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Arcanium: Rise of Akhan similar games & best alternatives

Arcanium: Rise of Akhan

PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS • 2022

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Quick resume

Arcanium is an Open-world, Strategy Card Adventure that merges Roguelite and Deckbuilding genres like never before. Control your party of three heroes, craft your deck, unlock a vast amount of cards and items and save the world of Arzu from corruption!

Global score

82/100

Genres

Adventure, Role-playing (RPG), Strategy, Indie, Card & Board Game

Similar games

    Pros

    • Deep and flexible deckbuilding
    • Unique party-based tactical combat
    • Large variety of heroes and cards
    • Engaging hex map exploration
    • Active developer support and updates

    Cons

    • Long run durations may deter casual players
    • Some ui and clarity issues reported
    • Balance issues with hero strength variance
    • Early access bugs and polish needed
    • Lack of multiplayer or social features

    Analysis

    Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Leadership, Survival, Violence, Strategy. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Fantasy, Relaxation, Creativity.

    How to use the graph
    Similar games map

    Each dot is a game. They are arranged from the same motivation profile as in the “Motivations” section below. Closer dots usually mean more similar reasons to play (exploration, competition, relaxation, etc.)—not that one game is “better” than another.

    • Larger dot with a light outline: the game you are viewing.
    • Colour: groups of games with comparable motivation patterns (statistical clusters).
    • Hover a dot to see the game name; click to open its page.
    • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom out and see more games.

    Why don’t the axes read like a score? This view uses t-SNE: it only keeps who is close to whom. The scales are not “good to bad” or hours played—they separate groups on the map. Read distance between dots, not the axis numbers.

    Motivations

    • Autonomy
      4

      "Players have extensive control over deckbuilding and character choices, with freedom to customize decks between battles and choose paths on a hex map."

    • Competence
      4

      "The game offers tactical depth, skillful positioning, and strategic deck management with meaningful feedback and challenge scaling."

    • Competition
      -3

      "Focus is on individual runs and self-improvement rather than direct competition or leaderboards."

    • Continuation
      4

      "Players report long sessions, high replayability, and habitual play through multiple runs and unlocks."

    • Cooperation
      -4

      "Gameplay centers on managing a party of three heroes controlled by the player, with no multiplayer or cooperative modes."

    • Creativity
      5

      "Strong emphasis on deckbuilding customization, experimenting with hero combinations, and modifying decks between battles."

    • Domination
      -5

      "Interactions are balanced and cooperative within the party; no evidence of power over others or toxic behavior."

    • Escapism
      4

      "Players use the game as a deep strategic distraction and stress relief with immersive fantasy elements."

    • Expectation
      -4

      "Players engage voluntarily out of intrinsic interest and enjoyment rather than obligation or external pressure."

    • Experimenting
      5

      "High encouragement to try new builds, combos, and strategies with a large variety of heroes and cards."

    • Exploration
      4

      "Hex map exploration with player choice and discovery of new nodes, events, and secrets."

    • Expression
      3

      "Customization of decks and hero builds allows some self-expression, though no avatar personalization."

    • Fantasy
      5

      "Strong fantasy theme with anthropomorphic heroes, magic, and imaginative lore."

    • Fellowship
      -4

      "Primarily a single-player experience with minimal social interaction or community focus."

    • Growth
      5

      "Players develop skills, unlock cards and heroes, and improve strategies over many hours of play."

    • Health
      -4

      "Typical sedentary gaming experience with no physical activity elements."

    • Idle
      -4

      "Requires focused attention and strategic thinking; not suited for passive or background play."

    • Intimacy
      -5

      "No evidence of close social relationships or emotional sharing; solo play focused."

    • Leadership
      3

      "Player leads a team of three heroes with strategic decision-making and management."

    • Progression
      5

      "Strong meta-progression with unlocking heroes, cards, artifacts, and leveling up characters."

    • Relaxation
      3

      "Players experience flow and catharsis through strategic gameplay, though some report mental taxing complexity."

    • Sensation
      3

      "Enjoyable art, animations, and sound design provide sensory stimulation and emotional fun."

    • Status
      -4

      "No social status or recognition systems; focus is on individual achievement."

    • Story
      3

      "There is lore and character backstory, but narrative is not the main focus and some find it lacking."

    • Strategy
      5

      "Highly strategic gameplay requiring planning, problem solving, and tactical positioning."

    • Thrill
      3

      "Players enjoy suspense and challenge from difficult encounters and risk/reward decisions."

    • Value
      4

      "Players perceive good value for time and money due to depth, replayability, and content updates."

    • Violence
      2

      "Combat involves attacks and damage but is stylized and not focused on graphic violence."

    • Survival
      4

      "Players manage health, avoid defeat, and strategically survive increasingly difficult encounters."

    Where to buy

    Come talk about it on Discord!

    Last update: 29/04/2026