Game: Fogpiercer
Genre: RPG, Strategy.
System: Steam (Windows)
Developer|Publisher: Mad Cookie Studio | Hooded Horse
Controller Support: yes
Steam Deck: playable
Price: US $19.99 | UK £17.99 | EU €19,99
Release Date: July 17th, 2026
Review code provided with many thanks to Hooded Horse.
Fogpiercer – All Aboard for a Fantastic Ride
Ever since the earliest days of gaming, one thing has always been true: train levels are almost always brilliant. So why aren’t there more games built entirely around trains? Well, Fogpiercer answers that question in style.
This is a roguelike deckbuilder mixed with turn-based strategy, all wrapped around the simple but wonderfully satisfying idea of defending a train full of survivors as it fights through a dangerous world swallowed by an endless fog. It might sound like an unusual combination, but after spending time with it, I came away thoroughly impressed. Yes, deckbuilders are hardly a rare sight these days, but Fogpiercer manages to carve out its own identity thanks to some genuinely clever tactical ideas and a theme that feels surprisingly fresh. If you enjoy thoughtful strategy games where every decision matters, this is definitely one to keep on your radar.
Humanity’s Last Hope
The world has become consumed by a deadly fog, and humanity is desperately searching for somewhere safe to call home. Your job is to lead one of the last survivor trains across dangerous territory while fending off relentless bandits and keeping your convoy alive.
Fogpiercer doesn’t try to overwhelm you with pages of lore, although you can read character backstories in the menus. Instead, it gives you a clear objective from the beginning, and everything naturally revolves around protecting your train and reaching the next destination. Fogpiercer keeps the focus where it belongs, on the journey itself.
Surprisingly Clever Battles
The heart of Fogpiercer is undoubtedly its combat. Each battle plays out using a deck of cards. You’ll draw a hand each turn before deciding how to spend your limited action points. Some cards fire your train’s weapons, others strengthen your carriages with shields, while support cards offer tactical tricks that can completely change the flow of battle.
You’re not simply firing at enemies until they explode. In many situations it’s actually smarter to knock enemies sideways, push them into environmental hazards, send them over cliffs, or even force them into one another. Sometimes a well-placed artillery shot creates a satisfying chain reaction that wipes out several enemies at once, and pulling off those moments never stopped feeling rewarding.
You’re also able to reposition your train during combat, creating even more tactical possibilities. It adds another layer of strategy without making things feel overwhelming. I particularly liked how readable everything was. Enemy intentions are easy to understand, incoming hazards telegraphed and even when you pick an attack card it previews how your attack will play out. It’s a game that gives you plenty to think about in a good way.
Helping Hand
Fogpiercer has nice quality of life features. If you finish your turn while still having unused actions available, the game politely reminds you before committing. It sounds like a tiny feature, but it’s incredibly useful, especially during longer sessions when you’re trying to juggle multiple tactical decisions.
Better still, if you realise you’ve made a mistake, the game allows you to undo your turn if things don’t quite go to plan. That’s something I always enjoy seeing in strategy games because experimentation becomes far less intimidating. It’s welcoming without removing the challenge.
Building Your Train
Outside of combat, Fogpiercer embraces its roguelike structure. Victories reward you with new cards to strengthen your deck, while scrap gathered during your journey can be spent upgrading carriages, repairing damage or purchasing entirely new additions for your train.
As you progress, you’ll unlock new locomotives, drivers and carriage types, each bringing their own cards and playstyles into future runs. That steady drip-feed of unlocks gives every failed run purpose, encouraging you to experiment with different combinations the next time you head into the fog. There are even several mini objectives to check off each run, so even the most disastrous of runs can provide some semblance of progress.
Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master
One pleasant surprise was how approachable everything felt. Deckbuilders can sometimes bury players beneath layers of mechanics from the very beginning, but Fogpiercer introduces its systems at a comfortable pace. The tutorial does a good job explaining the basics without dragging on, allowing you to start making your own tactical decisions fairly quickly. That isn’t to say the game is easy.
Boss encounters are where things really begin to test your planning. They’re significantly tougher than standard fights and forced me to completely rethink my strategies more than once. Losing to them was frustrating at times, but as I went through editing this review I learned the difficulty has been patched so this issue may already be addressed. Regardless of the frustration I still wanted to jump into another run.
Presentation
Visually, Fogpiercer keeps things relatively clean and readable. The 3D environments may not be trying to compete with blockbuster productions, but they work. The fog-covered landscapes create an excellent sense of atmosphere, while the trains themselves look cool rolling through the dangerous wilderness. The cards are easy to understand at a glance and the overall interface does an excellent job of keeping information accessible without cluttering the screen.
Conclusion: Once More Into the Fog
Fogpiercer ended up being one of those games that proves the train concept is a winner. On paper it sounds like another roguelike deckbuilder, but once everything comes together it becomes something far more memorable. The train theme works brilliantly, the tactical positioning adds a unique twist to battles, and the constant progression keeps every run engaging. Perhaps my biggest compliment is simply this, I kept wanting “just one more run.”
If you already enjoy deckbuilders, Fogpiercer feels like an easy recommendation. If you’re curious about the genre but have been put off by overly complicated games in the past, this is also a great place to start thanks to its approachable learning curve and easy to pick up and train design. There are plenty of roguelikes available today, but not many let you fight for humanity’s future from the front of a speeding train. And well that’s reason enough to climb aboard.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot
Do you like our content?
Subscribe to our daily news and never miss a review!