I have to say... there are a lot of board game youtubers out there that I watch and follow but you have quickly shot to the top as my absolute favorite! I am always super pumped everytime I see your newest video in my feed! Bravo my friend!! 👏
Thanks for sharing. When you hear ‘I love’ this, that game over and over from a person… the meaning of ‘I love’ loses something when I later hear it from them. I like LW a lot and really enjoy it playing it.
I appreciate you being honest and being transparent with how many plays you had with the game. I hate it when reviewers say i didn't like this game then refuse to tell the viewer how many plays they had. I understand enjoyment is subjective but i also believe in giving a game a fair chance and in a rush to put out videos i see why some people only play a game once or twice before making their content. I've had terrible games due to rule mishaps that have become favorites of mine after getting the system down (Too many bones). Being honest about your time with the game helps us understand where you're coming from thanks.
Thanks I too believe I have a responsibility to play it a bunch. You are the second comment appreciating me revealing this. Maybe I should track them and continue to do so. Thanks for the feedback
Very interesting. I've been playing cooperative games of all sorts for the last decade or two (As I don't like competitive games that much, I try to avoid them nowadays). I love Spirit Island, but since I received my copy of Leviathan Wilds months ago, I have found myself picking up leviathan wilds much more than Spirit Island. I think Leviathan Wilds is truly unique. A clever idea very well executed. Amazing game. It deserves all the attention.
I finally got the chance to play this and it made my decision to back this very easy. It is an excellent game with a rulebook that needs work. I think this is one that is popular because a lot of people like it, I find the hype for this one, especially at the lower price point, to be far more organic than the extreme Arcs hype.
Oh I think it is tough to question hype either way. It is what it is. I just wanted to point out that if a game is well received it doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. I’m glad you liked it the design is solid.
@@Neon_Gorilla I think that is fair. For me the over-reactive fanbase for some things makes me simply go another direction in many cases. In this hobby, I know I will still try Arcs and give it the full works. I did so with Gloomhaven and simply didn't like it, even as I can acknowledge what an excellent design it is. If Leviathan Wilds had been a large mini-filled expensive game, I would likely be less enthused, but at this price point for what is on offer, I am pleased.
@@npckse8508 if I found this at FLGS @ 65 or gamenerdz at 59 I would be excited. $80 after shipping for me becomes a little less appealing. Unfortunately I paid more for it than that.
@@Neon_Gorilla Ha! Growing like a ... whatever grows faster than a weed. Still haven't had much time to bring things to the table, but I don't think I mind that at all. Thanks for asking! Your videos are just getting better and better. It's been so nice to watch your following grow, and I can only imagine where you'll be by the end of next year. Keep fighting the good fight and we'll keep watching!
@@thetreeformerlyknownasmike7394 thanks Mike, glad the baby will be eating you out of house and home soon. I officially have all out of elementary school this year and it’s surreal.
As someone with 1000 games, I backed this knowing that I was going to get a “fine “game. We really appreciate your review - true,honest, transparency. I find it a little weird that people think that this isoverhyped… has anyone heard of a game called Arcs…? It was labeled as “Best game of the year” by every big RUclipsr out there, instantly losing my respect. I will never take their opinion again basically. Our game group played the game for a straight week, over 50 times. I consider it “fine”, and just that. We need more RUclipsrs that are real and transparent like you my friend.
Well thanks for the complement…I think a fine game is ownable…not everything has to be the best or greatest or whatever adjective you want to assign. I do think these terms are subjective and just wanted to make sure people know that because the biggest RUclipsrs think it’s wonderful it doesn’t mean it will be that same for you.
You’re the voice of reason and the friend who we all need when we reach for our wallets. Current Board Games seem to remind me of something someone told me in the pretty and shiny fishing lure aisle, “Fishing lures are really only designed to catch the fisherman.” Haha.
I don't know about that but appreciate the sentiment...just one guys somewhat unpopular opinion. I like the analogy. Some lures do work though trouble is finding the right now for you.
