Super Bullet Break Review: A Gruelling, Addictive Deck Builder

I’ve lost a lot of hours to various deck builders over the past few years. It’s a genre that’s arguably become oversaturated, as well as dominated by a few heavy hitters such as recent success stories Slay the Spire, Monster Train, and Inscryption, to the extent that a title in this space needs to do something pretty special to stand out. Super Bullet Break, thankfully, manages to do just that, by posing a significant challenge while offering proof that gacha mechanics can actually be fun when they aren’t used as the foundation of a predatory monetization system.

AI’s Gone Rogue

As far as narratives go, Super Bullet Break has what can only be described as a completely insane narrative backbone. Stepping into the shoes of one of three playable characters, you’ll find yourself stepping into a world where online video game characters have gone rogue, having been taken over by rogue AI from another online game, Bullet Break. After being approached by a friendly AI, Nayuta, it falls on the player to jump into each of these games, equipped with a small army of bullets (which are effectively characters from each game), with the end goal being to beat the big bad at the end of each title, restoring normalcy to each of these virtual worlds.

To be honest, I’m probably doing the narrative a disservice with that high-level snapshot. However, the narrative is so whacky and compelling that I think even non-deck builder fans will find it worth sticking around for, so I’m not inclined to spoil any more than I have.

Prepare To Grind

On the face of it, Super Bullet Break doesn’t really do a whole lot to differentiate itself from the competition in terms of the core moment-to-moment card battling. Each of the games that players must restore is broken down into three maps, each with multiple routes to take. Certain tiles will give you the chance to restore health, and obtain new bullets (this game’s version of cards), while the majority of them will contain battles against the many rogue AI’s that have taken over. As you’d expect, battles are turn-based, but, in a nice twist, each bullet uses a set amount of action points. Use a bullet that requires an abundance of action points, and you won’t get as many turns in before the enemy turns come around, however, more powerful bullets have the potential to change the course of battle. It gives Super Bullet Break a nice tactical edge, as you not only have to think about your strategies but also when best to deploy them based on how soon it is until the next enemy attack.

Where Super Bullet Break does differentiate itself from its peers is in its difficulty. This is a pad-smashingly difficult experience, to the point where I think the difficulty curve in the opening hours is excessive to the extent that I could see a lot of players bouncing off in frustration. It took me a few nights to be able to beat the first game, and even then, it was by the skin of my teeth with very little health left. What I quickly realized is that this game expects you to grind…a lot. Starter decks are quite weak, and I think even the most seasoned deck builder fans will be shocked at the time needed to put in to pull together a deck that is even remotely near strong enough to tackle the early game.

Thankfully the process of obtaining new bullets is actually great fun due to the implementation of non-predatory gacha mechanics. At the end of each battle and via a store you can access between battles, you’ll have the opportunity to roll for new bullets in a fashion that’ll feel familiar to anyone who has played a gacha game before. It’s incredibly addictive stuff, and the randomized nature of strengthening decks was, in all honesty, the main thing that kept me going through those opening hours when they began to feel like a slog. Amazingly, there are also no microtransactions in sight. New bullets are either doled out for free or purchased via in-game currency. It’s gacha done right, and welcome proof that such a system can inject a lot of fun into a game when not implemented in a way that begs you to dig for your credit card at every turn.

A Huge Roster

You’ll be rolling for bullets a lot if you want to uncover all 165 of Super Bullet Break’s roster. While this does seem a daunting number at first, the randomized nature of the gacha system and the sheer variety on offer lend themselves well to the genre. Plenty of times, I had settled into a rhythm, content with the direction I was taking with my deck, only to pull a bullet that introduced completely new mechanics to me, which I wanted to then go off and build around.

After the first few hours, I had migrated from a deck that focused on stacking armor, to one that ditched armor in favor of bullets that would increase the attack power of all other bullets based on the number of turns bullets played in that turn. Following that, I then stumbled across the ‘Heartsplosion’ mechanic, which allowed me to stack a passive buff that would eventually deal huge damage to enemies, once I had filled a meter by dealing enough bullets possessing the buff. By dishing cards out via gacha mechanics, new playstyles are constantly being thrown at you, and it’s here I think the long-term appeal of Super Bullet Break lies.

The Elephant In The Room

You’ve probably guessed from the screenshots throughout this review that Super Bullet Break absolutely delves into fan service territory. If you’re not comfortable with this, that’s completely understandable, but I should point out that it’s tamer than some of its contemporaries, so you may find it tolerable even if you’re someone who avoids this type of content.

Fan service aside, the bullet design is top-notch across the board, with a level of variety on display that’s worthy of the variety that’s found in the gameplay. It’s to the art team’s credit that I was as eager to pull new bullets due to their stellar design as I was due to their gameplay impact. The excellent art direction also permeates every other aspect of Super Bullet Break; whether your making your way across its pixelated retro-style maps, or watching one of the many narrative cutscenes that pepper each playthrough, it’s always a feast for the eyes.

Conclusion

Super Bullet Break uses its difficulty and gacha mechanics to truly great effect, elevating what would otherwise be a fairly standard deck builder, into something that is fiendishly addictive and easy to dump hours into. Sure, the early game can be brutally difficult, and some may find that off-putting, but stick around past those early stages, and Super Bullet Break’s moreish gacha systems will almost certainly suck you in, due to the way in which the randomized systems bring the creative options for deck building to the forefront.

Final Verdict: 4/5

Available On: Switch (reviewed), PS4, PC; Publisher: PQube; Developer: BeXide Inc.; Players: 1; Released: 12 August, 2022; MSRP: $19.99

Full Disclosure: A review code was provided to Hey Poor Player.