Inferni: Hope And Fear is an online co-op deckbuilding battle royale, if you were after such a thing

As genre mash-ups go, I didn't see this coming. But maybe I should have, knowing how once things like battle royales pop off, they will always spawn curious mutations. Inferni: Hope And Fear is one of these curiosities, being an online co-op, deckbuilding, battle royale, with a 90s theme.

Inferni is set during a cataclysmic event, where players choose from a range of characters known as Waywards, each fitting into a certain archetype. The Hunter is a glass cannon, The Leather Man "likes pain" and is strongest when low on life, Madame Futura loves her control spells, Panacea is a healer, and Trickster Demon is all about derailing folks through "hand disruption". Matches can have up to eight players in total, and while there's no concrete details on how teams are formed, it would suggest four teams of two.

Then you're all popped around a fiery table in a real time arena. You'll build and add to your deck over repeated draft phases, play your cards, and hopefully emerge the last team standing. "Look out for cards like Kill Shot, which instantly knocks a player in one hit. So be ready to respond!", says the Steam page. "Cancel is a simple counterspell, while Switch redirects incoming spells to another player."

While it's impossible to judge without actually trying it out, there's definitely potential in being around that fiery table and building unspoken alliances. You know, like redirecting a Killshot directly towards one team, accidentally taking the heat off another team and earning their respect. If I were to play this, I'd enlist my clever friend who's also called Ed and have him make all the decisions as I say, "Yes, sounds like a good idea".

Inferni: Hope And Fear is hosting a public playtest on the 29th April, which you can sign up for over on its Discord (link is in their latest Steam announcement). And if you're UK-based, it'll be playable at WASD from today.