Thank you so much for cutting through the hype clutter. I was on the fence about backing this and decided not to because, even with the hype, it looked to me like a loop that I would probably tire of after a few plays. The lack of card variety being a big reason. I even went on Reddit asking folks who've had the game, what don't you like about it, if anything. And a lot came back with the same comments you brought. "It's fun, but..." Maybe I'll get it on sale one day.
@@Jacksuhn that is how I feel, an exciting game to get for the online guys at a discount bundles with other to get your free shipping. For my taste this is not an $80 plus tax after shipping experience. Production is nice but I will seperate that from the experience.
Solid review (I kickstarted it but haven't opened it yet). The theme & quick setup based on what I've seen do the heavy lifting for sure. I love me some Spirit Island and Gloomhaven for their card play but I wonder if I want to hang onto this at all for quicker lighter setup times or even retain my expansion backing (as it ends in a day) or try to offload it into the hype...
I think it serves a purpose for many and is solid...if you have a big need for a more approachable co op then this is it...it is easy to learn you might as well play it.
Our group played this one time at 4p. I walked away from that game utterly confused about all of the fanfare this game is getting. It's fine. It's absolutely fine. If someone really wanted to play it again, I would. But if I never play it again, that'd be good too. The game was WAY too easy. Worse, as you discussed, the characters and abilities we had assembled were not exciting or fun. The game was absolutely fine.
Now I'm intrigued. I'm not expecting a spirit Island here but more of a beer and pretzels game where you can do cool stuff together and accomplish a goal. The card play had me most interested in this one. Gloomhaven esque I thought. Sad to hear it's maybe not that 'fun'.
Fun is subjective, it’s not bad just not for me. I had had high hopes that my tastes would align with other reviewers. If you like beer and pretzels then you will like this….i have only played JOTL and enjoyed that card play if that helps at all.
Hey, coming back to this today. Let's say I know a guy with limited gaming time these days. A guy who would generally love to setup TMB, Arkham Horror, Mage Knight... Games that are a little heavier in nature and take a little time to setup. Do you think this would fill a void purely based on setup time? Would you lean a different direction? Particularly for solo play. Our gaming tastes are pretty similar so Id love to hear your thoughts.
@@thetreeformerlyknownasmike7394 this is a good question. I think so. The set up time is minimal and easy to run it back. I think your use case is why so many love it. For a guy with a young child probably perfect.
We just got in our first play of Defenders of the Wild on Sunday and loved it! Haven't really considered Leviathan Wilds as the theme doesn't appeal. On that subject, I find it interesting that most reviews of games and in particular co-ops don't address theme much. It feels to me that most new co-ops are "boss battlers" - at least thematically - and I'd like to hear more from reviewers whether they feel like that, or if mechanically there's something to appeal to gamers who aren't into combat and boss battles. It's tough because I think most reviewers/content creators love the boss-battle theme and assume most gamers do also. I don't mind a boss battle if there's interesting mechanics and a puzzle-y element (even if it's just an efficiency puzzle like Marvel United). How does Leviathan strike you in this regard?
Good question, I suppose I typically think of boss battler as a gaming genre that can be comprised of different themes like townsfolk tussle, oathsworn. Aeon tresspass and this game. In terms of how it stacks up as a boss battler I would call it approachable and a great gateway or even staple for people who don’t want complicated rule sets. I think the puzzle is 1-2 dimensions depending on the leviathan. I haven’t played a lot of boss battlers to be honest so I am not the one to compare. I think of theme a little different and is connected to art style. I tend not to mention them too much because I find it subjective and fairly obvious based upon the visuals I am throwing up on the screen. I think the exception is when a mechanic is notable relative to the theme in this instance I would say it is good if you have the reference of playing shadows of the colossus, which many don’t so I did not explore that at all. But if you have played that video game you will recognize ledges, falling, grip and defeating weak points as connections. That could be a completely separate video discussing the influence that video game had in this game. Sorry for the ramble.
there's 3 games that i've played this year that i've said 'slaps' which are leviathan wilds, keep the heroes out, and unmatched adventures. And I think what I mean by 'slaps' is its cute and simple but still rewarding, or 'delightful' - I'd definitely not choose ANY of those over something more complex when I have the time or cognitive ability for something more complex. But when it comes to 'okeydokes we just did two scenarios of arkham horror lcg and have an hour or two' I'll be like 'how about these...they slap' :-).
