Every video game genre has givens that players assume will hold true for any new games that belong to that genre. This makes games that choose to change the standard trend a risk with major potential benefits. One of the most fundamental aspects of any RPG that makes use of cards for combat is turn-based battling. Thus, it was only a matter of time before this rule was abandoned in favor of a new approach with Shards of Order, which replaces turns with an enemy cooldown system for card usage. The game recently received a release date trailer showing off how the battles will look in the full release.

The most central aspect of Shards of Order is the unique combat system, kicking off both the trailer and Steam page. Rather than taking turns with the enemy and using mana points in order to play cards, each card played will lower the enemy cooldown by various amounts, turning the pace of the battle into the main resource system. The dark fantasy setting will be traversed by the three main characters, the soldier, the exile, and the scholar, each with their own unique skills and stories.

As with most card-battle games, the deck building is a major feature of the game, offering high degree of customizability while random draws keep games different. The game encourages experimenting with different playstyles, such as filling the deck with cards to boost a single hero as the main focus or spreading cards between all three to keep options open. The cards themselves as seen in the trailer can have simple effects like dealing damage or more specialized abilities like applying three weaknesses to an enemy.

Innovation on formulas in video games can sometimes produce trends in their own right. Those interested will be able to see if the changes to card combat made in Shards of Order were worth it when the game releases for PC on July 28th, 2026.