Master of Piece Early Access Preview

Taylor Rioux
1 hour ago
4 min read

Master of Piece is a roguelike autobattler by I M GAME where you command pieces on a game board through a series of encounters, aiming to reach the end of the board to defeat a final boss, only to do this all over again. While all of the concepts and mechanics of Master of Piece will be familiar to anyone who has played Slay the Spire or its many derivatives, this title sets itself apart enough to remain an engaging experience throughout.

In the current version of the game, there are two different playable piece sets, each with its own unique starting individual mercenaries and distinct class abilities. The mercenaries that are available for you to find through each run are also unique to whichever specific starting class you have chosen. While the options certainly aren’t infinite, the variability in starting mercenaries and abilities does lend itself to some sort of open experimentation.

Developer: I M GAME

Publisher: I M GAME

Platform: Played on PC (Steam)

Availability: Released in Early access on February 4, 2026 for Steam.

With that opening selection, you’ll be treading familiar ground if you’ve played the genre. You’ll be presented with branching paths that run through a series of battles, events that may confer positive or negative effects, and shops to upgrade your characters in some way, all of which culminate in a large boss battle. Once this boss battle is complete, you move onto the next zone and repeat the cycle. Once you have fully finished a run by defeating the final boss or dying, you are then sent back to the Departure Ground to start over.

The Departure Ground is a pretty barebones home base, but it serves as the implementation vehicle for a few functions. First, this is where you choose your starting loadout after the initial tutorial run. Second, it’s where you can view your archives to read up on events you saw in your previous runs, see your run history, and view any other mechanical or story-related information you have gathered in your playtime. And finally, it’s also where you can construct buildings that empower you, such as one that gives you the ability to change your path during a run, regardless of normal constraints. As there are only two main characters to choose from and only a few buildings to craft, the grounds are quite limited in their offerings — though that may not be a bad thing.

The lack of stuff to do at the Departure Ground means more time spent engaging with the battles and roguelike structure proper. It’s a good thing, too, as the battles are where Master of Piece sets itself apart most. Your objective in each battle is to destroy the enemy’s standard while simultaneously protecting yours. If the enemy team destroys your flag before you can eliminate theirs or you lose all of your pieces, you lose the game and must restart the run. This makes the setup and strategy of play a bit different than many other roguelikes. Rather than protect your individual pieces, it may be best to sacrifice them to a powerful enemy just to ensure the safety of your standard.

Boss battles are perhaps the most exciting feature here, because the boss serves as both the enemy standard and as an attacking or board-affecting piece. Each boss has distinct abilities that will shape your strategy and piece placement/movement, so it’s best to be open to adjustments in your plan.

The artstyle is simple, but I really love the look.

At the start of each fight, you’ll place pieces down into open field slots, and they’ll move according to their speed. IF two pieces have the same speed, a roll is done to see who goes first. Each piece will then move two spaces forward (if available), perform an attack, and end their turn.

Beyond the broader picture, many different enemy and allied abilities can shape how each battle goes. If you have a piece that gets more powerful upon attacking or taking damage, it is best to put them in situations where they engage directly with an enemy. Pieces with high speed and attack but low health are better served by finding open avenues to attack the standards directly. Some pieces are even better for support functions, such as empowering allies or weakening enemies, rather than confronting foes directly.

This level of strategy is further compounded by the items, rumours, and relics you can find in a run. Relics are permanent team-wide buffs applied in each battle, which can sometimes be upgraded to provide insanely powerful effects. Rumours are individual passive effects that are granted to a single piece, but massively improve the capabilities of a single unit. Items are single-use effects, and often very situational. Out of these, I find items to be the least interesting or beneficial, but they may come in handy in a pinch. By contrast, rumours and relics are so powerful that they can almost immediately shape your long-term strategy.

Out of these, I find items to be the least interesting or beneficial, but they may come in handy in a pinch.

For an early access title, I am more than happy with what is available here. There is already a large number of enemies, zones, relics, and items here for your enjoyment. A comparable assortment of rumours and traits exist, as well. While the possibilities are not unlimited, the situations you may find yourself in and the variety of tools at your disposal make this game feel like a complete offering.

Visually, Master of Piece is quite gorgeous. The artsyle is simple, but has a board game-like aesthetic for your mercenaries and the board itself. There’s a highly stylized, animated quality to the objects on the screen that is really eye-catching, and while many of the basic pieces look similar, the unique mercenaries have a more visibly distinct feel.

Truthfully, I don't have many complaints about Master of Piece at all. I suppose I don't love the music, but it is inoffensive. While the premise may sound derivative, it is executed well, and the battles are engaging, ever-evolving dances that are accentuated by the appealing visual style. The strategy involved and variety of options available do offer enough runway to stay fun for a decent number of hours, but I’m really excited to see the improvements and additions that come along, as well.