Battle Suit Aces blends a cheerful visual novel with deckbuilding

Pcgamer reviewed Battle Suit Aces, a deckbuilding visual novel from Trinket Studios released on October 7, 2025.

The review notes the game is priced at $25/£21, was reviewed on the Asus ROG Ally, and is Steam Deck Verified. Players take the role of Captain Heathcliff, recruiting crew and lethal battle suits to fight the Frenzied while alternating between story interludes and turn-based combat on two 5v5 rows that each guard a ship. Each turn allows you to deploy a unit, move a unit, and fire attacks if you’ve banked enough power, and enemies introduce complications such as spikes, counter-attacks, and buffs.

Mission rewards include crafting materials for suit and drone mods and ship defences, recruit opportunities, and ways to unlock extra suit mod slots both via in-combat criteria and optional crew missions. The review highlights the game’s exuberant, often silly tone and joyously queer cast, but notes flaws such as a clichéd opening, the Frenzied feeling like a non-entity, and that Standard difficulty could be tougher. The verdict: "A delightful visual novel and a great deckbuilder combined."

Key Topics

Culture, Battle Suit Aces, Deckbuilder, Visual Novel, Captain Heathcliff, Frenzied