I kind of agree in general, but I played all three stories of Tainted Grail before passing it on, and completed the first story of Etherfields, which I still have in case I decide to try another story. This War of Mine and Nemesis are completely different, in that they're standard board games played in a session. Your ISS Vanguard friends apparently didn't research the game before they bought... The "admin" is part of the game, the ship phase. If they only want to play the dice rolling exploration game, then they should have understood that that is only half the game. I'm still playing it. I am backing this one, though I wish they hadn't downgraded so many components for the "standard" version - I don't care about the minis, but I want the double layer parts of the game and the hardback book... I disagree about Aeon Trespass, that game dropped massively for me. We eventually struggled to the end of cycle 1, but it's never going to get played beyond that... And I found the pseudo mythological text rambled on interminably.
Spot on analysis. I was an AR fanboy, but came to the same realization as you - their games come out of the gate looking awesome, but they seriously pale with extended game play. Thank you for saving me a lot of $$$
if you have not seen it, Shelfside has a great look into the game. it's a long review, but not a game play video. just discussing his thoughts on the game.
Yep, that's one of the reviews I watched! It was actually after watching that video that I backed it! Then I watched a few others which turned me off a little.
The only Awaken Realms game i played is Nemesis, which is my favorite game. I have just pledged loe because i really like the idea of a board game with rpg components. So far, all testers were very positive, which kind of convinced me. Let's see if it delivers on its promises.
They cant really sell me a choose your own adventure game because ive already got skyrim, but those double layered item slot boards are a really cool innovation. there truely is nothing quite like slotting items into their dedicated position
Watch the Meet Me At the Table play through. It seems the depth is there. Clearly, clearly in decision making and many paths based on your decisions and character type, background. And it seems to be there as well in conbat. But as you say, a worry is the late game balance. Tainted Grail it became a walk in the park for me. Have to play Kings of Ruin. ISSV was a blast for me, narratively and mechanically.
I will buy, but I am not backing. I have 10 crowd funding game still to deliver. I own and played ISS Vanguard, Etherfields, Sleeping Gods Distant Skies, Earthborne Rangers, and various others with Isofarian Guard due to arrive before the end of the month. I have plenty to play and I really don’t need to be strung out on anticipation for another 18 months. But this is dream game if they can pull it off.
Its a choose your own way book for 300+ dollar all in. You can probably pick it up second hand in a few years for cheap. Choose your own way books have very limited replay value. Something like Taneres adventures would give you an rpg type experience with deeper gameplay.
Glad I came across your video. I was about to bash the button and back. Now I think I will give this one a miss. Your points are very well put forward. Playing a book just about sums this one up. As you say after 5-10 hours it will probably outstay its welcome.
I really like the idea of this game. I really like that the base game is standees. The top reason I've decided not to back it is that I don't expect the final delivery will happen until the end of 2027 because these things always take longer than expected. I don't know what will be going on in my life in 3 years. Even though I'm not backing it, I'll definitely consider buying it when it makes it to retail.
Thanks for the review. One problem I find myself running into is the repetitiveness of game archetypes, which you see not only in board gaming but in computer gaming. RPG's tend to be so similar that all that ends up being different is the art often. By the way, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the game "Dragons Down" which is a newer version of the classic "Magic Realm" although not the same IP. Magic Realm had some fairly unique RPG elements and I'm considering funding the latest expansion Kickstarter for the Dragons Down game. Cheers!
Yeah many of these big publishers are going with the text-heavy 'adventure' style. I enjoy that, to a degree. I think ATO hits right on the sweet spot by delivering short bursts of text. I'd even argue that Kingdom Death Monster did it best with absolutely minimal text. In the gameplays I saw of LoEvershade, there was a lot of text to read, and a lot of branching paths. I tried Magic Realm many years ago but it never really stuck with me. I'll check out Dragons Down!
Yep, I have the same experience with AR games. Also Nathan if you hold off for a few months after release, you'll find copies of Evershade all over the place on marketplace.