Linguistics is tricky, I would say I am happy to have these games as they serve a purpose….i sometimes watch a trashy tv show (not equating this as trashy at all) and I am happy to engage with that guilty pleasure. However it doesn’t stimulate my brain the way a heavy emotional twisted drama might. I don’t always have brainpower to deal with it but I sure heck will remember it and tell others about it… I may never remember the episode of real housewives I just watched but still appreciate it….shhh don’t tell anyone my secret :) fun convo thanks for indulging me.
Exactly my thoughts. Backed it first time and sold it. Nobody wanted my game... And then it was hyped. Suddenly everybody wanted my game and overpaid 😅 It is fine indeed;) Feels repetitive: Climb and knock the crystals. After 7 scenarios I had seen enough.
Yeah hard to compare anything to SI for that time frame! I keep trying new stuff and keep going back to SI. So is Defenders your pick for the 1 hr co-op window?
@@phk975 for my taste yes, I think it has its limitations I still wouldn’t call it amazing as that title will say with SI for now. It’s what I would choose to play if I wanted a co op puzzle and did not want to stress too hard.
Thanks for the review! Are/were you an MTG player? I hear the term mill and kinda assume you are. But it's sad to hear you don't get to play all the fun cards in hand, even though I get that's the card economy they were thematically going for. I'm a recovering MTG addict, so being able to strategize and make tactical decisions around what cards I have are important every time I look into a card game. But I'm also not just buying games for myself, and my partner doesn't love co-ops. She'd rather be mean/mess around with other players, so while the idea of Leviathan Wilds was fantastic, I don't think this was for me, even before seeing your review.
@@kirbyeatspi I have played both magic and Pokémon…I didn’t even realize I was saying mill lol…old habits die hard. I hate mill decks :) I think LW is fun night out and as a two handed solo game I’m just not marrying her. I said this in another comment but would be happy to see this at my FLGS for $60. But to get base for $80 shipped that’s a pass for me. Although I payed more to a scalper ;)
@@Neon_Gorilla yeah that’s a huge part of why it’s so popular. It’s the best ‘boss battler’ intro game I’ve got on my shelves. Everything else in the category is so… big
This might be a weird take, but I play card games so I can play the cards in my hand. I haven't played this game, but in watching reviews and playthrus, playing the cards can be a detriment. Am I missing something here?
Look at them as an action driver and a resource to be managed. They cause you to fall fin your deck runs out and you will need to spend 2 action points while on a ledge to get them back. So using the skills has your deck run out faster which adds a strategic element to whether you can spare the card or not...many like this I did not love it.
I have only played it once and did so before seeing the su&sd review. “It’s fine” completely echoes my experience. I was pretty surprised to see such glowing reviews show up. Cool theme and mechanics but not for me.
"Fine" is what I'd describe 90 percent of board games being published in the last 5-10 years. Gaming is becoming so popular that massive amounts of games are being produced every year and while that leads to more diamonds, it also leads to an abundance of mediocre slop. Now, it's nice that the level of game design has been upped so much that even bad games these days are at least competent, but it also means having to work even harder as a consumer to find a game that will actually resonate with people on game night and that's made especially harder when content creators are going crazy over every damn release under their nose.
"Fine" is what I'd describe 99.9 percent of board games being published in the last 5-20 years. I own around 80 to 100 games; those are the ones I consider great or amazing. The other 150.000 published board games so far are fine at most.
I think fine is fine....I play fine games plenty of them especially if somebody else I play with loves it. Fine games hit the table all the time in my house. I just would prefer not to pay KS prices for fine is all. This is a good pickup at retail wonderful for deal of the day on a website. $80 shipped is tough to swallow for fine and that is where the distinction is for me. I think calling this spectacular implies a future top 100 game and I might be wrong but don't see that happening.
