Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 79 | 9 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 97 | 0 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 71% | 67 | 267 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 0% | 15 | 0 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 1 reviews sampled · 1 total reviews in window · weighted 0 up / 1 down · computed 4h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (29)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“To put it simply, Children of Zodiarcs is a fantastic, challenging and hugely enjoyable tactical RPG; however, a lack of variation in its gameplay stops it from being so much better. Each battlefield, though simple, is a tremendous task to navigate round and conquer, with each mission asking more from you than the last.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“With so much variety in the Switch eShop I firmly believe there's a place for everything and likely an audience that will likely enjoy it all, it's just tough when I hit a game that doesn't do it for me...”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Children of Zodiarcs does so much with so little that its only flaw seems to be that it's not as close to perfection as it could be. Nevertheless, fans of the genre are highly advised to try it out, as the inclusion of card-based skills and specialised dices manage to offer a fine example of an SRPG that's original, challenging, and all around fun.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Cardboard Utopia’s Children of Zodiarcs is the next “Final Fantasy Tactics” that you’ve been waiting for. While there may not be classes for your characters to switch between, dive into a world based on dice rolls and the luck of the draw as a group of children try to survive by stealing from the rich in order to buy enough food to survive.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“There’s several interesting systems at work here that never quite come together and gel.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“Combat sequences can be a bit long, The text story is slightly on the dull side. But it really makes up for it's challenging and engaging combat style.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“As a story, Children of Zodiarcs is a little lacking, but if you don’t mind some grinding the mix of combat, card and dice system is a delight. Although some characters are less useful than others, the fights are enough to pull you through if a tactical RPG is what you are looking for.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Children of Zodiarcs is a strategy RPG with a clever system that I find endlessly entertaining. It’s challenging enough to involve some grinding and the story and characters are interesting, even though I’m not finding them to be very complex. Instead, it’s the combination of dice customization and deck building systems that really makes Children of Zodiarcs stand out. I love upgrading my dice to increase the chances of a better roll. Frankly, I’ve barely touched the deck building aspect yet because I am so involved in managing the dice! I have spent hours in a single day (a rarity for me unless it’s Fire Emblem) grinding my characters to build their stats while listening to podcasts, and I can definitely say it’s been a blast.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Does this dice and deck strategy title bring enough to the tabletop in order to please a diehard fan of such mechanics? Read on and find out”
read full review ↗ - 65
“One to try for fans of strategy RPGs, Children of Zodiarcs has a solid combat system with an interesting hook. The game is let down by a poorly told story that fails to satisfy but it does have it's moments nonetheless.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“An enjoyable experience which seems perfect for any card games fan; like the old Metal Gear Acid and Final Fantasy Tactics: turns and lots of strategy to develop.”
read full review ↗ - 75
Invision Community
Nindie Spotlight
Cubed3
Chalgyr's Game Room
MonsterVine
GameGrin
TheSixthAxis
LadiesGamers.com
SwitchRPG
TechRaptor
IGN
ACG…and 17 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Now available on Mac!! Patch Notes for v1.0.3!Mar 16, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Now available on Mac!! Patch Notes for v1.0.3!Mar 16, 2018
- PATCH NOTES: Patch 1.0.2 is now available!Aug 31, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- PATCH NOTES: Patch 1.0.2 is now available!Aug 31, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Patch 1.0.2 is available for beta testingAug 17, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Patch 1.0.2 is available for beta testingAug 17, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- PATCH NOTES: Patch 1.0.1 is now available!Jul 21, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- PATCH NOTES: Patch 1.0.1 is now available!Jul 21, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- 1.0.1 Patch goes live soon! Includes Enemy Turn Fast-Forward and moreJul 20, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- 1.0.1 Patch goes live soon! Includes Enemy Turn Fast-Forward and moreJul 20, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- CoZ Beta Update (ver 0.0.7.1)Apr 18, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- CoZ Beta Update (ver 0.0.7.1)Apr 18, 2017