Sometimes you get a game for the experience it gives you. Period. Doesn’t have to be the full 50+ hours of written gameplay. Doesn’t have to finish the story to completion. If you can enjoy this game for 20 hours for $80, that sounds like a damn good deal to me. Not everything needs to be 100% perfect to completion to be worth the money. All that matters imo is if the game was worth the money in regard to the experience I had and the time I spent with it. If I spend $80 and the game sucks right out the gate; not worth it. If I spent $80 on a game that gets me an amazing time with family and friends; win. $80 is what, like 3 dates to the movie theater these days? That’s roughly ~6 hours of fun…? Assuming all the movies are great. Just a comparison to have a new experience in a story you haven’t already seen (ie replaying an old board game would be cheaper but not the same excitement of NEW)
See, when you put it like this, you really tempt me back into backing it again. My biggest problem with Tainted Grail and Etherfields was that they were just too long for what they offered, and what attracts me to this is the 'shorter chunks' of campaigns that have a clear ending.
I've been tempted by so many of these over the years but in the end it's always clear it's about painting your minis and posting 1000 photos of them. 95% extremely shallow rehashed gameplay, zero depth with the weakest choose your own adventure "stories" ---just go read a good book! :)
I didn't enjoy Tainted Grail and it is unlikely that I will finish the campaign. Haven't started on King's of Ruin. From Awaken Realms Nemesis is probably my favourite, and I also enjoyed Edge Dawnfall. I also own Lords of Ragnarok but have only played it once. Started off with an all-in for Grimcoven but cancelled before the end of the campaign. I was interested in Evershade, but I get the impression that you could just play with the books and a notebook? And I just don't think that I am a narrative game player. I have had Middara for about 11 months and am on the verge of just moving it on because if I want to read a story, I will open a book and not play a game.
I have both Etherfields and Tainted Grail. I had similar but less extreme responses to you (ie not as good at the start and not as bad after 5 to 10 hours). However, this game looks to me a CYOA game with pretty minimal game play. So do yourself a favour and leave well alone. There, did that do it?
I am glad to see that I am not the only thinking that this just an overpriced Choose your own Adventure game. The biggest Red flag was the Deluxe Version (ie Special Version) does NOT include all the minis, you have to buy the rest of the minis separately. Why include the minis if they are not going to be used. Seems its more roll for ability checks/keyword to read the next passage in the book rather than roll for initiative!. They said it will be 50/50 combat to Reading, so my guess it will be closer to 80 reading/ability/keyword checks and 20% combat.
yes, I have the same concern about backing this one... in the end will it seem like a good game experience and not just like reading a book... that said, I really do like playing these sorts of story/narrative driven games solo, so I think I will back this one just for that... but, you're not wrong about the tendency for Awaken Realms games to get a bit grindy I really do like ISS Vanguard, but there too, there is essentially only one mechanic, the dice rolling, and after many many many dice rolls it does start to feel the same, despite the fact they did make a solid effort to have varied missions etc... and the story is truly good, and the companion app is amazing... my biggest disappointment with ISS Vanguard is there are something like 70 or 80 items you can eventually acquire in the game, but you can only take a few on a mission and some are so good you just take the same ones over and over, and so the vast majority of these items you never use... maybe I'm just not playing optimally, but spending all the effort to acquire items that aren't worth using is not a high point... and so, I do wonder if something similar is lurking in Evershade... (and I really do like This War of Mine, I think the atmosphere it creates is unique among the games I have...)
oh I didn't know this! my experience is that 90% of the miniatures in Awaken Realms games are redundant or unused. Much of the time the 'miniatures' are just a fancy replacement for cardboard tokens which are completely unnecessary. I really like that they have a 'standee' option and I suspect a lot of people will go with that choice.
I kind of agree in general, but I played all three stories of Tainted Grail before passing it on, and completed the first story of Etherfields, which I still have in case I decide to try another story. This War of Mine and Nemesis are completely different, in that they're standard board games played in a session. Your ISS Vanguard friends apparently didn't research the game before they bought... The "admin" is part of the game, the ship phase. If they only want to play the dice rolling exploration game, then they should have understood that that is only half the game. I'm still playing it. I am backing this one, though I wish they hadn't downgraded so many components for the "standard" version - I don't care about the minis, but I want the double layer parts of the game and the hardback book...