@@Neon_Gorilla Our past two or three reviews have been on mediocre games. I just state that it's uninspired and disappointing and move on. It sucks because I'd love to go emotionally hard one way or the other for the content, but sometimes you got to give it the "meh" seal of indifference.
I don't understand your analogy of the marshmallow test. Yes, playing cards for points is almost always better than for the event... But you are limited in how often you can play for points to once a turn, whereas you can play the events whenever you want. So the question isn't "points or events", the question is "events or grip." Will you rest soon? If yes, there is no reason to not play the events
The reward of not playing the skill (eating your marshmallow) is not having to rest (getting a second marshmallow) the thesis is skills don’t taste good enough to have me want to spend them all the time and have to rest…system is rock solid, I understand the decision space the designer is creating and the choice to burn that precious AP would feel better it it was more fun to do so. I would love skill cards that boosted one another as an example of how I would make a skill card more interesting. You would need to increase hand size to make this work though. I recognize all of this is easy for me to say not solving for all the problems a system change like that would bring.
@@Neon_Gorilla I suppose. I think the 2ap to rest is worth less than the effect of multiple cards, so it is clear that if you could rest whenever you want you would play cards as often as you could. Obviously you cannot rest whenever you want, so the game is about timing your rests: sometimes you want to take things slow and pace yourself, and other times you want to go hard because the moment matters. The game itself is run on a clock (the leviathan getting tougher and tougher) so in theory getting things done fast and efficiently is the name of the game (unless its not balanced well, but then you can just increase the difficulty by reducing your time of the clock.)
Totally understand that is a feature for most and I think that is fine, it’s just not enough to get me excited. I am glad you are finding it engaging. For me it just has a very short shelf life.
'fine' grabs me, as it's not my type of game and I need a less hyperbolic review to get a genuine sense of the game. You climb, you fight... you win or don't... [edited to add] & see! I had no idea that you were trying to save what you were climbing on!
Sounds like the leviathans are great. The card management isn't as great. I could see somebody iterating on this to make a pretty cool 2D style video game board game
that is my subjective take, the artist already argued for playing it harder to make more interesting in BGG in my video comments so that may help. The actually video game that they might have been inspired by is great Shadow of the Colossus
I have to say... there are a lot of board game youtubers out there that I watch and follow but you have quickly shot to the top as my absolute favorite! I am always super pumped everytime I see your newest video in my feed! Bravo my friend!! 👏
@@dspage13 that is insanely high praise and sort of surreal to hear. Thank you!
Big agree, dudes on fire
@@JacobPorterLadder 🔥
Personal preference I love that you say gow many times you have played the games you review. Please keep that going 😁
yeah I need to remember to, I think it is very important to disclose that.
Thanks for sharing.
When you hear ‘I love’ this, that game over and over from a person… the meaning of ‘I love’ loses something when I later hear it from them.
I like LW a lot and really enjoy it playing it.
Yeah that is why I still make these it helps the audience calibrates their tastes against mine.
I appreciate you being honest and being transparent with how many plays you had with the game. I hate it when reviewers say i didn't like this game then refuse to tell the viewer how many plays they had. I understand enjoyment is subjective but i also believe in giving a game a fair chance and in a rush to put out videos i see why some people only play a game once or twice before making their content. I've had terrible games due to rule mishaps that have become favorites of mine after getting the system down (Too many bones). Being honest about your time with the game helps us understand where you're coming from thanks.
Thanks I too believe I have a responsibility to play it a bunch. You are the second comment appreciating me revealing this. Maybe I should track them and continue to do so. Thanks for the feedback
Very interesting. I've been playing cooperative games of all sorts for the last decade or two (As I don't like competitive games that much, I try to avoid them nowadays).
I love Spirit Island, but since I received my copy of Leviathan Wilds months ago, I have found myself picking up leviathan wilds much more than Spirit Island.
