The deck-building game I’m showcasing today isn’t your usual deck builder; it incorporates classic monster-catching mechanics.
Horizon Edge and Assemble Entertainment pulled the curtain back on Decktamer today, setting a Q4 2025 window for the creature-driven card battler and confirming a hands-on appearance at gamescom later this month.
Decktamer is a deckbuilder where every card is a living monster you first defeat, then persuade to fight at your side, a twist that ties recruitment, strategy, and risk to each draw of the deck.
The story unfolds in the Abyss, a deep crater that promises riches to anyone who reaches the bottom. Players explore layer by layer, facing hostile creatures that can become allies if captured.
Each card on the table takes its own action during a turn, so a single misread of initiative can tip an entire encounter. Horizon Edge says fallen creatures stay dead, which raises the stakes and nudges players to weigh short-term survival against long-term synergy when deciding which foes to tame and which to destroy.
Customization sits at the center of the design. Mutant abilities discovered on later floors can be spliced onto existing allies, creating hybrids that break the limitations of standard builds.
The team positions this system as a moral choice as much as a tactical one, since experimentation requires fusing living beings for power. Axel Rueda, one of the studio leads, frames the project as a response to a long-held wish to merge deckbuilding with the ethical tension that comes from managing a living roster.
The full release will feature procedurally generated zones, shifting enemy line-ups, and a growing catalogue of move sets designed to keep repeat runs unpredictable. Dev confirms that each descent will surface new ability combinations, forcing on-the-fly adaptation rather than rote optimization.
Assemble Entertainment plans to showcase Decktamer inside the expanded indie area at gamescom 2025, Hall 10.2, booth E010g / D011g.
The publisher notes that the demo on the show floor will include new monsters, visual updates, and the first glimpse of late-game fusion mechanics, positioning the Cologne event as the best chance to measure the project’s progress before the home-stretch polish phase.
Decktamer is planned to be released in 2025; in the meantime, you can give the demo a try on Steam, below the announcement trailer.
