Iris and the Giant

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Iris and the Giant is a single-player role-playing card game created by French designer Louis Rigaud and published by Goblinz Studio, Maple Whispering Limited, Mugen Creations, and Plug In Digital. It released for Windows, macOS, and Linux on February 27, 2020, with a Nintendo Switch port arriving on November 5, 2020.

Story
The game follows Iris, who struggles with depression and anxiety. It starts with a pool scene where she’s hesitant and teased by other kids. Iris then journeys to a land called Styx, which divides the real world from her imagination. Each floor Iris climbs represents one of her inner demons, and she must rise higher to confront them.

Gameplay
- Iris and the Giant blends role-playing, strategy, and card-based combat. You begin with a small deck of attack and defense cards on a grid-based battlefield.
- Weapons include an axe that hits everyone in the front row, and swords that can be used in sequence if you have multiple in your deck.
- If you die, you restart but keep rewards from the run, such as new cards and abilities to help you progress.
- There are 51 collectible cards in total, offering different combat options and secret paths to discover.

Enemies and strategy
- About 45 enemy types appear, each with unique behaviors. Some will steal cards, while others grant benefits like extra shields or more arrows in a turn.
- Magic and elemental cards (fire, lightning, etc.) add variety to combat.
- A key twist is that each attack card is tied to a specific demon. Defeating that demon with a steal card lets you gain more of that card.
- Boss rewards can be powerful, such as the Feline Bow earned from beating a Giant Cat Archer, which helps against certain enemies.

Reception and updates
- When released, the game didn’t receive a lot of critical attention. A Buried Treasure review compared Iris and the Giant to deck-building games like Meteorfall: Journeys and spoke positively about the experience.

Post-launch plans
- Developers planned updates after release, including gamepad support and user interface improvements based on player feedback.