I think Leviathan Wilds is truly unique. A clever idea very well executed. Amazing game. It deserves all the attention.
I think your opinion is correct, spirit island depth and complexity is not everyones drug of choice but happens to be mine
I finally got the chance to play this and it made my decision to back this very easy. It is an excellent game with a rulebook that needs work. I think this is one that is popular because a lot of people like it, I find the hype for this one, especially at the lower price point, to be far more organic than the extreme Arcs hype.
Oh I think it is tough to question hype either way. It is what it is. I just wanted to point out that if a game is well received it doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. I’m glad you liked it the design is solid.
@@Neon_Gorilla I think that is fair. For me the over-reactive fanbase for some things makes me simply go another direction in many cases. In this hobby, I know I will still try Arcs and give it the full works. I did so with Gloomhaven and simply didn't like it, even as I can acknowledge what an excellent design it is.
If Leviathan Wilds had been a large mini-filled expensive game, I would likely be less enthused, but at this price point for what is on offer, I am pleased.
@@npckse8508 if I found this at FLGS @ 65 or gamenerdz at 59 I would be excited. $80 after shipping for me becomes a little less appealing. Unfortunately I paid more for it than that.
So would you save this or Barrage from the fire first?
@@Neon_Gorilla Oh yeah I agree!
Exactly the kind of review I was looking for. Thanks pal. Hope you're doing well!
Dude I was just thinking about you!!! How is the baby?
@@Neon_Gorilla Ha! Growing like a ... whatever grows faster than a weed. Still haven't had much time to bring things to the table, but I don't think I mind that at all. Thanks for asking!
Your videos are just getting better and better. It's been so nice to watch your following grow, and I can only imagine where you'll be by the end of next year. Keep fighting the good fight and we'll keep watching!
@@thetreeformerlyknownasmike7394 thanks Mike, glad the baby will be eating you out of house and home soon. I officially have all out of elementary school this year and it’s surreal.
@@Neon_Gorilla What a milestone. Good luck with high school 😵
Great review! This is one I wanted to learn more about and luckily for my wallet it doesn’t really catch my attention!
Thanks Triston, Congrats on your first early access view!
As someone with 1000 games, I backed this knowing that I was going to get a “fine “game. We really appreciate your review - true,honest, transparency. I find it a little weird that people think that this isoverhyped… has anyone heard of a game called Arcs…? It was labeled as “Best game of the year” by every big RUclipsr out there, instantly losing my respect. I will never take their opinion again basically. Our game group played the game for a straight week, over 50 times. I consider it “fine”, and just that.
We need more RUclipsrs that are real and transparent like you my friend.
Well thanks for the complement…I think a fine game is ownable…not everything has to be the best or greatest or whatever adjective you want to assign. I do think these terms are subjective and just wanted to make sure people know that because the biggest RUclipsrs think it’s wonderful it doesn’t mean it will be that same for you.
You’re the voice of reason and the friend who we all need when we reach for our wallets. Current Board Games seem to remind me of something someone told me in the pretty and shiny fishing lure aisle, “Fishing lures are really only designed to catch the fisherman.” Haha.
I don't know about that but appreciate the sentiment...just one guys somewhat unpopular opinion. I like the analogy. Some lures do work though trouble is finding the right now for you.
Leviathan Wilds is fine.
Just like Arcs is fine.
I’m making no friends here.
the cool thing is fine is subjective and you should find the majority of games you play fine otherwise what is great?
Appreciate the Video, been wondering about this one.
Thanks for watching
Thank you so much for cutting through the hype clutter. I was on the fence about backing this and decided not to because, even with the hype, it looked to me like a loop that I would probably tire of after a few plays. The lack of card variety being a big reason. I even went on Reddit asking folks who've had the game, what don't you like about it, if anything. And a lot came back with the same comments you brought. "It's fun, but..." Maybe I'll get it on sale one day.