I disagree about Aeon Trespass, that game dropped massively for me. We eventually struggled to the end of cycle 1, but it's never going to get played beyond that... And I found the pseudo mythological text rambled on interminably.
Spot on analysis. I was an AR fanboy, but came to the same realization as you - their games come out of the gate looking awesome, but they seriously pale with extended game play. Thank you for saving me a lot of $$$
if you have not seen it, Shelfside has a great look into the game. it's a long review, but not a game play video. just discussing his thoughts on the game.
Yep, that's one of the reviews I watched! It was actually after watching that video that I backed it! Then I watched a few others which turned me off a little.
The only Awaken Realms game i played is Nemesis, which is my favorite game. I have just pledged loe because i really like the idea of a board game with rpg components. So far, all testers were very positive, which kind of convinced me. Let's see if it delivers on its promises.
They cant really sell me a choose your own adventure game because ive already got skyrim, but those double layered item slot boards are a really cool innovation. there truely is nothing quite like slotting items into their dedicated position
Watch the Meet Me At the Table play through. It seems the depth is there. Clearly, clearly in decision making and many paths based on your decisions and character type, background. And it seems to be there as well in conbat. But as you say, a worry is the late game balance. Tainted Grail it became a walk in the park for me. Have to play Kings of Ruin. ISSV was a blast for me, narratively and mechanically.
Yeah theirs was one of the playthroughs I watched [and the best one - I really enjoy MMATTable!].
@ they are a very good channel, real people, not content creators. Check the 2nd one you can see the overworld exploration.
I will buy, but I am not backing. I have 10 crowd funding game still to deliver. I own and played ISS Vanguard, Etherfields, Sleeping Gods Distant Skies, Earthborne Rangers, and various others with Isofarian Guard due to arrive before the end of the month. I have plenty to play and I really don’t need to be strung out on anticipation for another 18 months. But this is dream game if they can pull it off.
Yeah I have Earthborne Rangers arriving too, really looking forward to that one!
Its a choose your own way book for 300+ dollar all in.
You can probably pick it up second hand in a few years for cheap. Choose your own way books have very limited replay value.
Something like Taneres adventures would give you an rpg type experience with deeper gameplay.
Yup, the more I look into it, the more I realise it's not for me.
Glad I came across your video. I was about to bash the button and back. Now I think I will give this one a miss. Your points are very well put forward. Playing a book just about sums this one up. As you say after 5-10 hours it will probably outstay its welcome.
I really like the idea of this game. I really like that the base game is standees. The top reason I've decided not to back it is that I don't expect the final delivery will happen until the end of 2027 because these things always take longer than expected. I don't know what will be going on in my life in 3 years. Even though I'm not backing it, I'll definitely consider buying it when it makes it to retail.
Thanks for the review. One problem I find myself running into is the repetitiveness of game archetypes, which you see not only in board gaming but in computer gaming. RPG's tend to be so similar that all that ends up being different is the art often.
By the way, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the game "Dragons Down" which is a newer version of the classic "Magic Realm" although not the same IP. Magic Realm had some fairly unique RPG elements and I'm considering funding the latest expansion Kickstarter for the Dragons Down game. Cheers!
Yeah many of these big publishers are going with the text-heavy 'adventure' style. I enjoy that, to a degree. I think ATO hits right on the sweet spot by delivering short bursts of text. I'd even argue that Kingdom Death Monster did it best with absolutely minimal text. In the gameplays I saw of LoEvershade, there was a lot of text to read, and a lot of branching paths.
I tried Magic Realm many years ago but it never really stuck with me. I'll check out Dragons Down!
Yep, I have the same experience with AR games.
Also Nathan if you hold off for a few months after release, you'll find copies of Evershade all over the place on marketplace.
