Forty-Five

Forty-Five is a free-to-play, open-source strategy roguelike set in the Wild West, blending card-based tactics with first-person turn-based gameplay. Players navigate procedurally generated maps, collecting unique bullet cards to load into a five-chamber revolver, utilizing bullet effects and revolver rotations to outgun enemies. Featuring hand-drawn western aesthetics, deck-building mechanics, and creative combo systems, this student-developed passion project offers wild west mayhem without microtransactions.

Forty-Five: Review

Introduction

In the dusty frontier of indie deckbuilders, Forty-Five stands tall as a sleeper hit—a free-to-play gem that blends tactical gunplay, rogue-lite progression, and Wild West swagger into a revolver-shaped package. Developed by five students at Vienna’s HTL Rennweg as a diploma project, this open-source passion piece defies expectations, offering a fresh spin on the Slay the Spire formula while channeling the chaotic energy of a spaghetti Western duel. Its thesis is clear: Even in a saturated genre, creativity and heart can outdraw budget.

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Development History & Context

Studio Vision & Constraints
Microwave Studios, the nascent team behind Forty-Five, opted for transparency and community-driven design from the start. Built in Kotlin using LibGDX and released under GPLv3, the game’s code is fully moddable—a rare move for a student project. This ethos extended to post-launch updates, with weekly patches and a “Community Bullet Contest” inviting players to design in-game cards.

The team’s constraints were evident: Hand-drawn art assets, while charmingly rough, lack polish, and the writing occasionally stumbles with typos. Yet these limitations became strengths, fostering a DIY aesthetic that resonated with players. Released in March 2024 amid Steam’s Deckbuilders Fest, Forty-Five stood out not through AAA spectacle, but through mechanical ingenuity and earnest passion.

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Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

A Silent Story of Bullets and Grit
Forty-Five’s narrative is sparse but flavorful. Players assume the role of a nameless gunslinger navigating procedurally generated biomes—sunbaked deserts, eerie forests—each dotted with enemy encounters, shops, and cryptic NPCs. Dialogue is minimal, but cheeky flavor text (“Dead or alive. In our case dead tho, no reserves”) and bullet descriptions weave a darkly comic tone.

Themes of mortality and luck pervade: Every misloaded chamber risks a self-inflicted wound, and the game’s economy rewards precise overkill. It’s a thematic marriage of Western fatalism and roguelike tension, where each run feels like a ballad of triumph or hubris.

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Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

The Revolver as Revolution
At its core, Forty-Five is about bullets as cards and chambers as combos. Here’s why it works:

• The Cylinder Mechanic: Players load bullets (cards) into a five-chamber revolver. Firing rotates the cylinder automatically, forcing strategic placement. A “Blank Chamber” deals self-damage, adding risk to rapid firing.
• Defense as Sacrifice: Blocking requires reserving bullets in chambers, creating tension between offense and survival.
• Synergy-Driven Deckbuilding: Over 50 bullets—ranging from poison-tipped “Serpent’s Kiss” to the surreal “Doodle Bullet”—encourage wild combos. For example, rotating the cylinder backward with a “Reverse Shot” to reactivate a high-damage round.
• Dynamic Economy: Cash is earned only for excess damage dealt, incentivizing玩家 to balance attacks like a calculating outlaw.

Standout Features:
– Backpack System: Swap entire decks mid-run, sidestepping traditional deckbuilding rigidity.
– Community-Driven Updates: Player-designed bullets like the “Excalibullet” (which scales with unique cards) now exist in-game.
– Encounter Modifiers: Timed shootouts (“10-second duel”) or “Confused” enemies keep runs unpredictable.

Flaws: The UI can feel clunky, and late-game balance wobbles with certain overpowered combos. Yet these are minor quibbles in an otherwise airtight loop.

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World-Building, Art & Sound

Aesthetic Grit
Visually, Forty-Five embraces its scrappy origins. Hand-drawn environments and characters evoke a storybook Western, though some art lacks clarity during hectic fights. The Morricone-esque soundtrack—twangy guitars and mournful horns—elevates the atmosphere, though sound effects are sparse (a missed opportunity for visceral gunplay feedback).

The procedurally generated map ensures no two journeys feel identical, while biomes like the “Bewitched Forest” introduce supernatural twists. It’s a cohesive, if rough-edged, world that begs for expansion.

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Reception & Legacy

From Student Project to Cult Hit
Upon release, Forty-Five garnered an “Overwhelmingly Positive” Steam rating (95% of 951 reviews), praised for its innovation and generosity. Critics like PixelDie’s Demetri hailed it as “a gift made by card game people for card game people,” scoring it 8/10.

Its legacy is twofold:
1. Community Empowerment: Open-source modding tools and developer transparency set a new standard for indie engagement.
2. Genre Innovation: The revolver mechanic and deck-swapping system have already inspired clones, cementing its influence.

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Conclusion

Forty-Five is a love letter to both deckbuilders and Westerns—a game that turns limitations into virtues and whose ambition exceeds its student-project roots. While rough in spots, its inventive mechanics, player-driven evolution, and sheer audacity make it a landmark indie title. As one Steam reviewer put it: “This should’ve cost $20. The fact that it’s free is robbery.” Load up your revolver, partner. This ride’s worth every bullet.

Final Verdict: A scrappy, brilliant reinvention of the deckbuilder—and one of 2024’s most pleasant surprises. Forty-Five deserves a place alongside Balatro and Slay the Spire in the pantheon of card-game greats.