Backpack Battles

It's a pretty good and addictive side game for those who are autistic or have a mental illness

I picked this up after being part of the closed beta of The Bazaar. And then seeing how bad the monetization was going to be in the open beta. So I, like many others, took Reynoodles advice and voted with my wallet. To those who don't know what this is... it's pretty much a puzzle pvp game. The pvp is done asynchronously which means you fight the "ghosts" of players. And their strength is roughly equal to yours based on what round you are on and rank. You are shown a shop each round and must make your board better based on resources given. Combat is after each shop and automatic as items in your bags will trigger passively. After combat you can look at a ton of stats like how much damage each item done, how many times they triggered, how much healing was done ect for both players. You can even replay and pause at certain points to try and understand what is going on. Despite me only having 30 hours at the time of writing this I can say this is one of the best auto battlers on the market right now. I can see myself coming back and playing a ton more of this. Even at full price the game is a recommend. Getting it on sale is icing on the cake though. Fantastic game.

Amazing game. It has become my go to comfort game when I don't know what else to play.

Its a simple game that will be addictive to those with OCD, play at your own risk. New runs can start as soon as you lose a game. You will spend more time minmaxing than actually playing. Send help.

Was already enjoying the game in early access as it was - they have really gone above and beyond my expectations with the 1.0 release. The two new characters are so fun and there are so many new and fun items to craft and discover, and love all the quality of life additions - it feels like I am playing the game again for the first time in the best way. Highly recommend if you enjoy auto battlers with a bit of strategy regarding inventory management to get the best (and most fun) backpack item combinations

Fun, addictive, but after they included the skills to pick up items from other classes, it seems like the game is broken. I think they should focus on balancing the game better instead of adding more items, because, in my opinion, over time it becomes harder to know what is weak and strong to balance. In the past I would recommend this game, but now it is impossible, I hope to change this review in the future because I really like the game.

As you can see by my hours, I have dedicated much of my time to this amazing game. The blend of a strategy rogue-like, asynchronous auto-battling, inventory management game with amazing art, plus the amazing work done to balance everything and make frequent patches to improve game play for us players is just out of this world! I got my wife and friends to all get the game and everyone who tries it: LOVES IT. If it doesn't sound like it's for you, watch some game play and decide. If you think you might like it and you're a person who appreciates the effort put in to make and balance and decorate games: BUY IT! I'd love to see the community grow and brag about one another's backpacks in the discord. If you like Balatro or Slay the Spire or any other similar densely strategic rogue-likes, you'll love this game!

[h1]All Hail King Goobert! [/h1] My favourite turn based strategy indie game right after Balatro. Everything is very nicely polished easy to catch on and hard to master. Few things could be more presentable (getting lost in crafting item list everytime). PS: Ranking up is slow.

Backpack Battles is very addictive and offers a surprising amount of depth that becomes apparent the more you play. You can play unranked or ranked mode, or create your own server to play with friends. In each round, you are using your earned gold to buy items and new backpack slots in a shop. These items and slots can then be arranged to create synergies, but every item takes up slots in specific shapes. Some items can also be combined with others, or get stronger by other items being placed next to it, or even become new items...there is a surprising amount of min-maxing you can do and it's very addictive. At certain rounds, you can also choose a "subclass" for whatever class you chose which helps you focus on certain tactics or items, or you can increase your stats or buy special items. Since the game is purely asynchronous PVP, you're also not being rushed; you can spend as much time as you want setting up your backpack and moving things around before fighting against the next player "ghost". The goal is to win 10 times and you can fail up to 5 times, so you are always pushed to improve your build a little bit. It's very addictive and engaging to find out cool synergies or play with whatever you like. Classes start with different backpacks, which have different effects on items placed in them, and you also have to manage other aspects such as stamina, fatigue and various debuffs. Special mention to the UI as well which is very clear at all times, showing crafting recipes with the click of a button and potential synergies by different colored lines. It tickles my brain in a good way and I definitely recommend Backpack Battles for those satisfying moments when you want to arrange a backpack, but can't be bothered to clean your own real house!

