After nearly 10 years in dormancy, the cult-classic Culdcept series of card-based strategy games is back with a fresh new entry that tells the story of how it all began: Culdcept BEGINS. Culdcept BEGINS is the prequel to the franchise’s first installment from the SEGA Saturn console, with an approach that eases all gamers in without prior knowledge of the series. For returning players, there’s still so much that makes Culdcept BEGINS a really immersive and engaging entry in the series.
The Culdcept franchise is known in its niche space for being a strategy game that combines board game and card game mechanics into one for a virtual tabletop-like experience. On top of this, Culdcept has rich lore that you’d expect from tabletop games, making for a unique RPG-inspired game that can get you hooked if the mechanics appeal to you. Culdcept BEGINS is no different in this regard, as it presents an intriguing story that sets up the foundation for Culdcept’s mythos as a prequel.
Culdcept BEGINS Beautifully Modernizes the Classic Strategy Series
Like the original game, the story of Culdcept BEGINS introduces the Book of Creation, Culdcept, created by the goddess Culdra. The fragments of the book are mystic tablets called Culds, and the wielders of those tablets are called Cepters. Throughout history, Cepters harness the power of Culds for good and evil, unsurprisingly. For protagonist Kamru, his life as a Cepter has been unremarkable, but the Royal Cept Academy has more in story for him. Kamru is the son of Rutra, a talented Cepter who the Royal Cept Academy owes much to. In order to seek out more information about his missing father, Kamru finally decides to stop slacking off and pursue the truth while serving as a member of the kingdom’s Royal Cepter Guard Regiment. Meanwhile, a conflict brews in the background and threatens the kingdom and diverse continent of Bavrashka.
The story itself plays out in chapters with plenty of side quests and bonus content to play through as you progress. Culdcept BEGINS’ story is presented like a traditional RPG with unvoiced dialogue, but I really enjoy the game’s overall presentation. You’ll also have dialogue options to choose from as Kamru, so the protagonist isn’t a blank slate at all here. What’s more, the fantastical artstyle and overall aesthetic of Culdcept BEGINS is reminiscent of Vanillaware games, and the sound design and soundtrack is incredible. Playing this game on Nintendo Switch 2 with headphones is a very enjoyable experience.
You have access to story content via the game’s world map, and each main story chapter features a battle, so you’ll want to have a book of cards that suits your specific strategy. Fortunately, Culdcept BEGINS gives you a handy tutorial in the early story chapters, so you’ll get a good handle of gameplay and mechanics early on without wasting time at all. As you play content, you’ll also level up and earn new cards, titles, boards, and much more, so Culdcept BEGINS proves to be rewarding and fun through and through.
As for the narrative, the story of Culdcept BEGINS is full of mystery and intrigue at the start, so it hooked me in immediately. There’s a lot of interesting worldbuilding and concepts that remind me of The Legend of Zelda, and the characters are also really interesting without falling deep into tropes. I would have really liked voice acting for story dialogue, but I think the music goes a long way in conveying the story’s setting and circumstances.
It’s All in the Cards
Under the full supervision of original developer Omiya Soft, Neos Corporation enlisted the talents of designer Satoshi Matsuura, the renowned character designer of RPGs like Bravely Default and Legend of Mana, to create over 400 distinct cards for use. The UI has also been modernized and redesigned to make it easier for new players to understand their position on the board and their resources.
In battle, the main goal is to build up your total Magic to a certain amount on the board by rolling dice, using your cards, and heading back to the castle—the starting point. To get that Magic, you’ll need to use your cards to conjure units that will fight for you and defend the territory you capture and develop on the board. By developing territory, you can exponentially increase the Magic you have on the board, but you can also lose it to your opponents who build up their own resources and units.
Each card has an elemental affinity that can be matched with the territory you capture to get some stat bonuses. If you land on an enemy’s territory, you can choose to battle their unit in an attempt to take over their territory, or you can pay a small toll of Magic in order to occupy the space and wait for your next turn. The real complexity of Culdcept BEGINS comes in the cards themselves, however. Since there are hundreds of cards in the game, there’s a ton of effects to consider for your book, which holds up to 40 cards with some restrictions. You can also create your own loadout, so there’s plenty of room for experimentation to find the deck that suits your playstyle and scenario.
Culdcept BEGINS is a really easy and fun game to play, but it can be deceptively brutal if you aren’t careful. The enemy AI will do its best to raise its Magic, so if you aren’t on top of your strategy for a specific battle, you can find yourself behind in no time. This isn’t a bad thing though. The beauty of Culdcept BEGINS’ gameplay systems lie in the ability to make a really impressive comeback if you play your cards right, literally. If you build just enough Magic or draw the right card on a turn, you could reverse your disadvantage into an advantage by taking over a well-developed territory. Some boards also have key points that can be used to enable specific effects or develop territory from afar, too.
Power in Your Hands
It’s been evident over the years that the Culdcept series has gravitated toward Nintendo platforms with the likes of Culdcept DS and Culdcept Revolt. The same can be said for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 now with Culdcept BEGINS, which runs and looks great on these systems—especially Nintendo Switch 2. As I mentioned briefly with the Switch 2 version, the audio experience is great with headphones, and adding to this, the game supports some useful features, such as GameShare with up to four players and Joy-Con 2 mouse controls. There’s virtually no performance hiccups or issues from what I experienced, and there’s also a turbo mode that lets you play at up to x2 speed.
Outside of Story Mode and the standard Versus Mode, there’s a variety of online modes at your disposal, including Online Versus, Quick Match, and custom Versus Rooms. There’s also cross-play between the two consoles, so you won’t have to worry about a segmented player base on Nintendo platforms. However, the downside is that the upcoming Steam version will not support crossplay with the Switch and Switch 2 versions. This is really unfortunate since a game like Culdcept incentivizes play with all your friends, just like a tangible card game could.
Culdcept BEGINS is a Fantastic Return to Form
Culdcept BEGINS is really great game that modernizes the series for new platforms and gives newcomers a good starting point nearly 10 years after Culdcept Revolt graced the Nintendo 3DS. Although the game is modernized, the difficulty and risk-and-reward nature of Culdcept is well maintained. The story is engaging and well-written, and the gameplay is fun and enticing with a plethora of unlocks and bonuses to earn in Story Mode.
In addition, the online modes give you additional replay value if you choose to play online opponents or invite a friend, with one of the only downsides being a lack of crossplay with the Steam version. All of this is wrapped in a fantastical aesthetic, setting, and array of sounds that make you feel immersed in the Culdcept world. For RPG fans, Culdcept BEGINS is yet another must-play game in the busy year of 2026.
Culdcept BEGINS will release on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 on July 16, and a PC (Steam) will launch at a later date. A Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Upgrade Pack will also be available for $10.
Disclaimer: Clear River Games provided a Nintendo Switch 2 copy of Culdcept BEGINS for review purposes.
