In massive, open-world RPGs full of minigames, it’s not uncommon to see a card-based minigame so good players wish they could play it without the RPG attached. But how many of them are good enough to actually become full-fledged games of their own? (I’m looking at you, Triple Triad sickos.) One game not only spun off its immensely popular card game into a separate release, but turned it into an excellent RPG on its own, and it’s free to Amazon Prime subscribers this week.
Technically, The Witcher 3 got two spinoffs for its card game, but we’re not here to talk about the standalone competitive card game Gwent. As great as that game is, the more ambitious affair is Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales. Unlike most of The Witcher series, Thronebreaker doesn’t follow Geralt of Rivia. It takes place before the main series, focusing on Queen Meve, ruler of both Rivia and the neighboring Lyria. And rather than hunting monsters in real-time sword and magic combat, Queen Meve deals with problems using a unique card mechanic.
