Across the Obelisk

Deckbuilders have flooded the indie market, and most of them are solo affairs. Across the Obelisk stands apart by building its entire identity around cooperative play. You and up to three friends each control a hero, combining your decks in combat encounters that reward coordination over individual power. It’s Slay the Spire meets D&D night, and for the right group, it’s one of the best co-op experiences on PC.

The community response has been overwhelmingly positive, though it splits along a clear line. Groups who play together praise it as one of their favorite cooperative games. Solo players appreciate the depth but note that the experience loses something without human teammates. That divide tells you a lot about what this game prioritizes and where its heart really lies.

Four-Hero Synergy and the Joy of Combo Building

The party system is what elevates Across the Obelisk above standard deckbuilders. Instead of managing one character’s deck, you’re coordinating four heroes whose abilities interact in meaningful ways. A tank can apply debuffs that your mage exploits. A healer’s buff cards might trigger bonus effects from your scout’s attack cards. These interactions aren’t just nice bonuses. They’re the core of the strategy. Building a party where every hero amplifies the others is deeply satisfying, and discovering new synergies across runs provides lasting motivation to keep experimenting.

Hero variety is substantial. The roster spans multiple classes, each with distinct card pools and playstyles. Unlocking new heroes through gameplay achievements gives every run a sense of progression that persists beyond individual attempts. The perk system adds another layer, letting you customize heroes between runs in ways that fundamentally change how they play. A healer built for offensive support plays nothing like one built for sustain, and both are viable.

The map structure borrows from the genre’s best, offering branching paths with different encounter types, events, and bosses. Choices at story nodes can alter your run in unexpected ways, adding narrative texture to the strategic decisions. The writing won’t win any awards, but it does enough to make the world feel like more than a backdrop for card battles.

Mod support through Steam Workshop extends the game’s life considerably. The community has created new heroes, cards, encounters, and balance adjustments that keep the experience evolving well past the base content. For a mid-sized indie game, the modding scene is surprisingly active and adds real value.

Where Across the Obelisk Stumbles Solo

The AI companion system is functional but limited. When playing alone, you control all four heroes yourself, which works mechanically but removes the spontaneity that makes co-op special. You’re essentially playing four hands of cards simultaneously, and while some players enjoy that puzzle, it lacks the social spark that defines the game’s best moments. The AI doesn’t make decisions for you, so “solo” here means quadrupling your cognitive load rather than relying on bots.

Difficulty balance can feel uneven, particularly in later zones. Some encounters spike sharply, and whether you clear them often comes down to specific party compositions rather than general skill. This can make certain hero combinations feel mandatory at higher difficulties, narrowing the build variety that the game otherwise celebrates.

The tutorial and onboarding leave something to be desired. New players face a wall of systems, hero abilities, card interactions, and status effects without much guidance on how they fit together. The learning curve isn’t steep once things click, but getting to that click takes patience and likely a few runs that end in confusion rather than understanding.

Visual presentation is clean but unremarkable. The art style is pleasant and readable, which matters in a game where you need to quickly parse four hands of cards plus enemy formations. But it won’t turn heads, and the animations during combat are minimal. This is a game you play for the systems, not the spectacle.

The Co-Op Deckbuilder Gap It Fills

Across the Obelisk occupies a niche that few games even attempt. Cooperative deckbuilders exist, but most are either too simple to sustain long-term interest or too complex to onboard new players. This one threads that needle well enough that groups regularly cite it as their go-to game night pick for months at a time. The four-player structure means everyone has agency, and the combo system means you’re always paying attention to what your teammates are doing.

Should You Play Across the Obelisk?

If you have a regular co-op partner or group and you enjoy deckbuilders, this should be near the top of your list. It’s also worth trying solo if you like managing complex, interlocking systems and don’t mind the extra mental overhead. Skip it if you want a streamlined single-player deckbuilder. There are better options for that specific experience, and Across the Obelisk doesn’t pretend to compete on that front.

The Verdict on Across the Obelisk

Across the Obelisk is a co-op deckbuilder that thrives on party synergy and build variety. Managing a four-hero team with intertwined card combos gives it a tactical richness that most games in the genre can’t match. It’s best with friends, and solo players may find the AI companions limiting, but the sheer volume of unlockable heroes, cards, and paths keeps runs feeling fresh for dozens of hours. If you’ve been looking for a deckbuilder you can share with someone, this is the one.