Slumber Realm Preview
Slumber Realm from Monster Train designer Brian Cronin pairs ’90s childhood nostalgia with dice-driven deckbuilding.
Slumber Realm. Credit: Chugga Chugga LLC
I played a preview version of Chugga Chugga’s Slumber Realm, a deckbuilding roguelite due out this November. Its whimsical, nostalgia-soaked ’90s vibe made for a fun experience. Chugga Chugga is led by Monster Train and Inkbound veteran Brian Cronin.
You play as a 13-year-old in the 1990s who battles weird creatures each night in his dreams. Rather than drawing and playing cards, you equip them persistently in a grid, with a die roll determining which ones activate each turn. Triggered cards fire in sequence, providing offense, defense, buffs, debuffs, and other effects. The challenge is figuring out a set of cards that produces useful results across as many rolls as possible. Turns also cycle between day and night, changing how some cards function or whether they activate at all. Runs last around 30 minutes.
The full release is set to include four playable classes, more than 150 equipment cards, 30 memories that modify battles, and 60 different snacks that provide boosts during runs. I had a lot of fun with the game in its current state. The full game will launch in November 2026, with a demo and a playtest available on Steam now.
Slumber Realm. Credit: Chugga Chugga LLC
Slumber Realm
Slumber Realm made a strong first impression with its clever dice-driven deckbuilding and playful ’90s nostalgia.
Clean up trashed shops in Tidy Mart, a weak clone of better games in the organization sim micro-genre.