Souls of White Star
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About the Game
Souls of White Star combines the key elements of DBG, such as card collection and deck building, with tactical gameplay features such as grid-based movement, attack range, terrain elements, and more.
The game’s 3 main factions , 10 majors, 20 chronoweapons, and over 700 cards and 150 spacecrafts, ensure ample replayability.
In terms of card collection, this game has abandoned the traditional single-card acquisition model found in other card games. Here, players can obtain cards through means such as winning battles, building bases, copying enemy decks, and completing exploration events. They can also delete cards through means such as battle rewards, technology upgrades, and event exploration. This allows players to quickly build their card decks, much faster than in similar games.
The game has optimized the card-drawing system for unlucky players. In this game, players need to spend resources to draw cards, but playing a card does not require any cost. By spending different amounts of resources, players can draw white, blue, purple, and gold cards, effectively avoiding situations where they cannot draw the cards they need and reducing the risk of early defeat.
During battles, players can use the game’s unique flip Cards system to convert surplus or unwanted cards into action points for specific units, enabling greater flexibility and preventing the problem of being stuck with unusable cards in hand.
The game features a story-driven campaign mode and a gameplay-focused standard mode. At the initial release of the game’s early access version, there were a total of four chapters. It is expected that upon the official release, there will be a total of twelve chapters.
During the game, every player will always have their own unique ideas. In order to make it easier for players to implement their ideas, we have already supported the workshop before the game was released!
Game Discussion
Steam User 0
Think Slay the Spire on hex gameplay maps where some of your skills spawn ships, move and fight with those and some use direct skills. Your base, "Pylon", needs to survive and it keeps the damage it takes during the fights.
You've a "metagame" on the star map where you build some upgrades and decide your route, which isn't linear path, but instead a web. Occasionally you get some guaranteed extra rewards if you take certain event RIGHT NOW.
+Player choice in emergent gameplay setting
+Audio is fantastic
+Writing isn't half bad either
+Functional gameplay
+Emergent gameplay
-Abandoned by the devs (...but it's v0.99)
-UX/UI could use some work (not going to happen) on the card reinforcement and trait descriptions. Keywords aren't necessarily explained through some of the menus at all.
= Recommended.
Steam User 0
Souls of White Star is an ambitious and intricately designed fusion of deck-building, tactical strategy, and science fiction that dares to push the boundaries of its genre. Developed by Souls of Star Game Lab and published by IndieArk, the game stands as an impressive experiment in combining systems that rarely coexist so harmoniously. Set in a distant galaxy engulfed in interstellar warfare, it presents a world where technological evolution, military might, and strategic foresight intertwine. Every move, every card, and every decision carries weight, creating a complex and methodical experience that rewards patience and mastery. For players who thrive on deep, layered systems, Souls of White Star offers an intricate playground of possibilities.
At its core, the game revolves around a unique blend of deck-building and tactical wargaming. Players command fleets across star systems, deploying spacecraft and using cards to perform actions, trigger abilities, and manipulate the flow of battle. Unlike traditional card games where random draws dominate the experience, Souls of White Star introduces a dual-sided card system that adds strategic depth. Each card can be used in multiple ways—either for its primary effect or flipped to serve as a resource for movement, attacks, or defensive maneuvers. This clever mechanic minimizes the frustration of bad hands while reinforcing the importance of resource management. The game’s “bandwidth” system further complicates decision-making, requiring players to balance energy consumption with tactical advantage. Every encounter becomes a test of judgment and adaptability, making each victory feel earned through skill rather than luck.
The tactical layer is where Souls of White Star truly comes into its own. Battles unfold on grid-based maps where positioning, range, and terrain all play significant roles. Commanding your fleet is as much about spatial awareness as it is about card synergy. Players must anticipate enemy movements, allocate their units efficiently, and exploit weaknesses through precise timing. The ability to build bases, research technologies, and unlock new ships adds a satisfying sense of progression. Between skirmishes, exploration plays a key role—venturing across sectors, engaging in events, and discovering relics that can shape the outcome of your campaign. The interplay between tactical combat and macro-level management ensures the experience never feels static, instead oscillating between intense micro-decisions and broad strategic planning.
Visually, Souls of White Star embraces a clean, minimalist sci-fi aesthetic that complements its complexity. The ships, cards, and user interface are designed with clarity in mind, emphasizing function over flash. While it lacks the cinematic polish of larger-budget strategy titles, the art direction succeeds in communicating scale and atmosphere. The galactic backdrops, shimmering star fields, and stark mechanical designs evoke a universe that feels vast yet methodically constructed. Every faction carries a distinct personality, reflected not only in their ships but also in the thematic design of their cards and technologies. The soundtrack, a mixture of ambient electronic tones and tense orchestral flourishes, reinforces the sense of being adrift in an endless cosmos where every encounter could spell disaster or triumph.
Despite its impressive ambition, Souls of White Star is not an immediately accessible experience. Its learning curve is steep, and the sheer number of systems at play can overwhelm new players. The game demands careful study of its mechanics, and the lack of a highly guided tutorial means that much of the early experience is spent experimenting through trial and error. The user interface, though functional, can feel dense and intimidating at first, packed with information that isn’t always presented intuitively. Yet, for those willing to invest the time, these complexities transform into strengths—the more you understand the interplay of cards, units, and resources, the more rewarding the experience becomes. It’s a game that expects commitment but repays it with depth and satisfaction.
Being in early access, Souls of White Star still shows the rough edges of an evolving project. The developers have been transparent about their roadmap, promising additional factions, story chapters, and mod support in future updates. What’s already present, however, is impressively robust: multiple factions with unique playstyles, hundreds of cards to collect and customize, and a wealth of strategies to explore. Balance adjustments and polish are ongoing, and while some visual elements and interface components may feel basic, the underlying mechanics are already solid and highly replayable. There’s a clear passion driving this project—a sense that the creators are more interested in building a deep, evolving experience than in chasing surface-level spectacle.
The replayability of Souls of White Star is one of its strongest selling points. Each faction offers distinct strategies and units, encouraging experimentation and adaptation. The procedural nature of exploration and the vast number of available cards ensure that no two campaigns feel exactly alike. Players can pursue different paths of technological progression, favoring aggressive domination, defensive control, or intricate combo playstyles. The roguelike progression structure ties it all together—failure leads to learning, and learning leads to refinement. It’s a design philosophy that aligns perfectly with the game’s cerebral nature, appealing to players who see challenge not as punishment but as a call to mastery.
Souls of White Star is, above all else, a labor of love for strategy enthusiasts. It may not boast cinematic storytelling or lavish production values, but its depth and ambition make it a standout in the indie strategy landscape. It’s a game that asks for patience, rewards foresight, and constantly challenges your understanding of its systems. Every encounter feels like a puzzle waiting to be solved, and every victory feels like the result of deliberate, intelligent planning. While it remains a work in progress, its foundation is remarkably strong, and its potential for growth is immense. For those who enjoy the meticulous tension of tactical wargames and the calculated decision-making of card battlers, Souls of White Star offers a rewarding, thought-provoking journey through the endless expanse of the stars.
Rating: 8/10
Steam User 0
Do you enjoy roguelikes, deckbuilders and strategy? Do yourself a favor and just get this, it's that good.
Steam User 0
just wanted to note seems to work on steam deck