Since the release of StarCraft: The Board Game and Dominion in 2007 and 2008, respectively, the deck-building genre has expanded and grown. Not only did the genre cross into the realm of video games, but deckbuilding mechanics have been innovated upon time and again, remaining incredibly popular throughout it all. Perhaps the most popular deckbuilding games today are Balatro and Slay the Spire, with the latter getting a sequel this year too. However, the genre has plenty to offer; specifically, those looking to combine a love for Dungeons and Dragons-style fantasy, a love for all things food, and a love for deckbuilding may want to keep an eye on Mage Food Truck’s ongoing development.
Mage Food Truck is being developed by Adam Stewart, the sole developer of the appropriately named One Man Left Studios. Game Rant recently spoke with Stewart about the title’s “extremely indie” game development process, as well as the various deckbuilding features and gameplay loops present in Mage Food Truck. He believes that fans of deckbuilding, board games, and DnD-esque fantasy will find something fun in running their food truck service.
Mage Food Truck is a Strong Amalgamation of Genres and Fantasies
Mage Food Truck is a single-player roguelike deckbuilding game, where players must work their morning, day, and night shifts. As the sun goes down, working a food truck in a fantasy land becomes all the more perilous. Players will expand their decks as they travel the “hangry realm” in search of ingredients to turn into meals, deliveries to make, and monsters to avoid. The run is done when players make it through all three shifts or their truck gets totaled by fantasy monsters. At that point, customers will give players a review of 0-3 stars, and they can spend their gold in a shop to expand their deck. Then, as with all games in the roguelike genre, players can try to convince themselves that “one more run” is just one more run.
The core gameplay loop is immediately recognizable to roguelike and deckbuilding fans, but it’ll also be recognizable to fans of Space Food Truck (a prior release from One Man Left Studios). Whereas that game obviously featured a sci-fi setting and was designed for co-op, Mage Food Truck is a Dungeons and Dragons-esque fantasy setting designed for single-players. In fact, the bard in Mage Food Truck is based on Stewart’s own DnD character. It’s worth noting, though, that the Quality of Life changes Stewart has made in Mage Food Truck are quite extensive, and fans of Space Food Truck are going to enjoy the various improvements. Overall, Mage Food Truck has a wide appeal, and when asked who the target audience is, Stewart had a lot to add,
“Deckbuilding fans for sure! And anyone who enjoys board games, digital or physical. If you like Slay the Spire or Dominion or anything like that, this is a fresh take on that genre. I imagine DnD and fantasy fans will get a kick out of it. Of course, anyone who enjoyed Space Food Truck will be pleasantly surprised at all the quality of life changes.”
There is one more audience who should keep all of this in mind, especially if their interests overlap with the above, and that’s anyone who loves and has ever wanted to run a food truck. This isn’t a case of a group of murder hobos running a food truck and facing high-end, world-shattering stakes at the end of a campaign, but getting treated to a little deckbuilding a la Slay the Spire, a little ever-popular roguelike gameplay, a little Dungeons and Dragons fantasy, and a little food service (there’s also a vegetarian mode) is a strong pitch.