The single player mode consists of an intro tutorial, where the player is exposed to the setting as well as shown the basic mechanics of the game. The cutscene show a figure approaching the gate of a city, having been called there. They then are prompted to engage in story-telling with the people at the gate, before being let in.
After that, the core loop is missions which require that certain cards be included in the player’s deck, and leave the player free to include any of the cards they have collected to complete the deck. After each mission, the player unlocks some cards and more missions on the map.
There are 7 areas (Neighborhoods), all but 1 of these correspond to a character. 2 are available in the beginning, with 2 more opening once either characters main story arc is completed. The main arc is usually 3 missions in a row, with many more missions becoming available for optional rewards.
Brief bits of story (In writing, possibly accompanied by spoken word) are shown with each mission in order to flesh out the character for that mission.
The point of the city and what you are doing there is suggested vaguely in the intro, and is somewhat open to interpretation, but the following can be considered the “point” of it:
Each area within the city reflects the character that has missions in it and their themes. For example, the fiery tall buildings of Adonis and the resulting ashes, the rolling hills and unformed possibilities of Imani the doula.
Jules - Free spirit, they show letting go, honest expression, personal identity, distance from the world.
Mia - Bound in shadows, she shows trauma, pain, need for control, the effects of hurt and how it gets repeated.
Kitz - Hopeless lover, he shows life in the sensory, delight, losing oneself in partnership, spoiling others.
The other 3 characters don’t have completed artwork: