Starstone brings its high-fantasy card game to the Enjin Blockchain

Starstone Studios has launched its high-fantasy trading card game, Starstone, on the Enjin Blockchain. You can play it for free in Early Access on Steam. On the web version, supported Enjin NFTs already unlock in-game gifts and creature companions, and the studio says more on-chain features are on the way.

The premise is straightforward. The Starstone has crashed into Earth, and the Devourant are on their way to consume it. To defend it, players build decks of creatures, and the game is built on a mining and evolution mechanic.

What the Mine does to the formula

A lot of card games hand you resources through the draw, which means a poor opening hand can lose you the match. Starstone moves them into the Mine. Any creature can attack, or it can dig up the resources your strategy calls for. That removes the mulligan and the dead resource hand.

Elemental Shards are what you collect to evolve creatures, set traps and build around equipment synergies. Each card fills a role in its deck type and evolution line. Better cards come from climbing the ranked ladder, and Mythical and Legendary creatures are tucked away in biomes throughout the game’s universe.

One game, two versions

Starstone lives in two places. On Steam, it’s the card game by itself: free to play in Early Access, with ranked matchmaking and cross-platform multiplayer. Mobile versions are coming soon, according to the studio.

The Enjin link sits in the web version at starstone.game, which is also where NFTs come in. That version adds mini games, points and a leaderboard.

The Waystation and NFT companions

When players connect an Enjin Wallet at starstone.game, they meet an NPC called the Waystation. It scans the wallet for supported collections, starting with Enjin’s own Blobs and Multiverse NFTs. The scan is read-only, so the NFTs aren’t locked and never leave the wallet.

Every supported NFT comes with in-game gifts. Some also unlock a creature companion you can name, feed, level up and bring into battle. The gifts belong to the NFT: sell it and they turn off for you, while the buyer can claim them.

The inspiration was Monster Rancher 2, in which any CD placed in your PlayStation could summon a monster. Starstone swaps the disc for an NFT.

Coming up: an RPG and the Mint

The studio is working on a creature-battling RPG set in the same world. Its plans include more than 550 items to find, a combat arena, PvE and raid bosses.

With a feature called the Mint, players will be able to turn creatures, combat equipment and items into NFTs on the Enjin Blockchain and trade them. The team intends for that trading to sit at the center of Starstone’s economy. Collectors will also be able to gather NFT segments that combine into full NFTs.

Pay-to-win is off the table, the studio says. Most spending goes on cosmetics, in-game currency isn’t for sale, and matchmaking keeps players inside their own tier.

New content is headed to the Steam version as well, including a Roguelike Adventure Mode and fresh cards, modes and challenges every season.

Why Enjin

Enjin runs through every stage of the roadmap, from the NFTs players already own to the creatures and items they’ll mint down the line. The team wants existing collections to be useful in the game, beginning with the ones the Enjin community has held for years.

When asked why it chose Enjin, the studio turned the question around: “It’s harder to answer than why wouldn’t [Starstone] choose Enjin, the gaming chain!”

Content campaign

Enjin has a content campaign running for Starstone. The top five entries will each receive an Enjin NFT infused with 500 ENJ. To enter, post Starstone content on X that shows what makes the game stand out, tagging @enjin and using the hashtag #StarstoneUGC. Entries are judged on creativity and originality, and submissions close October 31 at 02:00 UTC.

Source: https://egamers.io/starstone-brings-its-high-fantasy-card-game-to-the-enjin-blockchain/