Piroker is an unusual attempt to combine poker, roguelike auto battler mechanics and pirate-themed naval combat. It is colourful, sounds good and deserves credit for trying something different, but the central poker concept is where it falls apart. You don't actually play poker, choose cards or use poker knowledge. Instead, you collect relics, fish, pirates and other bonuses that affect your score, with very little explanation of how everything fits together.
The lack of a proper tutorial makes matters worse. Even after several hours, I still couldn't work out why I had won or lost, or what I was supposed to be doing differently. Despite claims of bluffing and strategic play, I never found any meaningful sense of either. Piroker is still in playtest, so there is time to rethink the mechanics, but right now the whole experience feels unnecessarily confusing. There is a potentially interesting idea here, but it needs a serious rethink.
Full Review at
