In the Deck-Builder Voraxis You're a Parasite that Eats Through a Living Planet

Why It Matters

Voraxis pushes deck‑building beyond combat, illustrating how innovative mechanics can attract both indie gamers and the growing Linux gaming audience.

Key Takeaways

• Deck controls movement, not combat
• Collect anima to upgrade cards mid‑run
• Over 30 cards, 60 mutators, 50 evolutions
• Demo runs smoothly on Proton 10
• No release date, wishlist material

Pulse Analysis

Voraxis reimagines the deck‑building genre by turning each card into a tool for excavation rather than attack. Players drop onto a planetary surface and must navigate a grid of organic tiles, using movement cards to consume layers while avoiding score‑penalising squares. The resource system, centered on "anima," rewards efficient play with upgrades that can be purchased between layers, creating a loop that feels both strategic and visceral. This design choice differentiates Voraxis from traditional card games, offering a fresh tactical experience that resonates with players seeking novelty.

Strategic depth emerges from the interplay of cards, mutators and evolutions. With more than thirty distinct cards, sixty mutators and fifty evolutions, each run can be customized to suit a player’s style, whether focusing on speed, tile‑clearing power, or resource generation. The requirement to meet turn and score thresholds adds a layer of pressure similar to titles like Balatro, demanding careful planning and optimal card sequencing. This modularity not only boosts replay value but also encourages community‑driven meta‑development, a hallmark of successful indie deck‑builders.

From a market perspective, Voraxis arrives at a time when Linux gaming is gaining momentum, and its seamless compatibility with Proton 10 signals strong cross‑platform potential. The early demo’s positive reception suggests a demand for innovative, mechanically rich indie titles on the platform. While the full release date remains unannounced, the game's unique premise and robust feature set position it to influence future deck‑building designs and expand the audience for Linux‑first releases.

In the deck-builder Voraxis you're a parasite that eats through a living planet

By Liam Dawe · 6 Feb 2026 at 1:03 pm UTC · Last updated: 8 Feb 2026 at 10:16 am UTC

Voraxis is a really interesting take on deck‑building that has you play cards to eat through a living planet, with gameplay that really captured me. Disclosure: a key was provided to GamingOnLinux via our Steam Curator.

A demo is currently available on Steam and the game works perfectly with Proton 10.

How it works: you drop down onto the surface, and you need to eat through various layers while collecting an element called “anima” that allows you to upgrade your cards during a run, and buy new cards in the shop between layers of the planet. The key is all in the movement here, as you need to eat through each layer in a certain amount of turns while also hitting a certain score.

Each card is a different type of movement that could move you in any direction one tile or multiple tiles in one go. Cards can also have various effects on them like increasing a bonus (which can vary depending on when you play the card), infecting tiles and more. But you also have to avoid eating certain tiles that will reduce your score, while other tiles you cannot eat and will block your path so you need to plan ahead. The sections are only small though, and so initially it doesn’t seem too hard – but the points requirement is where the real challenge is. In the same way you need to hit the score each round in the likes of Balatro, maximising every turn can be difficult here.

When you make it to the end of a section, your score and turns left will be added up to give you more of the anima resource to then use to buy cards and buy upgrades for your run. Then it’s back to the next layer of the planet to repeat until you manage to reach the end of a run.

Trailer

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Really interesting idea, with some nice visuals and a simple yet effective gameplay loop that’s satisfying and will really hook you in. One to stick onto your wishlist after trying out the demo.

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Key Features

• Your Deck is Your Drill: Forget traditional “attack” cards. In Voraxis, your deck controls your direction and your ability to clear the grid.

• Evolve or Be Digested: The planet is mutating, and you must too. Customize your deck with Evolutions and Mutators that allow for wild run‑to‑run builds. Turn a simple “Move Left” card into a terrain‑shattering explosion or a resource‑vacuuming tool.

• Death is Just a Nutrient: Failure is part of the cycle. Unlock new cards, build defining mutators, and powerful evolutions.

• A Living, Pulsing World: You aren’t just mining rocks; you’re tunnelling through flesh, bone, and ancient cosmic matter. Time is of the essence!

Launch Content

• 30+ Playing Cards

• 60+ Mutators

• 50+ Different Evolutions

• 10+ Catalysts to come

No current date is noted for the full release.

Platform: ⚛ Proton / Wine

Official link: Steam – Voraxis

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.