What happens when you cross a deck-building card game with fighting game mechanics? You get Sheva, a strategic 1v1 card battler launching December 1, 2025. After two years of development by indie duo Goldtusks Studio, this roguelike fighter turns traditional card game rules upside down with simultaneous turns and complete hand visibility. Instead of hiding information, Sheva forces players into psychological warfare where reading your opponent matters more than the cards you draw.
Simultaneous Turn Warfare
The core mechanic that separates Sheva from typical card battlers is simultaneous turn resolution. Each turn, both players secretly choose an action: Draw, Attack, or Block. Then they determine the sequence in which they want to execute their moves. Once both players have locked in their choices, everything resolves at the same time.
This creates mind games similar to fighting games. Do you attack aggressively, assuming your opponent will draw? Do you block defensively, predicting an incoming assault? Do you draw cards to build your hand, gambling that your opponent won’t punish you? Every decision becomes a read on what the other player is thinking.
Perfect Information Changes Everything
Here’s the twist that makes Sheva truly unique: all cards in both players’ hands remain visible throughout the match. You always know exactly what your opponent can play. The mystery isn’t what cards they have, it’s which ones they’ll choose and when they’ll use them.
This perfect information system transforms the game from resource management into pure strategy and psychology. You’re not gambling on random draws or hidden information. You’re trying to outthink another human being who has the same knowledge you do. It’s chess with combo systems and health bars.
Combos and Counterplays
While the simultaneous turn system provides the psychological framework, Sheva still delivers the satisfying combo execution that makes card games and fighters compelling. Chaining moves together for maximum damage remains crucial, but now you need to time those combos based on predicting when your opponent is vulnerable.
Counterplay options let skilled players react to opponent strategies. If you correctly predict an incoming attack pattern, you can position defensive moves that turn the tables. This creates moments of satisfaction similar to perfect blocks or parries in traditional fighting games, just executed through card selection rather than button inputs.
The Chakra Progression System
Sheva incorporates roguelike elements through a chakra unlocking system. During each playthrough, you unlock one of seven chakras. Each chakra sets the theme for your next run, alters enemy AI behavior, and offers unique rewards upon completion.
The sequence in which you unlock these chakras influences your overall progression. This ensures that each attempt feels distinct rather than just replaying the same content. The system provides meta-progression without undermining the core skill-based gameplay. You’re getting better at reading opponents and executing strategies, not just accumulating permanent stat boosts.
AI Opponents with Personality
Since Sheva is primarily a roguelike experience against AI enemies, the developers faced a significant challenge. How do you create meaningful mind games against computer opponents? The solution lies in varied AI behavior tied to the chakra system and individual enemy personalities.
Different enemies have distinct patterns and tendencies that players can learn to recognize and exploit. The game doesn’t reveal exact enemy actions, forcing players to develop instincts about when specific enemies prefer to attack versus defend. It’s less about outsmarting a random number generator and more about pattern recognition and adaptation.
Two Years, Two People
Goldtusks Studio consists of just two developers who have spent the past two years building Sheva. As fans of both deck-building games and fighting games, they set out to merge these genres into a single cohesive experience. The result is a game that feels like a turn-based card battler while retaining fighting game essence.
Small team development means every feature had to earn its place. The simultaneous turn system, visible hands, and chakra progression all serve the core vision of creating psychological battles between players. There’s no bloat, just focused mechanics that support strategic depth and replayability.
Demo Available Now
Goldtusks Studio has released a free demo on Steam for players interested in trying Sheva before the December 1 launch. The demo provides a solid introduction to the core mechanics, letting you experience the simultaneous turn system and visible hand gameplay firsthand.
The team is actively seeking feedback from demo players. As a two-person operation, community input is valuable for identifying balance issues, unclear mechanics, or areas where the tutorial needs improvement. Player impressions before launch help ensure the full release is as polished as possible.
The Fighting Game Connection
Understanding Sheva requires understanding fighting games. In games like Street Fighter, players constantly make predictions about opponent behavior. Will they throw out a risky attack? Are they playing defensively? Do they have a pattern you can exploit? The actual button execution is secondary to reading your opponent’s intentions.
Sheva translates these mind games into card game format. The Draw, Attack, Block choice mirrors fighting game options like attacking, defending, or creating space. Combos and counterplays replicate the satisfying punishes when you correctly predict opponent actions. Even the visible hands echo how fighting game players can see opponent character abilities and meter.
