Gosu X Review

One (or three) battle(s) to end them all

Players begin by drafting factions, and this is really interesting as between the 2 players you will draft 6 of the 8 factions available but the 2 that aren’t chosen will affect the game in different ways creating a lot of variability rather than many games like this which often have 2 set decks. You’ll then shuffle that deck of 3 separate clans to form one 45 card deck. The winner will be the player who first wins 2 of the 3 supremacy tokens, unlock 5 activation tokens or have 15 face up cards in your army. Although I imagine most of the time it will come down to who will get the 2 supremacy tokens.

The game is played across an imaginary 5x3 grid where different level cards can be played, providing on the whole that you have a lower level card below them. The first level is your basic troops, above them heroes, and finally the top spaces are resolved for immortals. Cards will be played back and forth between the two players until a player passes, giving their opponent 3 more turns before a Great Battle triggers. After determining the winner here, you will sacrifice half your army before the next round begins.

Gosu X demands your attention where a careless move early on can leave you on the back foot for the entire round. Thankfully, the turns are quick and snappy, which helps keep the tension high throughout but also means you can play a few games in one sitting.

The artwork in Gosu X is really something special and it looks stunning on the table plus the rulebook is easy to follow which is always a big plus for me. The game also comes with a wooden set of tokens and markers, all of which feel well-made and add to the overall experience. Plus the box has a felted insert which feels nice compared to the usual plastic ones! It’s clear a lot of love went into crafting the world of Gosu X and even if the game isn’t for everyone, the visuals are really stunning. I’ve picked up a couple of games recently from publishers Sorry We Are French/Hachette who publish this and the quality of the art and components in all of their games have been absolutely top notch but I digress.

Where Gosu X really shines is in its strategic depth, you can’t simply rely on just playing any cards to win and timing and planning are everything. Whether you’re building a board state focused on high attack or using more nuanced strategies, the game rewards players who think several moves ahead. It’s also great for players who enjoy combo-driven mechanics. Some of the most satisfying moments come when you’ve carefully laid the groundwork, only to unleash a devastating combo that turns the game on its head. There’s a real sense of progression, and watching your army evolve and grow over the course of a match is immensely rewarding.

However, the depth might be a little daunting for newer players. The sheer number of possibilities, combined with the quick pace of the game, could overwhelm any new players at first. But once you’ve got a handle on the mechanics, Gosu X reveals itself to be an addictive puzzle that changes with each play based on the variability around the number of possible decks.

Where does it fall down?

While the game does offer a lot of strategic choices, there can be moments where luck plays a bigger role than you’d like. Having the right card in hand at the right time can sometimes make the difference between a well-executed plan and a complete disaster and depending on the draw you have you might feel a little frustrated, although this might be mitigated by a lot of plays and understanding the best timing to play your cards. It is worth noting that unlike a lot of card battlers, there is no draw step until after the Great Battle so you must rely on cards played to allow you to draw new cards or activation tokens which are really limited.

Secondly, the learning curve is steep. While experienced gamers will likely enjoy the challenge, it might scare off those looking for a lighter, more casual experience, and here I would recommend something like Radlands as an entry point to card battlers. That said, for players who enjoy the thrill of mastering a more complex game through multiple plays, Gosu X will be an absolute treat. Experienced players of the game will however likely destroy new players which makes teaching the game to someone new a tougher challenge if you’ve already played it a few times.

Another criticism is that despite the excellent artwork, I feel the theme and setting isn’t brilliantly explained. For a game that tries to build a world around different factions locked into an eternal war, I would have liked a little more world building explaining why the factions operate as they do or some more lore behind the world in which the game exists.