CARD SHARK

Developer Nerial Publisher Devolver Digital Format PC, Switch Origin UK Release TBA 2022

A game about lightfingered trickery was always going to live or die on how it felt in the hands. So what a treat to report that this game of 18th-century chicanery is as absorbing to play as its premise suggests. Mastering cheating techniques not only involves digital dexterity, as you attempt to catch a peek at a rival player’s cards while pouring wine without overfilling the glass, but memorising signals, too. Under pressure, the signal for the Queen of Diamonds might not immediately come to mind, but then in some cases it pays to deliberately lose a hand – particularly when suspicious eyes are watching.