Already sank 280+ hours only with 4 character. Now got 6. The possibility and synergies is endless.

spent most time tossing around items to create a perfect combination, was beaten by some random chinese dude with a gazilion items that i have never seen in game before

Quite addictive and pretty fun. Easy to sink in hours without realizing it. If you love inventory tetris and/or have OCD, this is the game for you. Would love for them to update the characters' art because it feels almost dated, like the kind of character art you'd see in a browser game like (almost) Adventure Quest from back in the day. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad per se, it DOES have its charm... EDIT: be warned, game is heavily RNG reliant

This game is not "bad" in a vacuum, and alot of what I say here is fairly blunt, but honestly just play Backpack Hero because you get significantly more content and items, and a game that is less a victim of trying to beat a game at its own formula. This game gets even more repetitive than Backpack Hero because you run into the same exact 3 builds to fight against constantly since everyone just meta chases(also contributed to by the significant lack of items this far in when compared to the 1.0 of Backpack Hero, let alone today), so after the novelty of earning the recipes and trying things out at first wears off(about 3 hours for me) there really isn't a reason to keep playing. Even in the case of ranked, I don't see a point, as you are not sitting in a lobby that has timers, allowing anyone unlimited build crafting time which is nonsensical to me in a ranked setting, even as a player who spends way more time than average simply organizing their bags meaning the system benefits me specifically. This brings me to the final point, I would not consider this "Online" PvP in earnest. You are connected to their servers, yes, and so are the other players who you encounter, however, the disconnect of the people i'm against being snapshots of them while they were building in a somewhat similar point in time completely divorces me from the idea that I am "fighting other players" and again, might as well just play the game this takes from, Backpack Hero since you will encounter a, ironically enough, larger pool of enemies to fight since they're all designed to be different, instead of players chasing the exact same 3 builds. TLDR: Backpack Hero gives significantly you more game for your dollar, this game is not the kind of PvP you might think it is as an auto-battler, and everyone you "fight online" will be using one of three builds

I already loved the game in Early Access. Now it's perfect with achievements. Try out the demo to see if you like it!

Going to be honest, when I first saw this game, I didn't get it. I didn't understand the magic, but then. Then it clicked!! And now I'm HOOKED!! This game is amazing and so much fun. The builds, the bags, the items!!! This game is one of the best!! Thank you Esty for showcasing this game! :D :D :D You devs are incredible!!! :D

This game is well made and there's a time for fun early on. Progression is felt, choices are frequent and will have notable impact. There are 6 heroes to choose from with different start-up options. You could likely get tons of playtime out of this one if it's your thing, and it definitely has that 'just one more' vibe--for turns as well as runs. But I can't recommend Backpack Battles because, in the end, it's not really fun in a sustained or dynamic way. Rather, at core it's a PVP-lite meta-chasing RNG grindfest. The shine of wanting to restart again and again to see the next build wore off for me after the first 10 hours, as having learned the fundamentals my experience became chasing rank for marginal gains until my eyes were bleeding. It's just the same thing over and over; fiddle bags, make some buys, repeat. The lack of dynamic alternate modes or a more predictable challenge-based single player mode is a bit baffling for a full launch. And while I did enjoy the gameplay loop for a time, there are a few major issues with the experience. First, the UI is horrid when it comes to figuring out which items are part of which upgrade sets. The recipe screen is the laziest imaginable way to handle this-- they should have had something as straightforward as hovering over an item with a hotkey to see a ring of all other items it can interact with. Instead they made me search every time I had a question and the game presents many questions. Having to constantly flip screens and hover just to see components was terrible, and in addition to lacking an item ring for quick reference, I can't understand why they didn't just add all of the relevant crafting info to the item screen (which is the screen that has an actual search field-- though even that involves way too much tedium and clicking between tabs to get what you want). Navigating these panels became extremely dry. The other hard sell for this PVP-centric game is that ranking up means playing against players who are increasingly exploiting the more broken parts of the game, and you have limited choice but to do the same by chasing ultra rares and snowballing combos. Balance isn't much of a thing here, so I often swung between crushing my opponents and being crushed by them. Making this reliance on RNG worse, you can't really plan ahead to counter anything, and will mainly rely on the hope that the build you picked / were given early on will develop with lucky shop offerings in the long run; having no control over who you fight and knowing nothing about their build means the game is primarily based on the worst type of shop and encounter RNG and developing meta knowledge. Compare this to DOTA where build/hero knowledge is incredibly important as well, but you actually have skillshots, strategic teamwork, and stable shop and progression content to make a fun experience. In essence it all feels a bit soulless to me. So overall, if you like to climb PVP ranks, shuffle things around in bags, painstakingly try to discover builds, and don't mind RNG, sure, go for it. But I personally can't get past the lazy UI design and random nature of pretty much every aspect of the game, or the total lack of engaging/creative play modes. edit: So I pushed deeper in to see if the experience gets better with more knowledge, and it just doesn't. It still feels like a lottery, and I'll also say that the rank-up system is, frankly, cynical and punitive. I thought Gold was bad enough, but reaching Platinum, I now gain 0 rank from winning 8 of 10 matches. IMO, winning a majority (6 of 10) should always provide at least 1 point. That's about respecting player time. Instead, winning almost all matches gets you a few crumbs, but you really need 10 wins to get useful progress. This stingy math can be especially painful if the RNG system decides to put you up against a counter to your build, or if you get mediocre shop offerings early on. In my last game before uninstalling, I won 8 matches straight with a powerful build, then lost 5 matches straight and none of them were even close. One dude was simultaneously healing my substantial damage, purging all of my buffs, and buffing himself like a maniac (100+ total by 15s into the match). So having tried to be open-minded, and pushed deeper into ranks, in the end I think the devs have been way too miserly with their progression system and too loose with the RNG/balance aspects. One of those constraints is fine--tough progression based on skill would work, as would fluid progression with more randomness involved. But you can't have slow and painful + lottery progression. This is one of those time-sink games that's made to keep you playing for hundreds and hundreds of hours, but doesn't provide anywhere near the control or horizontal depth of design to make a rewarding experience out of it.

