Software:Trickcal: Chibi Go
You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding articles in 한국어 and 日本語. (May 2026) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
| Trickcal: Chibi Go | |
|---|---|
App icon for the half-year anniversary event featuring Speaki | |
| Developer(s) | EPIDGames |
| Publisher(s) |
|
| Platform(s) | iOS, Android |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Role-playing, comedy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multi-player |
Trickcal: Chibi Go,[lower-alpha 1] also known as Trickcal: Revive or simply Trickcal, is a South Korean free-to-play auto battler RPG developed by EPIDGames. Initially released in South Korea in 2021, it was re-launched and self-published by EPIDGames in September 2023. A global version was published worldwide by Bilibili Game in October 2025 and a mainland China server followed in December 2025.
The game won the Best Game Award in the 2024 Korea Game Awards.
Story
Trickcal: Chibi Go is set in the world of Elias, a fantastical realm inhabited by chibi characters who live under the protection of a world tree named Yggdrasil. The player is a human transported to Elias who is shortly appointed the leader of a religious organization called the Order of Yggdrasil. The main story chronicles the adventures of the Cult Leader[lower-alpha 2] and their attempts to solve the conflicts that arise between the different races of Elias which include: sprites, werebeasts, elves, elementals, phantoms, dragons, and witches.
Characters
- Erpin (에르핀; エルフィン)
- Voiced by Kang Eun-ae (Korean)[1], Hina Kino (Japanese/Global)[2]
- The gluttonous, figurehead queen of the sprites. She boasts above average physical aptitudes but less than average intelligence. Erpin is the usual sidekick to the Cult Leader in the main story.
- Ner (네르; ネル)
- Voiced by Yuriko Anderson (Japanese/Global)[2]
- The high priestess of the Order of Yggdrassil and the power behind the throne of the Sprite Kingdom. Despite her constant nagging of Erpin, she cares deeply for her.
- Kommy (코미; コミー)
- Voiced by Maki Kawase (Japanese/Global)[2]
- A smart yet lazy cat werebeast. Her name and references to a little red book she owns are puns on communism.
- Butter (버터; バター)
- Voiced by Aoi Natsuki (Japanese/Global)[2]
- A friendly dog werebeast who is prone to be taken advantage of due to her kindness.
- Elena (엘레나; エレナ)
- Voiced by Yui Tsukada (Japanese/Global)[2]
- The mayor of the elven city of Monatium. Despite being primarily responsible for the advanced technology of the elven race, she often uses her inventions to gain an underhanded advantage over the other races of Elias.
- Speaki (스피키; スピッキー)
- Voiced by Park Si-yoon (Korean), Yurie Kozakai (Japanese/Global)[3]
- A copycat phantom, whose affinity for pumpkins and dressing up embodies the spirit of halloween. Her current impersonation target is the sprite priestess Ner.
Gameplay
Trickcal: Chibi Go is an auto battler RPG with card collecting elements in which combat is divided into two parts: the “team build phase” in which the player select cards to strengthen the party using the coins earned during the previous battle to strengthen their character, and the “battle phase” in which has an auto-chess mechanics played using the selected character. The player can also activate a “higher skill” attack during this phase. It is characterized by the fact that the player can pull the character's cheeks everywhere such as in stories, gacha screen, home screen and dedicated animations and voices are also implemented for actions such as fist clenching.[4][5] The game also features daily tasks.[6]
Development and release
Development began in 2019 under the name Roll the Chess and a beta was released the same year which was considered a failure by developer EPIDGames.[5] However, the cheek-pulling mechanics of the game were well-received. Therefore, they decided to remake the game with the “cheek-pulling” mechanics as a core mechanic.[7] The prototype of the game named Trickcal was first released on September 27, 2021.[8][9] Due to the incomplete content of the game, and bugs such as payment errors and login failures, it was negatively received. They decided to end the service, which only lasted for two hours.[7][9] It was initially expected to be relaunched in October, but the two reworkings of the game nearly bankrupted the company until the EPIDGames CEO mortgaged his home for ₩1 billion (2021) (US$FXConvert/Wordify error: cannot parse value "Undefined year "2021"") to raise funds and decided to continue to rework the game. The game was released in South Korea on September 27, 2023.[7][9]
The global version of the game was developed by Bilibili Game.[4] The global release was announced in January 2025 during the 2025 Taipei Game Show.[10] It was originally named Trickcal: Re:VIVE, it was changed to Trickcal: Chibi Go in May 2025. Pre-registration was also opened.[11] A demo was featured on Tokyo Game Show 2025.[12] It was released on October 9, 2025, on iOS and Android.[4] The Chinese server was opened on December 18, 2025.[13]
Reception
