I really liked this one. I love that the stacks are split by type and cost. I really wish there were a better way to cycle the options. On several occasions, nobody wanted the cheap weapon, but couldn't afford the better ones. Usually, we houserule a cost to flush the market, and I think that's a good tradeoff. Otherwise, I really enjoy this one, and I am looking forward to more content.
I was daunted by all the Aeons End stuff and didn't know where to start so this was a great new starting point and getting the expansion free with the Kickstarter certainly didn't hurt 🙂
I'd been eyeing Aeon's End for a while but I felt late to the party, it never quite clicked for me to pull the trigger on it. Doing a sort of reboot like this with a graphics update and a different theme is probably smart.
I wish it came with a player matt to show what you have equiped. But its less fiddly. No more have to pick up out your market. You just suffle thr cards.. no more breaches and focusing the breaches. Just buy new gun alots to equip. But everything else is aeon end If you dont like aeon end i wont recommend it. It just a little bit lighter but just as hard. I dont like the enemies level up that nust makes the game more fiddly
I really enjoy Aeon’s End but I’ll probably wait for the big box for this. Or maybe a day with poor impulse control and this right in front of me. Although Astro Knights sounds like a futuristic American football style team name, and I’d like to play that game.
I have very limited experience with Aeon's End, but the random turn order seems like it's a cornerstone of the game design. Removing that would be a very weird decision. Although I do agree that cards may not be the best way to handle it efficiently.
Some of the base Aeon's End player characters were also pretty vanilla, there's one that just heals 5 and one that lets other players draw cards etc. I think a better comparison would be between Astro Knights and base Aeon's End, rather than Astron Knights and all/later releases of Aeon's End which this review felt like. Also this review could've used some more people who aren't big Aeon's End fans.
The problem is that this should build on what they learned from Aeon's End. Simplifying everything else makes it feel like a big step back. Their goal was to streamline it. They could've done that without simplifying it so much. Right now, it doesn't feel like it has as much depth as even the 1st Aeon's End.
@@1235q I don't think so. The first difficulty level 8 nemeses came in the Outcasts wave. There was 1 in the base box and the other was part of the Kickstarter goals. And those were meant to be played with treasures so the mages would have a few extra advantages. 2 of the 4 bosses in the base Astro Knights are level 8. You have to fight them without any bonuses and the knights are generally weaker than the mages. You're also not able to create nearly as many good combos because you don't have a fixed market. On top of that, Aeon's End nemeses have one increased difficulty setup but the Astro Knights bosses have an expert and nightmare level. I lose way more in Astro Knights than I do in Aeon's End. They simplified the mechanics but they made it more difficult because you're more limited and you're going up against harder bosses. You have way more leeway in Aeon's End. There are a lot of good things you can do on your turn. Astro Knights feels like you have to play perfectly against most of the bosses with the speed they ramp up at. Astro Knights is designed to be more difficult. The boss variety caters to both newcomers and veterans. But none of the knights feel like they cater to veterans.
You probably don't if you rate Aeon's End a 10. I love Aeon's End but the things that Astro Knights wanted to "fix" were only a problem for some people. The ways they fixed them makes it worse for people who really like Aeon's End. I only have Outcasts and Past and Future but Astro Knights feels like a big step back. Nothing about it feels like an improvement.
@@JELIFISH19 I suspect the only thing I’d gain is reduced setup time. I’ve got the entire first six waves mixed together, so it takes a while to set up.
Depends which theme you like. The differences are minor. Pros and cons to both that are mostly preference. If choosing Aeon's End, New Age is a good starting spot. Or the first Legacy for ease of learning.
@@JELIFISH19 Ehhhh, I think almost any of the Aeon's End base boxes are actually a great start, including if not especially the original base game! Although there's nothing actually wrong with it, and possibly my favourite, I would recommend against starting with Outcasts, just because it's pretty much designed as pure spice rack for fans in need of something fresh and new. It's a bit steep, and not the best introduction.
@@unicyclinglarry The reason I recommend New Age or Outcasts is that they're compatible with expansions. Past and Future is only compatible with those two. If you start with one of those, you're not limited in what content you'll get in the future. And there are also more ways to play when you consider the expedition add-ons. I started with Outcasts and I had no problems with it. The way the expedition introduces you to things made it very manageable. You unlock stuff as you go so it's not overwhelming at all.
I really like this version with the fast setup. It lacks a bit of variety in the market cards. Would love to have bigger stacks and more cool abilities 😀
I found the limited selection of cards really worked against the strategic deck building. That coupled with the short game length it just felt you just had to take what happened to be the available card you could afford. Decisions felt severely lacking when compared to aeons. Would love some kind of hybrid between astro and aeons. I like aeons end quite a bit better than astro knights as is though.
I really liked this one. I love that the stacks are split by type and cost. I really wish there were a better way to cycle the options. On several occasions, nobody wanted the cheap weapon, but couldn't afford the better ones. Usually, we houserule a cost to flush the market, and I think that's a good tradeoff. Otherwise, I really enjoy this one, and I am looking forward to more content.
I was daunted by all the Aeons End stuff and didn't know where to start so this was a great new starting point and getting the expansion free with the Kickstarter certainly didn't hurt 🙂
In paperback, you have 2 options from each stack, so it is less likely to get stuck
My preorder of both the base game and the expansion will be arriving tomorrow and I can't wait! Thanks for the review.
I'd been eyeing Aeon's End for a while but I felt late to the party, it never quite clicked for me to pull the trigger on it. Doing a sort of reboot like this with a graphics update and a different theme is probably smart.
So if I liked the idea of aeon’s end but found it too complicated and fiddly you would recommend this?
I wish it came with a player matt to show what you have equiped. But its less fiddly. No more have to pick up out your market. You just suffle thr cards.. no more breaches and focusing the breaches. Just buy new gun alots to equip. But everything else is aeon end
If you dont like aeon end i wont recommend it. It just a little bit lighter but just as hard.
I dont like the enemies level up that nust makes the game more fiddly
I really enjoy Aeon’s End but I’ll probably wait for the big box for this. Or maybe a day with poor impulse control and this right in front of me.
Although Astro Knights sounds like a futuristic American football style team name, and I’d like to play that game.
I have very limited experience with Aeon's End, but the random turn order seems like it's a cornerstone of the game design. Removing that would be a very weird decision. Although I do agree that cards may not be the best way to handle it efficiently.
Some of the base Aeon's End player characters were also pretty vanilla, there's one that just heals 5 and one that lets other players draw cards etc. I think a better comparison would be between Astro Knights and base Aeon's End, rather than Astron Knights and all/later releases of Aeon's End which this review felt like. Also this review could've used some more people who aren't big Aeon's End fans.
The problem is that this should build on what they learned from Aeon's End. Simplifying everything else makes it feel like a big step back. Their goal was to streamline it. They could've done that without simplifying it so much. Right now, it doesn't feel like it has as much depth as even the 1st Aeon's End.
@@JELIFISH19 sure but I think they're aiming for a different audience with this one, one for which Aeon's End is too heavy.
@@1235q I don't think so. The first difficulty level 8 nemeses came in the Outcasts wave. There was 1 in the base box and the other was part of the Kickstarter goals. And those were meant to be played with treasures so the mages would have a few extra advantages. 2 of the 4 bosses in the base Astro Knights are level 8. You have to fight them without any bonuses and the knights are generally weaker than the mages. You're also not able to create nearly as many good combos because you don't have a fixed market. On top of that, Aeon's End nemeses have one increased difficulty setup but the Astro Knights bosses have an expert and nightmare level.
I lose way more in Astro Knights than I do in Aeon's End. They simplified the mechanics but they made it more difficult because you're more limited and you're going up against harder bosses. You have way more leeway in Aeon's End. There are a lot of good things you can do on your turn. Astro Knights feels like you have to play perfectly against most of the bosses with the speed they ramp up at. Astro Knights is designed to be more difficult.
The boss variety caters to both newcomers and veterans. But none of the knights feel like they cater to veterans.
For comparison, what ratings do you give Aeon’s End?
Aeon’s End is my only 10, and I’m unsure I really want a simplified version.
You probably don't if you rate Aeon's End a 10. I love Aeon's End but the things that Astro Knights wanted to "fix" were only a problem for some people. The ways they fixed them makes it worse for people who really like Aeon's End.
I only have Outcasts and Past and Future but Astro Knights feels like a big step back. Nothing about it feels like an improvement.
@@JELIFISH19 I suspect the only thing I’d gain is reduced setup time. I’ve got the entire first six waves mixed together, so it takes a while to set up.
So if I have neither, do I get this or base aeons end?
Depends which theme you like. The differences are minor. Pros and cons to both that are mostly preference.
If choosing Aeon's End, New Age is a good starting spot. Or the first Legacy for ease of learning.
Why would you get base Aeon's End? Get New Age or Outcasts. Every Aeon's End is a standalone game.
@@JELIFISH19 Ehhhh, I think almost any of the Aeon's End base boxes are actually a great start, including if not especially the original base game! Although there's nothing actually wrong with it, and possibly my favourite, I would recommend against starting with Outcasts, just because it's pretty much designed as pure spice rack for fans in need of something fresh and new. It's a bit steep, and not the best introduction.
@@unicyclinglarry The reason I recommend New Age or Outcasts is that they're compatible with expansions. Past and Future is only compatible with those two. If you start with one of those, you're not limited in what content you'll get in the future. And there are also more ways to play when you consider the expedition add-ons.
I started with Outcasts and I had no problems with it. The way the expedition introduces you to things made it very manageable. You unlock stuff as you go so it's not overwhelming at all.
Does each hero only have a couple unique cards?
I really like this version with the fast setup. It lacks a bit of variety in the market cards. Would love to have bigger stacks and more cool abilities 😀
I found the limited selection of cards really worked against the strategic deck building. That coupled with the short game length it just felt you just had to take what happened to be the available card you could afford. Decisions felt severely lacking when compared to aeons. Would love some kind of hybrid between astro and aeons.
I like aeons end quite a bit better than astro knights as is though.
i liked the idea of aeons end but the art needed some update.. didnt like it. then this came on KS. i love it. been playing it.
My wife and I can't even beat the first boss...any tips???
Make sure you aren't getting any rules wrong.
Focus on the order you place cards into the discard pile. Don't buy too many cards.
Whut. The turn order is one of the system's highlights. I was surprised by that take.
I like the random turn order. Though, I do prefer grabbing tokens out of a bag over shuffling the cards.
I'm fine with the random turn order, but I feel so dissapointed when I have a cool move, but I don't get a turn for 6 card flips.
For those who don't know:
Shadowrift is what Aeons End wanted to be.