@@Jacksuhn that is how I feel, an exciting game to get for the online guys at a discount bundles with other to get your free shipping. For my taste this is not an $80 plus tax after shipping experience. Production is nice but I will seperate that from the experience.
Solid review (I kickstarted it but haven't opened it yet). The theme & quick setup based on what I've seen do the heavy lifting for sure. I love me some Spirit Island and Gloomhaven for their card play but I wonder if I want to hang onto this at all for quicker lighter setup times or even retain my expansion backing (as it ends in a day) or try to offload it into the hype...
I think it serves a purpose for many and is solid...if you have a big need for a more approachable co op then this is it...it is easy to learn you might as well play it.
Really helpful video, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for buying scalper prices to get this review out
@@somefishhere lol I do what I can!
Our group played this one time at 4p. I walked away from that game utterly confused about all of the fanfare this game is getting. It's fine. It's absolutely fine. If someone really wanted to play it again, I would. But if I never play it again, that'd be good too. The game was WAY too easy. Worse, as you discussed, the characters and abilities we had assembled were not exciting or fun. The game was absolutely fine.
I’m glad someone agrees :) I can’t imagine playing it 4 players either. What a slog.
Now I'm intrigued. I'm not expecting a spirit Island here but more of a beer and pretzels game where you can do cool stuff together and accomplish a goal.
The card play had me most interested in this one. Gloomhaven esque I thought. Sad to hear it's maybe not that 'fun'.
Fun is subjective, it’s not bad just not for me. I had had high hopes that my tastes would align with other reviewers. If you like beer and pretzels then you will like this….i have only played JOTL and enjoyed that card play if that helps at all.
@@Neon_Gorilla npi and susd hyped me up on Earthborne Rangers. From that I learned I hate skill checks lol
For me the difference between Spirit Island and Leviathan Wilds is that Leviathan Wilds is fun.
Totally fair
Hey, coming back to this today. Let's say I know a guy with limited gaming time these days. A guy who would generally love to setup TMB, Arkham Horror, Mage Knight... Games that are a little heavier in nature and take a little time to setup. Do you think this would fill a void purely based on setup time? Would you lean a different direction? Particularly for solo play.
Our gaming tastes are pretty similar so Id love to hear your thoughts.
@@thetreeformerlyknownasmike7394 this is a good question. I think so. The set up time is minimal and easy to run it back. I think your use case is why so many love it. For a guy with a young child probably perfect.
We just got in our first play of Defenders of the Wild on Sunday and loved it! Haven't really considered Leviathan Wilds as the theme doesn't appeal. On that subject, I find it interesting that most reviews of games and in particular co-ops don't address theme much. It feels to me that most new co-ops are "boss battlers" - at least thematically - and I'd like to hear more from reviewers whether they feel like that, or if mechanically there's something to appeal to gamers who aren't into combat and boss battles. It's tough because I think most reviewers/content creators love the boss-battle theme and assume most gamers do also. I don't mind a boss battle if there's interesting mechanics and a puzzle-y element (even if it's just an efficiency puzzle like Marvel United). How does Leviathan strike you in this regard?
Good question, I suppose I typically think of boss battler as a gaming genre that can be comprised of different themes like townsfolk tussle, oathsworn. Aeon tresspass and this game. In terms of how it stacks up as a boss battler I would call it approachable and a great gateway or even staple for people who don’t want complicated rule sets. I think the puzzle is 1-2 dimensions depending on the leviathan. I haven’t played a lot of boss battlers to be honest so I am not the one to compare. I think of theme a little different and is connected to art style. I tend not to mention them too much because I find it subjective and fairly obvious based upon the visuals I am throwing up on the screen. I think the exception is when a mechanic is notable relative to the theme in this instance I would say it is good if you have the reference of playing shadows of the colossus, which many don’t so I did not explore that at all. But if you have played that video game you will recognize ledges, falling, grip and defeating weak points as connections. That could be a completely separate video discussing the influence that video game had in this game. Sorry for the ramble.