Turn-Based Execution
Where fighting games demand split-second reflexes and precise inputs, Sheva gives players time to think. The turn-based structure removes execution barriers while preserving strategic depth. You don’t need frame-perfect timing or complex button combinations. You need to understand your options, predict opponent choices, and execute your strategy through card selection.
This accessibility could make Sheva appealing to fighting game fans whose reflexes have slowed, or strategy gamers who appreciate fighting game psychology but struggle with real-time execution demands. It’s the mental chess match without the physical dexterity requirements.
Addressing the AI Challenge
One legitimate concern raised by potential players is whether prediction-based gameplay works against AI opponents. Making reads on human players is engaging because you’re reacting to another person’s habits and psychology. Can you achieve the same depth against computer-controlled enemies?
The developers acknowledge this challenge. Their solution involves giving AI opponents consistent behavioral patterns and personalities that players can learn. Rather than purely random decisions, enemies make choices influenced by their character archetype, current game state, and the active chakra’s influence on their behavior.
Whether this approach successfully replicates the satisfaction of outthinking human opponents remains to be seen. The demo provides an opportunity to evaluate if the AI creates meaningful strategic decisions or devolves into repetitive pattern exploitation.
Release Details
Sheva launches on Steam on December 1, 2025. The game is available for PC, with pricing yet to be announced. The free demo remains available for anyone wanting to try before buying.
As a small indie release from a two-person team, post-launch support will depend on reception and sales. Community feedback during these early days could significantly influence future updates, balance changes, and potential new content.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Sheva?
Sheva is a turn-based card fighting game where both players act simultaneously. Players choose actions like Draw, Attack, or Block each turn, then reveal their choices at the same time. All cards remain visible, making the game about predicting opponents rather than hidden information.
When does Sheva release?
Sheva launches on December 1, 2025, on Steam for PC. A free demo is currently available for players who want to try the game before release.
Who developed Sheva?
Sheva is developed by Goldtusks Studio, a two-person indie team that spent two years creating the game. Both developers are fans of deck-building games and fighting games, which inspired the hybrid design.
Is Sheva multiplayer or single-player?
Sheva is primarily a single-player roguelike experience against AI opponents. The game features a chakra progression system where you unlock seven different chakras that alter enemy behavior and provide unique rewards.
How does simultaneous turn gameplay work?
Each turn, both players secretly choose an action and determine the sequence of their moves. Once both have locked in choices, everything resolves simultaneously. This creates psychological gameplay where predicting opponent actions is crucial.
Why are all cards visible in Sheva?
Making all cards in both hands visible transforms the game into pure strategy and prediction. You always know what your opponent can play, so the challenge becomes predicting which cards they’ll use and when, similar to fighting games where you know opponent capabilities but must predict their actions.
Does Sheva have a roguelike progression system?
Yes, Sheva includes a chakra unlocking system where you progress through seven different chakras. Each chakra sets the theme for your run, changes enemy AI behavior, and offers unique rewards. The sequence you unlock them influences overall progression.
How much will Sheva cost?
The final price for Sheva has not been announced yet. Interested players can wishlist the game on Steam and try the free demo while waiting for launch pricing details.
Conclusion
Sheva represents an ambitious attempt to merge two genres that don’t obviously fit together. Card battlers and fighting games share strategic depth, but operate on fundamentally different timeframes and input methods. Whether Goldtusks Studio successfully bridged that gap will become clear when the game launches December 1.
The simultaneous turn system and visible hands are genuinely innovative mechanics that differentiate Sheva from the crowded deck-builder space. If the AI opponents provide meaningful strategic challenges that reward pattern recognition and prediction, the game could carve out a unique niche for players wanting fighting game psychology without execution barriers.
The biggest question mark remains whether prediction-based gameplay translates effectively against computer opponents. Human players develop habits, tilt under pressure, and make emotionally-driven mistakes that create opportunities for psychological exploitation. AI lacks these human elements, potentially making reads feel arbitrary rather than earned.
Still, the ambition deserves respect. Two developers spent two years chasing a specific vision rather than making a safe clone of existing successful games. The free demo provides a risk-free way to evaluate if their experiment worked. Download it, play a few runs, and see if making simultaneous action predictions against AI enemies scratches the same strategic itch as traditional card battlers or fighting games. If it clicks, December 1 will bring the full roguelike experience with seven chakras to master and countless enemy patterns to decode. Your next turn is already locked in, you just need to predict what your opponent chose.