It's a fun little battler game, with great sound effects and animations

Love this quirky game about sorting the random stuff that shows up in the shop more efficiently than others who tried to do the same. Would also love to see groups of what, 50+ people in a pre-made lobby.

It's in my opinion, a really good game concept, quite unique, with a lot of creativity in the bulding of your backpack, thanks to a lot of items added troughout early access. I enjoy playing it at home and as well on my Steamdeck while traveling. Worth a try for deck builders and strategic minds. You can since few updates ago, even battle your friends on a custom made lobby ! Have fun in your futures Battles ! :)

It's pretty fun. A beatemupolis game with a zany sense of humour. :) PVP is fun but maybe future plans could be creating a single player campaign. Anyway, well done, :)

I have been addicted to this game from the moment I picked it up, months/years? ago. I am so thrilled to see it fully release and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves. You know when a game inspires a surge of copycats that it's a good formula. And this is still the best. Grats on the release!! It's a great chill "puzzle"/strategy type game. I adore it.

Fun game with lots of strategy and ways to make your build more powerful.

Cute Artstyle, lots of fun and a 1.0 that is not only branded as such, but actually brings new content worthy of the label

The graphics are low-midtier but the gameplay is great, and I love the asynchronous PVP using other player's "ghosts." This is even better than Balatro!

Fun auto-battler. Lots of build variety. YMMV on the art style, but the core game-play loop is challenging and satisfying.

Just as great as the early access demo - Just bigger, and better. The alternate base loadouts and especially the randomised one are a joy.

This game took me buy surprise. It's an auto battler, but there is a ton of depth/item synergy that make the battles interesting. Basically you have limited space in your backpack, and every round you get to buy new items to add to/expand your backpack. There are so many different items and combinations, and different backpack types can change how you strategize. For example, one of the reapers backpacks makes it so items in it have a chance to poison your enemy. You could come up with lots of rapid fire items to try and stack as much poison as possible. I've only tried two of the characters so far but every character feels unique. I am looking forward to exploring the synergies more in this game.

The game is fun and there's a lot of interesting builds to try for each character archetype. But be warned the items you get in the shop are very randomized so you might not get the stuff you need to try something specific. No amount of grinding this game will improve any items or characters. I understand why they did this for the online ranking but if I'm playing offline I'd like to have my characters or items improve after a while. Replayability suffers from no improvement after you finish the game with your character.

Very unique autobattler with tons of creative characters and items

One of the casual games I can awesomely say has kept my attention the longest. The devs really put a lot of effort into keeping it fresh. New items, new functionality, and they always balance to make it not too difficult, but never too easy. The sounds, the the battle, the cute images, the animations, all of it is great and full of dopamine. Play for as long or as little as you like. It's a great, fun game that I've played for a very long time and will probably play for a long time more. Congrats on full release, devs!

When this game first launched I had issues with it. They have fixed them all, and this game is quite deep, with good controls and QoL.

