You inherit a run-down domain, and you are now responsible for cleansing it of the evil that befell it. So begins this game, which is a mix of RPG, a bit of strategy and added rouge-like gameplay. You do this cleansing by getting together a diverse group of various fortune hunters, thrill seekers and hero-likes, and sending them off to fullfill various goals. And while working on those goals you come across all kinds of hindrances which you have to overcome, most often in the form of monsters. But not only these obstacles are your enemy, also the inner fear of your characters and their minds that are besieged by the evil and darkness they witness. A bit of Lovecraft added in there, but it adds tremendous deepness and character to the game. So you have to see that they not only survive their physical wounds, but also come out of the experience spiritually intact as much as possible. But you will fail at this, and not everyone can be saved, and most characters will show some weird mental habits after a while down the road - which can be soothed by various means depending on the character (praying, whoring, drinking,..). And then again, some of your heroes will die in the line of duty. The atmosphere is perfectly conveyed by the visuals and the audio. The narrators voice commenting on various choices, combat results and happenings is very well done and adds so much to the dark mood. All parts make a very well done whole. The game feels like every little choice matters, and it is very unforgiving to mistakes, yet this also makes the game, at last to me, brilliant. It walks the narrow path between challenge and frustration very well and puts you in place where you really have to pull it together. This is not a game where you save/load until every quest is finished perfectly, you have to live with your mistakes, or the bad luck the game will definitely throw at you at some point(s). So make no mistake, this one is definitely not for the squeamish.
The game itself is quite easy to grasp - there are a few videos in-game explaining everything and also a rules section which should cover the few details not mentioned in those vids. Gameplay is quite straightforward - you choose one of 4 charactes, choose a start-quest and try to do the best with your 2 actions per round to get as many victory points (VPs) as possible. After you fullfill your first quest the game is either over or (depending on your game goal) goes for up to as high as 5 fullfilled quests. Maxing your VPs gained by doing side quests and killing monsters giving VPs is essential for victory - the victor being, obviously the one having the most VPs after the quest-goal is fullfilled. Overall the gameflow is quite good, and even replays are enjoyable for quite some time, because of the different variables (character, quests, developments, ...). So the game itself would be getting a 3.5 to 4 for value. My problems with the game arise from a few facts: 1) You can't save a game. The duration of some games can go on for over an hour, and it would be really helpful to be able to save. Yes, I know this is to enforce "no going back and sticking to decisions", but computer games go by different needs than board games. The game runs quite stable, but one game I had to cancel because the game wouldn't allow me to use my actions. 2) Online Multiplayer is via GOG Galaxy. I dunno, I support GOG with my purchases because their old and new releases are usually playable on their own, without an external service. This is not really to my liking - some alternate method (eg direct IP) would be really preferable. Also, there is no LAN mode, and the only non-Galaxy MP-mode is via Hotseat (at least something). 3) You can't set AI-difficulty, and the AI is, to be blunt, quite stupid. I played about 8 games sofar and I still have to lose a game - most games I won with more than double the AI's VPs, and only one time did it get close, and that was more because I had an abysmal early game (bad draws, even worse rolls). This is ofc not so much of a problem if you only play against human players. 4) Speaking about bad draws, the game can be quite nasty to you, and a row of bad rolls/card draws can really offset any strategy you might have. On the bright side, against the AI such moments at least make a game a bit more interesting, but if the AI gets in such a situation he is on the losing side for sure. Such a row of bad luck once brought the AI is such a situation that he simply didn't come out of it again, and I won 60 to 0 VPs - not a very interesting game. So, overall a nice game and my rating for the game considering everything is a 3. If the "flaws" are adressed it would be a solid 4.
I've bought the game yesterday, played it a few times, so I don't have a deep insight, but still this may help you in deciding if you could like this game enough to buy it. I feel compelled to do this review despite not having it played thorough and rate it, since a few people seem to give the game a bad rating because of its regional pricing - something that has nothing to do with the game's quality. So, the first impressions of the game is that it is minimalistic take in 4x games, reduced to fleet movement, basic solar system improvements and all the tactical genius you can summon up from you mind. The interface is very reduced to the absolutely necessary. There are no secondary screens, all relevant information is shown on the main screen and on smaller popup windows. Starmaps generally consist of solar systems with space lane like routes between them. Strategically relevant solar systems can be of one type - either producing, resource or repairing. If you build a fleet or an enhancement in a solar system, then resources are moved along the space lanes to the producing solar system, and can even be interdicted by enemy fleets, if they are inbetween the transports and their destination. Fleets are one of three types: Combat, Invasion or Artillery. The first fights other types of fleets and planetary shields ( I didn't fight Starfortresses sofar but my guess is you attack them also with those), the second conquers planets for you with the help of troops (which can also be built or unloaded), and the last type simply destroys a system/planet. The latter two types are vulernable in space combat and should be protected with combat fleet(s). Gameplaywise, you move you fleets around the map, invade planets, try to get resource planets for faster building and to build enhancements on your gained territory, repair planets to, well, repair your ships and construction planets as building sitres for new ships. It sounds a bit abstracts, but fits well into the overall flow of the game. Space combat is simply a function of numbers, but also combat exprience of the involved ships. There is a progress bar below each ship building up when combat starts and it does one damage to an enemy ship when that bar is full. More experienced ships have shorter bars, so apply their damage faster. You also need to take care when you are in enemy held territory, because your ships slowly take damage (representing supplies running short), so you need to plan your moves carefully. Single player consists of about a dozen missions, well built up to learn you the game, but you also have the option of Skirmishes against a varying amount of AI Players (depending on the map chosen). And I still haven't figured out how to change team colour. Multiplayer takes you online (no account required), into a game lobby where you can join or create a game. All in all this game reduces everything just to the right amount. A bit less would be too dull, and more could make it (with the current interface) too cluttered. But in the end this game offers so much strategical possibilities, despite its simple look and feels. I have to admit that I can't say much about the latter game stages or about multiplayer - haven't tried that sofar. I have mainly three complaints about the game, and at least two of those are more of a matter of taste actually. First, I don't like the (apparantly) focus on ranked multiplay - meaning you have a rank, showing how much you played, Leaderboard, etc. I am a casual gamer and I consider such things a nuisance. With the mulitplayer itself I have no problem, but this "spirit of always needing to be better" is also what turns me off games that rely to much on achievements. But that is just my opinion here. Second, I don't like the kind of "screen interlace" that flows through the game screen periodically. I know it is there to simulate bad connection/screens and should help you feel like you see a tactical screen on a ship or command bunker, but I would really appreciate an option to turn it off. Third off and this is my biggest problem with the game: not only is there no local multiplayer (*sad panda*), you also have no option to make your multiplayer games private/open or to set a password - at last from what I have seen. So, that's my first impressions of this sofar very nice game. My rating is a shaky 4, with a large amount being attributed for making the game so simple yet strategically interesting. It could be a solid 5 for me if it had local mulitplay, and if the designers would tell me how to change my teamcolor :/ I thought about giving it a 5 to offset the 1's and 2's of the "regional pricing crowd", but with 14 votes at the time of this review I hope that won't be necessary, and that the game will get a rating that reflects the game and not the circumstances of its pricing.