The original game, released in 2021, initially received 50,000 concurrent players,[9] but was negatively received with comments like “the check-pulling was the only positive thing in the game”.[7] The 2023 version of the game was well-received by players.[9][14] The game topped the “Korean mobile games we would love to see get a global launch” published by Pocket Gamer published in 2024.[8] It generated $4.5 million in the first year of the game's release.[15] By August 2025, the Korean version of the game was downloaded 500,000 times, and had a five-star rating out of 35,000 reviews on Google Play Store.[16] By April 9, 2026, the game ranked fifth in the highest grossing games in the Korean Google Play Store and as well as in the Japanese Google Play Store and iOS App Store, placing 11th and 13th, respectively.[17]
Internet memes
Speaki’s, one of the game's characters, Korean voice lines such as Template:Korean/auto[lower-alpha 3] and Template:Korean/auto[lower-alpha 4] became viral as a meme in the Japanese internet, following the game's global release, nicknaming the character as Supiki (スピキ). Various MAD videos was uploaded on sites like YouTube and Niconico Douga about the character.[18][19][20][5] Denfaminico Gamer called the meme the “strongest electronic drug”.[5]
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Korea Game Awards | Best Game Award | Won | [14][21] |
See also
- Agreeee - another game featured in the 2025 Tokyo Game Show
- Software:Princess Connect! Re:Dive - Japanese auto battler game that inspired the Re:VIVE name
Notes
- ↑ Template:Korean/auto; Japanese: トリッカル・もちもちほっペ大作戦, romanized: Torikkaru Mochi Mochi Hoppe Dai Sakusen; Chinese: 嘟嘟脸恶作剧; pinyin: Dū dū liǎn èzuòjù
- ↑ Template:Korean/auto
- ↑ Transliterated in Japanese as Chowayō Chowayō (チョワヨーチョワヨー)[5]
- ↑ Transliterated in Japanese as Uwa! Supiki derujiba seyo (ウワァー!スピキデルジバセヨ)[5]
References
- ↑ EPIDGames (February 25, 2021). [캐릭터 성우 공개] 에르핀 (CV.강은애) [[Character Voice Actor Revealed] Erfin (CV. Kang Eun-ae)] (video) (in 한국어). Retrieved May 30, 2026 – via YouTube.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Trickcal:Chibi Go-Trickcal or Treat!". Trickcal:Chibi Go. https://trickcal.biligames.com/en/#p-3.
- ↑ (in ja)Denfamicogamer. March 23, 2026. https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/news/260323v.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Sheehan, Gavin (October 8, 2025). "Trickcal: Chibi Go Has Launched For Mobile Devices" (in en). Bleeding Cool. https://bleedingcool.com/games/trickcal-chibi-go-has-launched-for-mobile-devices/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 (in ja)Denfamicogamer. December 28, 2025. https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/kikakuthetower/251228k.
- ↑ Colosi, Verna (May 27, 2025). "Jujutsu Kaisen game publisher announces a cheeky new card-collector RPG". Pocket Tactics. https://www.pockettactics.com/trickcal-chibi-go/pre-registration.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 (in ja)Denfamicogamer. March 26, 2026. https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/kikakuthetower/260326s.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Han, Anderson (July 3, 2024). "Korean mobile games we would love to see get a global launch" (in en). Pocket Gamer. https://www.pocketgamer.com/best-games/korea-edition/?page=1.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 (in ja)4Gamer.net. February 21, 2026. https://www.4gamer.net/games/913/G091374/20260212022/.
- ↑ Morris, Iwan (January 29, 2025). "Trickcal: ReVive to get global launch and major fanfare at Taipei Games Show" (in en). Pocket Gamer. https://www.pocketgamer.com/trickcal-re-vive/taipei-games-show-2025/.
- ↑ Botadkar, Tanish (May 28, 2025). "Trickcal: Chibi Go opens global pre-registration with a new name and trailer" (in en). Pocket Gamer. https://www.pocketgamer.com/trickcal-re-vive/new-name-and-trailer/.
- ↑ Morris, Iwan (September 5, 2025). "Trickcal: Chibi Go to open pre-registration on iOS and Android ahead of TGS appearance" (in en). Pocket Gamer. https://www.pocketgamer.com/trickcal-re-vive/pre-reg-now-open/.
- ↑ Yangtse Evening Post. December 18, 2025. https://www.yzwb.net/news/wy/202512/t20251218_301776.html.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 (in ja)Denfamicogamer. June 13, 2025. https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/kikakuthetower/250613c.
- ↑ (in ko)www.gameshot.net. https://www.gameshot.net/common/con_view.php?code=GA671844bbb92e1.
- ↑ V, Amber (August 7, 2025). "Epic Games launches trademark dispute against small Korean studio over the name "EPIDGames"". Automaton Media. https://automaton-media.com/en/news/epic-games-launches-trademark-dispute-against-small-korean-studio-over-the-name-epidgames/.
- ↑ Kim, Donghwi "Kobee" (April 9, 2026). "Trickcal Revive Hits New Peaks: 5th on Google Play in Korea, 13th on iOS in Japan" (in en). Inven Global. https://www.invenglobal.com/articles/20693/trickcal-revive-hits-new-peaks-5th-on-google-play-in-korea-13th-on-ios-in-japan.
- ↑ (in ja)Dengeki Online. January 8, 2026. https://dengekionline.com/article/202601/62778.
- ↑ (in ja)Inside Games. February 16, 2026. https://www.inside-games.jp/article/2026/02/16/177447.html.
- ↑ (in ja)Dengeki Online. February 16, 2026. https://dengekionline.com/article/202602/66202.
- ↑ Yong-Jun, Cho (November 13, 2024). "Solo Leveling: Arise takes top prize at 2024 Korea Game Awards" (in en). Korea JoongAng Daily. https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-11-13/business/industry/Solo-Leveling-Arise-takes-top-prize-at-2024-Korea-Game-Awards/2177112.
External links
- No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.