Like fine wine🤌
maybe :) I wont be around to find out though
there's 3 games that i've played this year that i've said 'slaps' which are leviathan wilds, keep the heroes out, and unmatched adventures. And I think what I mean by 'slaps' is its cute and simple but still rewarding, or 'delightful' - I'd definitely not choose ANY of those over something more complex when I have the time or cognitive ability for something more complex. But when it comes to 'okeydokes we just did two scenarios of arkham horror lcg and have an hour or two' I'll be like 'how about these...they slap' :-).
Linguistics is tricky, I would say I am happy to have these games as they serve a purpose….i sometimes watch a trashy tv show (not equating this as trashy at all) and I am happy to engage with that guilty pleasure. However it doesn’t stimulate my brain the way a heavy emotional twisted drama might. I don’t always have brainpower to deal with it but I sure heck will remember it and tell others about it… I may never remember the episode of real housewives I just watched but still appreciate it….shhh don’t tell anyone my secret :) fun convo thanks for indulging me.
@@Neon_Gorilla i have a soft spot for the ‘game’ clue. So i will not judge the housewives
Exactly my thoughts.
Backed it first time and sold it. Nobody wanted my game... And then it was hyped. Suddenly everybody wanted my game and overpaid 😅
It is fine indeed;)
Feels repetitive: Climb and knock the crystals.
After 7 scenarios I had seen enough.
I knew someone would agree with me!!! :)
Yeah hard to compare anything to SI for that time frame! I keep trying new stuff and keep going back to SI.
So is Defenders your pick for the 1 hr co-op window?
@@phk975 for my taste yes, I think it has its limitations I still wouldn’t call it amazing as that title will say with SI for now. It’s what I would choose to play if I wanted a co op puzzle and did not want to stress too hard.
Thanks for the review! Are/were you an MTG player? I hear the term mill and kinda assume you are.
But it's sad to hear you don't get to play all the fun cards in hand, even though I get that's the card economy they were thematically going for. I'm a recovering MTG addict, so being able to strategize and make tactical decisions around what cards I have are important every time I look into a card game. But I'm also not just buying games for myself, and my partner doesn't love co-ops. She'd rather be mean/mess around with other players, so while the idea of Leviathan Wilds was fantastic, I don't think this was for me, even before seeing your review.
@@kirbyeatspi I have played both magic and Pokémon…I didn’t even realize I was saying mill lol…old habits die hard. I hate mill decks :) I think LW is fun night out and as a two handed solo game I’m just not marrying her. I said this in another comment but would be happy to see this at my FLGS for $60. But to get base for $80 shipped that’s a pass for me. Although I payed more to a scalper ;)
My favorite thing is that I can actually take it and play it on a park table :-) .
@@TheMaskedGaymer love the ease of set up, I should have noted this
@@Neon_Gorilla yeah that’s a huge part of why it’s so popular. It’s the best ‘boss battler’ intro game I’ve got on my shelves. Everything else in the category is so… big
@@TheMaskedGaymer I agree that is why many love it
@@TheMaskedGaymer you should try keep the heroes out!
@@stormburnsIVE BEEN LOVING IT.
This might be a weird take, but I play card games so I can play the cards in my hand. I haven't played this game, but in watching reviews and playthrus, playing the cards can be a detriment. Am I missing something here?
Look at them as an action driver and a resource to be managed. They cause you to fall fin your deck runs out and you will need to spend 2 action points while on a ledge to get them back. So using the skills has your deck run out faster which adds a strategic element to whether you can spare the card or not...many like this I did not love it.
I have only played it once and did so before seeing the su&sd review. “It’s fine” completely echoes my experience. I was pretty surprised to see such glowing reviews show up. Cool theme and mechanics but not for me.
We are the weird ones I suppose ;)
"Fine" is what I'd describe 90 percent of board games being published in the last 5-10 years. Gaming is becoming so popular that massive amounts of games are being produced every year and while that leads to more diamonds, it also leads to an abundance of mediocre slop. Now, it's nice that the level of game design has been upped so much that even bad games these days are at least competent, but it also means having to work even harder as a consumer to find a game that will actually resonate with people on game night and that's made especially harder when content creators are going crazy over every damn release under their nose.