15:49 It takes 10-15+ hours per adventure because there is a lot of reading to do! 😅
Sometimes you get a game for the experience it gives you. Period. Doesn’t have to be the full 50+ hours of written gameplay. Doesn’t have to finish the story to completion. If you can enjoy this game for 20 hours for $80, that sounds like a damn good deal to me. Not everything needs to be 100% perfect to completion to be worth the money. All that matters imo is if the game was worth the money in regard to the experience I had and the time I spent with it. If I spend $80 and the game sucks right out the gate; not worth it. If I spent $80 on a game that gets me an amazing time with family and friends; win. $80 is what, like 3 dates to the movie theater these days? That’s roughly ~6 hours of fun…? Assuming all the movies are great. Just a comparison to have a new experience in a story you haven’t already seen (ie replaying an old board game would be cheaper but not the same excitement of NEW)
See, when you put it like this, you really tempt me back into backing it again. My biggest problem with Tainted Grail and Etherfields was that they were just too long for what they offered, and what attracts me to this is the 'shorter chunks' of campaigns that have a clear ending.
I've been tempted by so many of these over the years but in the end it's always clear it's about painting your minis and posting 1000 photos of them. 95% extremely shallow rehashed gameplay, zero depth with the weakest choose your own adventure "stories" ---just go read a good book! :)
I didn't enjoy Tainted Grail and it is unlikely that I will finish the campaign. Haven't started on King's of Ruin. From Awaken Realms Nemesis is probably my favourite, and I also enjoyed Edge Dawnfall. I also own Lords of Ragnarok but have only played it once. Started off with an all-in for Grimcoven but cancelled before the end of the campaign. I was interested in Evershade, but I get the impression that you could just play with the books and a notebook? And I just don't think that I am a narrative game player. I have had Middara for about 11 months and am on the verge of just moving it on because if I want to read a story, I will open a book and not play a game.
I have both Etherfields and Tainted Grail. I had similar but less extreme responses to you (ie not as good at the start and not as bad after 5 to 10 hours). However, this game looks to me a CYOA game with pretty minimal game play. So do yourself a favour and leave well alone. There, did that do it?
I had the same exact experience as you with on tainted grail and etherfields. I think I am going to wait for Enormity as my one year end pledge.
I am glad to see that I am not the only thinking that this just an overpriced Choose your own Adventure game. The biggest Red flag was the Deluxe Version (ie Special Version) does NOT include all the minis, you have to buy the rest of the minis separately. Why include the minis if they are not going to be used. Seems its more roll for ability checks/keyword to read the next passage in the book rather than roll for initiative!. They said it will be 50/50 combat to Reading, so my guess it will be closer to 80 reading/ability/keyword checks and 20% combat.
From what I saw of the playthroughs I watched, it was mostly reading, and combat was pretty short with a few small tactical decisions.
You are right, gameply is just ok.
Get Kingdom Forlorn instead
Yup, I backed Kingdom Forlorn last year and looking forward to it!
yes, I have the same concern about backing this one... in the end will it seem like a good game experience and not just like reading a book...
that said, I really do like playing these sorts of story/narrative driven games solo, so I think I will back this one just for that... but, you're not wrong about the tendency for Awaken Realms games to get a bit grindy
I really do like ISS Vanguard, but there too, there is essentially only one mechanic, the dice rolling, and after many many many dice rolls it does start to feel the same, despite the fact they did make a solid effort to have varied missions etc... and the story is truly good, and the companion app is amazing... my biggest disappointment with ISS Vanguard is there are something like 70 or 80 items you can eventually acquire in the game, but you can only take a few on a mission and some are so good you just take the same ones over and over, and so the vast majority of these items you never use... maybe I'm just not playing optimally, but spending all the effort to acquire items that aren't worth using is not a high point... and so, I do wonder if something similar is lurking in Evershade...
(and I really do like This War of Mine, I think the atmosphere it creates is unique among the games I have...)
special edition is not even that special as it still does not include all minis... so whats the point?
oh I didn't know this! my experience is that 90% of the miniatures in Awaken Realms games are redundant or unused. Much of the time the 'miniatures' are just a fancy replacement for cardboard tokens which are completely unnecessary. I really like that they have a 'standee' option and I suspect a lot of people will go with that choice.