If you have ever wondered what happens when you combine the tactical, card-driven intensity of Slay the Spire with the restorative, grid-based gardening of Terra Nil, Madrid-based developer Ceiling Games has an answer. The Solace of Flowers, a new roguelike deckbuilder announced this month, tasks players with reclaiming corrupted islands using a deck filled with foxgloves, bees, and—perhaps surprisingly—lions.
In the game, players drop cards to populate grid-based islands with various plant life, including daisies and apple trees. The goal is to cover the corrupted terrain in greenery before giant, unnatural hands sprouting from the cracked earth can drain your health bar. If you succeed, the island transforms into a fully flourishing, rotatable diorama.
Gardening Under Pressure
The mechanics lean into a specific set of spatial constraints. Every plant has a unique projected growth pattern—not unlike shapes in Tetris—and they only thrive when placed near a water source. To manage this, a cobblestone path winds through each island; at the end of every turn, a small watersprite travels along this path, hydrating any seeded pots it encounters. Success depends on efficiently deploying your vegetation to maximize this water cycle while holding back the encroaching corruption.
While the game focuses on flora, animal cards act as essential wildcards and support units. Ladybirds serve as a defensive layer similar to "Block" mechanics in other roguelike deckbuilders, while frog cards allow you to move items from your draw pile directly into your hand. There is also a distinct "duck" card that wipes your current hand to distribute vegetation across the board at random.
Whimsy in an Apocalyptic Setting
Ceiling Games, a three-person team, has leaned into a poetic, if slightly eccentric, tone. While the mention of lion cards might sound aggressive, the developers clarify that these serve as sources for dandelion seeds. It is a strange, whimsical addition to a world otherwise defined by ecological collapse and giant, hostile anomalies.
For those interested in seeing how these systems interact, a demo is currently live on Steam. Based on early impressions, it sits somewhere between a traditional card battler and a relaxing diorama builder, requiring you to think carefully about the layout of your island as much as the cards in your hand.