Game: Union of Gnomes
Genre: Adventure, Indie, RPG, Simulation
System: Steam (Windows)
Developers | Publishers: Hoolignomes | HeroCraft PC
Controller Support: Some
Price: US $14.99 | UK £12.79 | EU €14,79
Release Date: May 29th, 2025
A reviewer code was provided, thanks to MMPR.
The deck builder rogue-like has made its mark as a quick-to-pick-up, difficult to master genre, endearing itself to tactical and casual fans alike. Keystone games like Slay the Spire put us all on the same footing at first; fumbling our way through card text and interactions to see what works best, only to eventually fail due to that most mysterious power, luck. Such is the way of most deck builders: throw yourself in and hope for the best.
Rare are the ones like Nif Nif, which do their best to ease in the young and those brand new to the genre. Union of Gnomes, meanwhile, cheerfully lands itself wholly in the camp of ‘break it till you make it,’ and its unapologetic flair to its difficulty — and cheeky fantastical trappings — are what it has to offer in terms of its own uniqueness.
Snow White and the Union of Gnomes
Of course, our heroic union-forming jailbreakers are supposed to be dwarves, but between the juggernaut House of Mouse’s death grip on the Snow White legend and the rightful requests of those who live with dwarfism, who often prefer the term ‘little people,’ calling these weiner-collecting little nutballs gnomes is fine.
And they are indeed weiner-collecting little nutballs. Most deckbuilder rogues introduce some form of currency or supply management to add a few spins on how you set your deck, and Union of Gnomes is no different. Leaning into the story’s Germanic origins, possibly, these guys dig on that sausage. It fuels special moves and summons, adding layers to your tactical possibilities that are quite different from the usual deck builder.
The other quirk is that your crew is led by a hero, and the cards you collect and play need to build to that particular gnome’s strengths and weaknesses. He’s the one who holds your run’s HP pool, and whose journey through the increasing difficulties of this fairy tale land will empower him with levels and experience. It’s a weird twist, but not an unwelcome one.
The Difficulty Rises
The first difficulty curve that will threaten to waylay your trip through this game is that tutorials are often handed to you in long, small-text infodumps, and it’s up to you to glean what you can and try to remember to look up the rest later. As the game is far closer to Slay the Spire in rising difficulty as it is, trying to take in all the info about this game’s quirks may be its own hassle for casual players.
Digging in can be rewarding, however, if you’re into that grudge-style attempt to face a game’s challenges on its own terms. Gradually, you’ll realize there are plenty of other quirks to Union of Gnomes that belie casual attempts to master the game. Tactical positioning of your chosen gnomes (who have their own benefits, from melee mastery to ranged accuracy) matters, meaning you need to pay attention to what order you play your cards in, so that they’ll interact with each other in the most effective way.
As mentioned, the hero gnomes level up, increasing HP and unlocking an RPG-style talent tree that adds further options when handling whatever it is you’re about to face. It all comes together in an unusually customizable way; where Slay the Spire is strictly about picking cards to play off your chosen hero’s talents, here you can gradually build your cards and gnomes together in the way you’d like to play. If you can figure out how. And you can, but you’re going to have to buckle in and do the work.
Fairy Tale Imbroglios
Opening with a gleefully mean twist on Snow White, who’s now a bit of a capitalist happy to overwork her old friends, pretty much everything in fairytale land is up for open season in the game’s various randomized encounters. Generally, it’s all pretty funny, and it’s all bright and colorful to look at. The art design on this game is really, really good.
I do have a personal iffiness on the game’s central conceit of having the gnomes escape from a harsh labor prison under Snow White’s cruel regime. The labor prison itself is named Gnometanamo Bay, and it’s strictly my issue that I wince every time I read the name. I have zero doubt Hoolignomes means anything by the name except a wry, black comedy joke, but I’m an American who’s observed a lot of our country’s biggest failures (and we still have more in the bag), and the gag hit me a little wrong.
In any case, this bit of world-building is clearly meant in the same silly spirit as all the other weiner schnitzels going on, and if I can get over myself, probably you can too. Most gags are quick riffs that sprint by on their way to other jokes, and none of it has any real meanness behind it.
Conclusion
Union of Gnomes takes the now-familiar terrain of deckbuilder roguelites and adds some neat twists that turn the usual card management system into supply management. With a slick, colorful art style and quick gameplay that handles well on Steam Deck, it’s great for quick sessions, but benefits more from strapping in and figuring out the game’s various quirks if you truly want to delve into everything the game has to offer. Unique and cheeky, it’s a great addition to a genre that’s both overstuffed and yet lacking real headliners beyond its most famous brand ambassador, Slay the Spire.
Final Verdict: I Like It A Lot
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