Tired of the same old sports games, you say? Looking for a fresh take on the genre, are you? Allow me to introduce Clutchtime: Basketball Deckbuilder, a roguelike deckbuilding basketball game inspired by Balatro and one solo Serbian developer’s love for basketball, coming to Steam on July 24th.
Melding sports and deckbuilders sounds like mixing oil and water, but the new trailer for Clutchtime has sold me on the unlikely marriage. It’s simple, really. Each basketball term is a card that you play, whether on offense or defense: pass, shoot, steal, rebound, block, timeout, and even complaining to the referees. But even if you have zero basketball knowledge, you can still pick up Clutchtime and understand the game’s mechanics.
A free demo is available now on Steam if you’d like to try it for yourself. Clutchtime is also being optimized for Steam Deck at launch, and it does look like a delightful Deck game. Check out the key feature rundown and trailer below:
Key features of Clutchtime™: Basketball Deckbuilder:
Get'cha Head in the Game:Clutchtime takes the deckbuilder genre and gives it a unique spin, with each team having a starting deck of five starter players with three cards representing their skills. Players will use these to formulate their decks around real-life basketball plays and team synergy strategization.
Two Modes to Take On: Play through two different game modes — “Elimination”, where players take on tournaments in true roguelike style, or “Classic”, a typical basketball season where players can lose some games, but have to qualify for the playoffs to compete for the Championship title
Never Let Them Know Your Next Move: Watch for random events during the season where players can upgrade cards, trade with other teams, duplicate favorite cards, and more!
It’s Like You’re Really There!:Clutchtime’s audio features unique mixing. The developer attended live games to record audio, mixing it into the soundtrack to give the feel of a live basketball arena while playing. The crowd is dynamic and reacts to the current noise level in the game, so any block, dunk, or other fancy move will trigger the fans' cheering.
