The whole of Card Shark is inspired by the manipulation and obfuscation that comes with sleight of hand card trickery. Under the watchful eye of Comte de Saint-Germain, another of history's slightly-skewed miscreants, you'll inherit a war chest of tricks to cheat your way to both money and untold secrets. Be it copping an over-the-shoulder glance of the Comte's mark's cards and wiping the table down inside a counter-clockwise fashion, or playing the role of dealer in Card Shark's mishmash nondescript card game only to stack when with a number of shady shuffles, all the deceptions trained to you are according to real-world techniques.
The developers did a wonderful job of not just transforming these tricks into fun, tense mini-games that'll test your memory and reflexes, but they've also made them progressively complex to actually provide a sense of progression and expertise towards the player. It may also help establish stakes in certain incredibly tense scenes where Comte's mark grows increasingly suspicious while you “exchange wine bottles” in the dry store. The rate at which your target cottons on to your antics will depend on the problem you're using, however the game balances beautifully the pulsating tension of performing these feats of falsity beneath your mark's nose as the Comte mutters red herrings and other fanciful misdirections.
I did encounter several occasions in which the game would soft-lock in the middle of a cut-scene, process the exchange of coins as if the hand was over however keep everyone sat at the table in perpetuity. One instance was game-breaking and forced a complete restart, and although they've patched this for that PC version, I don't think a fix is here for that Switch version yet.
Beyond these mini-games decked out as deceitful dealings, Card Shark almost plays just like a classic point-and-click adventure. Actually, using the lavish garments, powder wigs and feeling of humour, you will naturally draw comparisons to the Monkey Island games, although Card Shark's oil-painted aesthetic is clearly a far cry in the pixel-art look of yore. Just like a slick of vibrant colour across the screen, Card Shark's roaming band of con-artists and also the France they call home are all realised gorgeously. It's like someone framed a stage play, thanks to the theatrical way that Card Shark's set pieces, acts, and plot engage in.
Like the rest of the game's tone, Card Shark's orchestral score is really a jovial trip back in its history that, generally, really captures the mischief and whimsy of the hero's journey. Although there is no voice performance, which is a shame because of the game's tremendous writing, I think the arrangement from Andrea Boccadoro a lot more than fills the spaces between hands.
There's so much to adore about Card Shark. The setting and heat of the moment tends to challenge the player more than the mechanics do themselves, and the delightfully twisted undertake French society and it is willingness to succumb to the seemingly supernatural performance art of card trickery serves as a memorable launching pad for which will be among the indie darlings of the year.
