Ironcast

The Shin Megami Tensei of match three games.
Brutally unforgiving.
Equally rewarding.

Ironcast is a game I constantly find myself returning to YEARS after being given a code for it.
Its the perfect game to play when your mind needs a break from endless walls of text or heavy involved action games. You can easily play it casually or spend time creating different strategies and play styles for each commander and ironcast combo.
I would highly recommend picking this hidden gem up and giving it a try yourself.

Ironcast has a splendid campaign and takes its Steampunk genre as seriously as is productive. It is also among the rare titles that afford a good german translation - a preciously rare feat!
Both the puzzle layer and the battle theme go well with one another, blending into a rather special game. That combination is probably how the game manages to be both casual and challenging at once, which is commendable indeed!
Although it pains me to say it there's also a few flaws to mention. Specifically the campaign is very short. It being so enjoyable makes time fly even more! Casual puzzle games should be most suited for being played on occasion - indefinitely. Insofar it really is regrettable that the whole unlocking dynamics befitting the genre end up rendering the game inevitably easier. It may have been great to unlock challenges to spark long lasting interest; unlocking additional power is not exactly my deepest desire after having played through the game already. The tragedy of too short a grand endeavor ensues.
To finish my review on the good note:
I've thoroughly enjoyed the brief time I've spent with it - it is well worth the modest asking price!

It's a neat little steampunk-themed matching game that I find to be a good stress reliever. It's pretty laid back when it comes to game play, which also makes it easy for me to lose track of time while playing it. The Ironcasts, your steampunk mechs, have some interesting designs, and the backstories of the commanders you can unlock are quite nice. You can choose missions similar to FTL, and it has a global progression between campaigns like your typical Rogue-lites. As for the combat, you have 3 turns to match the different symbols that you store and use to power your Ironcast, meaning you will have to decide at times whether you want to try for a Hail Mary with some ammo, or play it safe and power up your shields and dodge percentage.
The downsides, however, lie in the same simplicity that makes it appealing as a chill game. The in-game dialogue doesn't change for the different commanders, so all you really get are their mechanical benefits. If you're looking for in-depth mech combat like Battletech, this is not that game. It does get challenging when you have to decide between two key systems of your mech, but that's about it. There is a noticeable difficulty spike at the mid-point and later, so be prepared to run through the same choices of early mission quite a bit.
Overall, it's an enjoyable, easy-to-lose-yourself-in type of game and I do recommend it if you want something that isn't intense with its game play and just relax.

steampunk match 3 roguelike with upgrades, items, random events, mission selects, different builds / strategies and its f**king hard and you earn it when you win.

Marked received for free by an awesome steam friend.
small Yes and a big NO
(Mostly No, but this game probably dosen't deserve another thumbs down. Probably.)
Yes.
1)Heavily RNG so you're always having to stay on your toes.
2) A variety of things to play with, weapons, robots, pilots.
3) A nice campaign story that gives you three different missions per stage. Haven't gotten near end stage yet. I think i'm always dying at ~70% of the way
4) It's a connect 3 or more gems kinda game, so somewhat relaxing. somewhat.
5) Those gems have a nice balance about how you play. Repair, Attack, Energy, Coolant.
NO
1) HEAVILY. HEAVILY. RNG so, who knows what enemies you will face, what gems you will be able to connect, what missions you get, if that 5% enemy dodge chance magically evades your attacks. That kind of frustration.
2) This game gives you new equipment to use in the form of blueprints. That you must balance your $ to pay for and\or repair yourself so you don't die in the next stage. You cannot sell or remove these excessive amounts of blueprints\ old equipment you end up acquiring which makes inventory management in the later ends of the game annoying. Also, you can't visually tell if you've equipped a new gear. All the icons on the user interface stay the exact same. So you can equip a shiny green rare equipment, or it could still be a default normal white\gray\grey equipment. The only notice is a big EQUIPPED next to the item... in the big list of items.
3) Also i did a mission for the first time, at the end you are told 'they'll repair you for free!' No, no they most certainly did not repair for free. Unless they repaired an insignificant amount of armor health that i didn't notice.
4) Speaking of insignificant amounts of health, the only progression this game throws at you, is the more you play, the more you unlock. Usually something nice right? Most of the time its neat new items and equipment to maybe RNG upon and use (if you can even AFFORD it at that point)
But the real kicker? Hurr durr, you now get +3 Max health per level next time you play! Yay!!! - Sarcastic yay (Just looked at a player made guide, a long, long, long way down the road. You can eventually get.. like +18 health per level... still not that significant usually)
5) Those darn gems. Sometimes you just really really need gems to attack, repair, defend, coolant. But RNG has killed me a few times this way. By not giving me what i need when i need it. Did i mention how heavily RNG this game is?

It is a solid match 3 game. It is fairly simple, but there is some nice art and RPG elements that elevate it from something like Bejeweled. I enjoyed my time playing it.
However, there is not a ton of depth and it feels like progression is very very slow - like you get to have 10 more health permanently for future runs. These don't feel significant enough to have an impact and make the game feel grindy.