It's the best auto battler out there. So many build types and strategies to deploy. A must-buy!

One word: ADDICTING. It surprised me by how much I enjoy this game. Don't second guess, just get it.

I have been playing this game since the first versions of the demo. I can say with confidence it kills time like no other. Besides that the amount of builds and synergies possible to create is insane which also comes with a downside - sometimes a run will be unlucky and you will lose a bunch. Overall its a 5 star masterpiece.

Amazing game with endless combos of items that have magnificent artwork. The learning curve is fun and enjoyable, when you finish a build its satisfying.

Very good game 8/10 Superfun and addictive gameplay But overall UI and the description of the items, need some improved.

Its Broken I love it, I am glad I bought it this weekend, so many combination to try.

Great asynchronous auto-battler. Easy to learn, hard to master. Very deep strategy and planning required for the higher ranks. Great potential for game breaking builds when the stars align. Price to time ratio is great. I highly recommend.

Gotta be one of the most underrated games I've ever seen. Building the perfect bag is just so satisfying and it's pretty simple to get into too. The skill ceiling is incredibly high however: Even with hundreds of hours under my belt I still felt like I kept improving with every game. It's just really fun on so many levels.

Best autobattler on the market. Wide variety of builds for a reasonable price.

The most fun Auto-Battler I've played so far. Like if the Bazaar worked and was good. The tetris inventory element is as great as you'd think. If you've ever played a Resident Evil game, or more recently the lovecraftian boat game "Dredge" and thought "Damn I sure do wish I could just do this inventory management all day" then Backpack Battles is for you

This game is incredible, can't recommend it enough. I've played thousands of hours of autobattlers over the last 7 years and this one takes the cake.

Started playing in closed beta a lot and dropped it after 60 hours. Came back now that it realeased and it's much better. More classes and loadouts, More items and item recipes. I recommend this game for anyone that enjoys autobattlers. You won't regret it.

The Dark Souls of packing your bag. The only game that lets you run a Cthulhu pepper Goobert puppy build. 10/10 would win with 1 hp remaining again.

You put things in a backpack and fight others, what's there not to like? As for more details, this game is fun to play for both the casual and sweaty player alike. Everything from the art to the music to the game play to the different classes is highly enjoyable. Although the game is technically pvp, you do not really interact with anyone else while playing the game. This feature allows for the player to decide how seriously and sweaty to make the game. There are two phases to the game -- the build phase and the fight phase. Each fight phase features a different opponent that had equal time in the build phase as you. As you progress through the game, your backpack becomes increasingly more powerful as you add and combine and alter your items and components. Each class offers a variety of different way to play the game. However, just like any pvp game, there are builds that are more overpowered than others, which means at a high elo (maybe even a lower elo), you are going to see the same builds each game. But at the end of the day, the game is what you make of it. Play it however you want to play it and you should have loads of fun. Highly recommend this game for anyone who enjoys a pvp/pve auto battler!

This game is very satisfying and addicting. I accidentally played for 3 and a half hours in a row without realizing it, thinking it had been like 45 minutes. Easily worth the money.

One of, if not the best async multiplayer pvp game (No turn time, take as long as you like and match someone when you're ready). Seriously recommend it, especially if you love tetris-like inventory management.

Congrats on the full release! I love love love this game. I've been playing for a hot minute and always come back, its my absolute favorite little minigame. The updates are consistently great and the balancing is watched so closely. its cute its fun its puzzley but also duely. thank you for the awesome game!

adore this game,,, so many run possibilities....Definitly my favorite type game of the genre...in a very over crowded market of majority crap on a cake,,,so it REALLY KICKS ASS!!! BUY IT!!!! Support hard working and very talented dev team. Ive been super excited for theyre other game for years Furcifer's dungeon!!! theres a demo u should check out, super deep ARPG perks u choose from with lots of numbers and stts that make my AdhD AND OCD brain very happy aand stimulated for hours when its really hard for me to sit still for five minutes and also to not get boired ever!!! I have zero complaints or Cons for this masterpiece!!! Do yourself a favor and hop on the Backpack Battle Bus and join us in merry adventuring:)

This game is legit so good. I played around 100 hours of the demo when the game first came out and its amazing to see how much its grown and expanded. 10/10 definitely recommend for anyone thats looking for a new experience. Hammer-dagger still shits on everything btw.