"Fine" is what I'd describe 99.9 percent of board games being published in the last 5-20 years.
I own around 80 to 100 games; those are the ones I consider great or amazing. The other 150.000 published board games so far are fine at most.
I think fine is fine....I play fine games plenty of them especially if somebody else I play with loves it. Fine games hit the table all the time in my house. I just would prefer not to pay KS prices for fine is all. This is a good pickup at retail wonderful for deal of the day on a website. $80 shipped is tough to swallow for fine and that is where the distinction is for me. I think calling this spectacular implies a future top 100 game and I might be wrong but don't see that happening.
how do you deal with reviewing "fine"....this one had hype so fairly easy decision but there are plenty of other games that I just never mention.
@@Neon_Gorilla Our past two or three reviews have been on mediocre games. I just state that it's uninspired and disappointing and move on. It sucks because I'd love to go emotionally hard one way or the other for the content, but sometimes you got to give it the "meh" seal of indifference.
@@TabletopTurtle fair it is just so much work to put into a middle of the road game. I have a dozen I could review and I am not excited to do so.
When you said you played this with two people, did you mean two people total or you and two other people?
That was awkward and regretted it in editing :) I played co op with one other partner.
THE POPEYE MUSICALLLLLLLLLLL
@@TheMaskedGaymer I couldn’t believe my wife had never seen this…I loved this as a kid
@@Neon_Gorilla i loved it as a kid tooooo. And then saw it as an adult and was like WHAT WAS WRONG WITH ME
I don't understand your analogy of the marshmallow test. Yes, playing cards for points is almost always better than for the event... But you are limited in how often you can play for points to once a turn, whereas you can play the events whenever you want. So the question isn't "points or events", the question is "events or grip." Will you rest soon? If yes, there is no reason to not play the events
The reward of not playing the skill (eating your marshmallow) is not having to rest (getting a second marshmallow) the thesis is skills don’t taste good enough to have me want to spend them all the time and have to rest…system is rock solid, I understand the decision space the designer is creating and the choice to burn that precious AP would feel better it it was more fun to do so. I would love skill cards that boosted one another as an example of how I would make a skill card more interesting. You would need to increase hand size to make this work though. I recognize all of this is easy for me to say not solving for all the problems a system change like that would bring.
@@Neon_Gorilla I suppose. I think the 2ap to rest is worth less than the effect of multiple cards, so it is clear that if you could rest whenever you want you would play cards as often as you could. Obviously you cannot rest whenever you want, so the game is about timing your rests: sometimes you want to take things slow and pace yourself, and other times you want to go hard because the moment matters.
The game itself is run on a clock (the leviathan getting tougher and tougher) so in theory getting things done fast and efficiently is the name of the game (unless its not balanced well, but then you can just increase the difficulty by reducing your time of the clock.)
Totally understand that is a feature for most and I think that is fine, it’s just not enough to get me excited. I am glad you are finding it engaging. For me it just has a very short shelf life.
'fine' grabs me, as it's not my type of game and I need a less hyperbolic review to get a genuine sense of the game. You climb, you fight... you win or don't... [edited to add]
& see! I had no idea that you were trying to save what you were climbing on!
im glad you did not fall asleep :) yeah apparently they are corrupted and one the crystals are knocked off you have saved them.
Strangely enough, this game has no appeal for me. Maybe the art and design, or just the basic theme... don't know, but happy to save some bucks ;-)
I should have disclosed it didn't particular appeal to me and decided to try after seeing hype.
I think the game is great and love it, but to each their own.
@@mikeyoung_1 yep
Sounds like the leviathans are great. The card management isn't as great.
I could see somebody iterating on this to make a pretty cool 2D style video game board game
that is my subjective take, the artist already argued for playing it harder to make more interesting in BGG in my video comments so that may help. The actually video game that they might have been inspired by is great Shadow of the Colossus