Stabjack

About Stabjack

Stabjack is a role-playing deckbuilder with turn-based strategy roots, set in a noir-inspired world of demons and moral decay. Developed by Cosmic Cog and released March 31 2026, it blends Blackjack mechanics with roguelike randomness. You play as Jack, a man using a sentient knife to avenge his wife’s murder while battling entities that twist reality. The PC-only single-player game mixes card management with branching story choices, where every decision impacts your sanity and survival. Think poker-faced strategy meets cosmic horror, with a focus on resource management and narrative tension.

Gameplay

Each session revolves around a Blackjack-inspired card system. You draw cards to manage HP, attack, and special abilities, balancing risk and reward. Combat is turn-based but tense: play too aggressively and you lose health; play too conservatively and you run out of moves. The knife’s whispers influence your hand, sometimes forcing you to discard cards or take damage for story progression. Missions unfold in procedurally generated environments, with branching dialogue that shifts between gritty detective work and surreal horror. You’ll trade favors with demons, gamble in cursed casinos, and confront paradoxes in a world where truth is a currency. The knife itself evolves, altering your deck and sanity meter as the story spirals.

What Players Think

PlayPile users rate Stabjack 4.3/5, with 37% completing the main story. Metacritic scores it 82. Average playtime is 14 hours, though 23% quit before 5 hours, citing “grindy mechanics.” Community moods are split: 58% “haunted,” 29% “cynical,” and 13% “obsessed.” Achievements (125 total) skew toward minigames and secret endings. Reviews highlight the knife’s unsettling dialogue (“It feels like a real character”) but criticize inconsistent pacing. Price is $39.99, with 42% of players feeling it’s fair. Hardcore deckbuilders praise the risk/reward loop, while story-focused players find the Blackjack system repetitive.

PlayPile's Take

Stabjack is a niche pick for fans of card-based risk and noir-thrillers. The $40 price tag feels steep for 14 average playtime, but the 125 achievements and multiple endings justify a replay for completionists. It shines in its first 5 hours but loses momentum for many. If you enjoy tactical cardplay and don’t mind a bleak narrative, it’s worth a try. Skip it if linear storytelling and punishing resource management turn you off. The knife’s personality is a standout, but the game’s identity hinges on how much you enjoy its specific brand of existential Blackjack.

Storyline

After finding his wife’s lifeless body, Jack is ambushed by a demon… and forced to defend himself with the knife that killed her. A knife that now whispers in her voice. Embark on a journey of vengeance in a world where nothing is as it seems, with diabolical darkness roiling beneath every surface. Can you unveil the truth, or will you become a mere pawn in an ancient game?