I am unfamiliar on the etiquette for reviews on itch but I do know I like reviews being public so anyone can read them so I will leave it here in the comments.
Before I get into the review I will preface that I LOVE games like this (Dungeon Raid, Balatro, Slay the Spire, etc etc). However, crucially there is a deck building element to these games that this game lacks which will be one of my main grievances.
I will go in the order that the information on the store page goes in.
Abilities:
I found abilities relatively useless. The game does not signal that these exist (you access them via the phone on the side which doesn't give any visual or audio indicator to go investigate it further) and when you do actually look at them you feel no need to use them. Saving up your coins is priority since the shop effects cost (a lot of) coin and the abilities are not only unnecessary to win but they are just a waste of coin. I especially don't feel any need to use a abilities when my first use of the Star of David actually ended in a draw with the dealer. (I know that is just RNG at play but honestly a tutorial round that shows everything and hard locked to prevent that possibility at the beginning would be good).
Shop effects:
Pretty sure these don't work lol. They aren't useless, don't get me misconstrued, they literally do not work. I took Dungeon Collapse and the wins I needed STAYED at 5. They didn't reduce the wins I needed whatsoever. I took numerous Arcane Vision and I also couldn't tell any noticeable difference, however that is harder to actually check if it's bugged or my luck is that abhorrent.
Levels:
You can go left, right, or down to the next level after finishing a round against the dealer. I have no idea why you would go left/right. Tell the player some things they can get or something. Because currently it feels like there is no incentive.
(Lack of) Music:
The lack of music makes this game lackluster and is actively hurting it. I am not someone who thinks about music in games, I don't actively focus on it nor am I a critic on it. However, it being gone is abysmal. Games like these NEED music, it makes things more exciting. There needs to be sound effects for getting a 21, some hyper music to match some casino vibe, you NEED to hit the dopamine receptors for a game like this. It is integral. Unfortunately the game suffers greatly because it doesn't do that.
Player Involvement:
Speaking of dopamine, this game doesn't really make the player feel involved in the game. Blackjack in of itself isn't the most exciting game in existence. The easiest way to make the player feel involved is adding a deckbuilding aspect. Let me add more negative cards to my deck, let me destroy cards in my deck, let me do ANYTHING with the deck. At the very least let me see the cards in my deck! As I go down the levels you could make it so the difficulty spikes with the introduction of new cards being forcefully added to the deck so each playthrough the player learns and builds upon their knowledge (spitballing here, have no idea how probable or even possible that is).
Lets say you really, REALLY hate the idea of a deckbuilding element. Fine. Then let me choose how many coins I bet. Give me something. Because right now I feel like I am just a spectator and I just have to hope the RNG is nice to me while I hit the new round button over and over again.
MISC QOL I would like:
- Text goes by too quickly, let the player click to move the text away (so they can read at their own pace).
- Visual indicators would be nice. Like if I am at 21 then highlight the stand button or something.
- Speaking of the buttons, this is just a visual preference on my part and has no baring on anything but the buttons being at the bottom would be nice (this would also open up the left side if you wanted to add some mechanic there).
- Let me forfeit the round by hitting New Round. I remember being on like 3 lives and just wanting to end the run but I had to let the animations keep playing out to officially end the run.
Overall, this game struggles from a lack of player involvement and lack of music. I do think there is potential, but in it's current state it isn't a game I would recommend to anyone.
Incase you are interested I found your game in the playtesting subreddit Dev. (Ik some Dev's are interested where people are discovering their game so added on the info here lol)