: Hope & Fear announces new playable demo

Deck builders are certainly nothing new in the PC gaming space, but Inferni: Hope & Fear looks to shake up the genre by adding battle royale elements into the mix.

I know what you're thinking - 'deck building in a battle royale?!' but trust me, it's real! Think Magic The Gathering mixed with a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos and you're on the right track, and you can now try out the chaos in a new playable demo following the PC Gaming Show.

Play the Inferni: Hope & Fear demo right now

As shown in the PC Gaming Show, you can now access a playable demo for Inferni: Hope & Fear, giving you a slice of the deckbuilding battle royale to see how the chaos really plays out.

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This is a great first taste ahead of the full release on July 1, 2024, and is part of the wider Steam Next Fest, giving you the chance to play a part of many of the most exciting indie games on the horizon.

Battle royale meets deckbuilding

It can be quite hard to get your head around the strange mould of deck building and battle royale mechanics, and while the demo is the best way to get up to speed, there are a few key mechanics that we can point to.

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The most important thing to understand is that the battles occur in real-time, with players surrounding a pit and battling to emerge victorious. Each spell and card you choose has a specific cast and travel time, with the more powerful options likely taking longer to activate in the pit.

There are numerous classes to choose from too, allowing you to customise how you want to play from the damage-focused Hunter to the Leather Man, who excels when at low health.

On top of that, you'll also be able to adapt your deck mid-game, allowing you to be reactive and flexible based on the current state of the game. This adds another layer of strategy into the mix and ensures that the winner isn't always clear from the start.

Looking for more on Inferni? Check out our developer interview, as well as our exclusive reveal of the game's release date.