Recent reviews by DigiFox0

If you're coming into Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel to relive your childhood duelling experiences, then this is decidedly not that.

Master Duel is the simulator for the game Yu-Gi-Oh! is *today*, not the game you remember it was 20 years ago. The game does a decent job tutorialising a lot of the new mechanics that have come in over the last 25 years of the game's existence (Synchro, XYZ, Pendulum and Link summoning, for instance all have dedicated turorials), but the new player experience is similar to that of paper Yu-Gi-Oh!: Horrible. However, once you spend some time getting bodied on ladder by opponents that seemingly can draw every card in their deck and summon like 9 bodies in a single turn, you start to pick it up. Master Duel does a really good job at signalling what effects of a card have been used this turn already, what effects you can chain, and when you have monsters in the Extra Deck that you meet the summoning requirements for. It takes a lot of the work of remembering game-states and whatnot and does it for you, allowing you to focus on piloting your deck. Misplays still happen (Even with the new effects, I still end up playing into the Imperm Collumn) but the game signals everything in a given duel really really well.

MD is also pretty relaxed as far as F2P games go. Right out of the gate, the game will give you a decent amount of gems so you can, if you know what you're doing, build at least one competitive deck. However, with frequent banlists and pack releases, the meta is always shifting, and what once ruled the roost might slip down a few tiers pretty quickly. The Duel Pass, this game's version of a battle pass, also progresses rather quickly. I managed to snag all the Free rewards after a couple of days of dedicated duelling, but each pass lasts for about 3 months, giving you plenty of time to scoop everything up. These award you with new cosmetic items like Profile Icons or Mates (Little buddies that sit on your field during the duel).

Speaking of Cosmetics, Master Duel is maybe the best *looking* official TCG simulator on the market. The soundtrack goes as hard as any Triple A game i've played this year, and all the various duel fields look incredible, while still remaining cohesive. The Mates are all wonderfully animated, and even things like drawing a card *feel* really satisfying. The weighty SLAM of your boss monster coming down, following a unique Live2D animation really is something, and just makes everything feel less like you're playing with virtual cardboard.

If you're coming to Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel to chase childhood nostalgia, then this isn't the game for you. I'd recommend looking at Legacy of the Duelist's singleplayer campaign instead, or perhaps trying out Duel Links. However, if you want to learn Yu-Gi-Oh as it is today, Master Duel is a fantastic place to start doing that.

This is one of the best experiences i've had gaming on a PC. My friend and I have logged at least 50-60 hours and it's been a blast. great gameplay, fun missions, hilarious dialouge and characters. Twas a great experience and i reccomend it to all.