Dating all the way back to the 15th century, tarot cards have been used as tools of divination, providing answers to those who have questions about their future, fortune, love life, or health. In more modern times, it is mostly treated as a superstition with no real ground in reality, but there are still practitioners of this ancient art, and it has bled into certain areas of modern-day culture.
Clothes, music, TV shows, and even video games showcase tarot cards, either as decorations or as key plot elements. In terms of the latter, they can be either or anything, used to establish an aesthetic for characters, established as part of a side quest, or even something greater to the overall video game experience.
Set in the fictional Night City in the futuristic year 2077,Cyberpunk 2077is a game rife with life and sci-fi elements such as cybernetic enhancements, flying cars, andmore dystopia than one can shake a cybernetic arm at. But, even while glowing with a city’s worth of neon lights, Night City is still not devoid of the archaic practice of tarot cards.
In fact, there is an entire side quest dedicated to players finding graffiti strewn across the city that seems to represent the Major Arcana — with its own futuristic twist, of course. It’s a tall order to traverse the city, scouring every building and backalley in hopes of finding the next one, but it is vital for those who are hoping to grab all the achievements.
Sacrificial lamb isn’t a turn of phrase for no good reason, as certain religions are thought to partake in the practice of sacrificing a lamb to their particular god as a way to honor them and show their devotion. These poor lambs deserve some mercy, and a deity inCult of the Lambagrees, taking pity on the sacrifice and offering them a second chance — but there is a catch. The lamb must start a cult for this god and survive the dangers that come with this task.
Thankfully, the little lamb will have help working his way through waves of enemies in the form of tarot cards. These tarot cards can offer certain boons, such as increasing their odds of gaining more useful loot or increasing their damage the lower their health is.The right tarot cardcould be the difference between life and death in this action management roguelite.
Dragon Age’sfantasy series spans the fantasy world Thedas, spinningepic tales of apocalyptic scale, as the world is fraught with danger such as the Blight, when creatures known as darkspawn spill over to the surface world — or the breach, a tear in the veil that separates the world from the Fade.Dragon Age: Inquisitiondealt with the latter scenario, saddling the Herald of Andraste with the onerous task of stopping Corypheus and sealing the breach.
Such a mission could never be accomplished alone, but thankfully, it doesn’t have to be. The player can choose three companions to travel with them, and each is represented by a stylistic tarot card. The art on each card changes as the game progresses, depending on where their path takes them, along with their relationship with the Inquisitor.
Supermassive Games always throw an unlucky cast of characters into horrifying scenarios that will have them face their worst nightmares and the very real possibility of death. But, there were ways they could be forewarned of the dangers ahead, such as totems inUntil Dawn,premonition pictures inThe Devil In Me, and tarot cards inThe Quarry.
Tarot cards are often used as tools of divination, and their role inThe Quarryis much the same. If players are thorough with their exploration and search every nook and cranny high and low, they will find tarot cards to collect and bring back to the Fortune Teller, who can then use these cards to grant them a peek into the future. As the Curator says, forewarned is forearmed, so players should make hunting for these cards a priority.
A gruesome and grizzly dungeon-crawler,The Binding of Isaacfollows the trials and tribulations of the unfortunate eponymous character Isaac, abused by his mother under the guidance of a voice she believes is God. He escapes her evil clutches by escaping through a trapdoor andplunging into a world of monsters.
Isaac is forced to fight through floor after floor of monsters that become increasingly more dangerous (and gross) as he progresses, and occasionally he will be faced with a boss monster. To even the odds, Isaac can use tarot cards in order to help him strengthen his skills and increase his odds of survival. They offer varying effects, such as providing health or increasing their damage output for the current floor.
Phasmophobia, the indieghost-hunting game, has evolved over the years, packing in more terrifying ghosts, more haunted locations to explore, and new mechanics to keep the game feeling fresh for old players while also enticing new players to join the fanbase. One of these updates was the cursed possessions update, which added a bunch of new items ghost hunters could interact with during their investigations.
New items included a monkey’s paw, haunted mirror, music box, and a tarot deck players could draw cards from for a dangerous game of chance. The deck is shuffled, and players take turns drawing cards, with each one having a different effect. Players run the risk of beginning a ghost hunt, losing all their sanity, or even dying on the spot. It’s a fun game, but all players should be aware and accepting of the dangers that come with it.
In the world ofPersona, there are those blessed with the power to summon Personas, a physical manifestation of their psyche. InPersona 3 Reload, using this power allows them to stay awake during the Dark Hour, a hidden hour each night that transmogrifies ordinary people into coffins as shadows prowl the world. Persona users enter Tartarus in order to cultivate their powers by fighting lower-level enemies in preparation for the major shadows that appear each full moon.
Tarot plays a major part in the two facets of the protagonist’s life.Each potential social linkis a personification of one of the Arcanas, and all potential personas are categorized into the Major Arcana. By cultivating their relationships, they can in turn fuse stronger Personas of the specific card. Gamers would be hard-pressed to find another game in which tarot is used so effectively.
