COMPONENTS - There is a TON of stuff in here, but generally speaking it all works well. Cards are good quality, minis look pretty good, and storage can get bulky but mostly fits everything. 0:00 - Introduction 0:29 - World Exploration 1:22 - Story and Campaign 2:11 - Upgrading 3:16 - Enemies 4:28 - Tactical Battles 5:17 - Final Thoughts
I've got Middara on the solo table, playing Akarios with the wife downstairs and have Oathsworn for our 3p group. Between these three, I'm the happiest gamer ever.
I have been waiting a long time for this. I cleared Nemesis off my eternal game table to play this and I plan on playing the entire campaign two-handed solo. So far, so good!
Love your reviews, Mike. I’ve just finished painting the minis and started the campaign. I do like how it mixes different elements (space exploration & world exploration) for a change of pace. May not work perfectly but I just finished the Chronicles of Drunagor campaign and all the expansions and it really got boring with nothing really different from mission to mission. This is a breath of fresh air.
Great stuff Mike, thanks as always! Bairnt's playthrough and painted figures made me take the plunge and buy a paint set. Let's see if I can do the ships justice and not fall back to "Well, the ship is painted all black because of space."
Your intro music for this one makes me laugh. I give your points for variety! As for the game, I always thought if Tainted Grail met Gloomhaven, I might have the perfect game, but I expect it's hard to pull. Enjoyed the review, Mike. Thanks.
I really enjoyed the combat in this game. I wasn’t a fan of the exploration or the campaign writing, though. I found myself just flipping through the book to find the next mission.
I kind of expect a good number of groups to do that eventually. Like I said in the review, the narrative sections can bog down easily, which is in sharp contrast to the quick and exciting combat.
Sounds like you like the philosophy of the game and ideas they intended to pull off, but some things just didn’t get fleshed out like they should, perhaps from cutting corners for time and costs?
I ordered this before covid and still haven't opened it :( If only I had RL friends. Considering if I should wait til my children get old enough or play 1P.
Yeah, it's expensive but on the plus side you would get all the stretch goals that the kickstarter backers got. I ended up purging some games that I wasn't playing to get this.
I already did... because it was basically all Oathsworn and Stars of Akarios. They are both huge, lol. Thanks, finally testing negative and feeling better!
It's definitely expensive! That being said, I consider it always an error to compare anything to Gloomhaven/Frosthaven/Jaws of the Lion. Their unbelievable success and ridiculous economy of scale means they can charge less than basically anyone for way more content. Literally every other game in the industry looks like a "bad deal" and "overpriced" if you compare to Gloomhaven :) I'm not saying that Akarios is at a fair or "right" price, just talking in general.
COMPONENTS - There is a TON of stuff in here, but generally speaking it all works well. Cards are good quality, minis look pretty good, and storage can get bulky but mostly fits everything.
0:00 - Introduction
0:29 - World Exploration
1:22 - Story and Campaign
2:11 - Upgrading
3:16 - Enemies
4:28 - Tactical Battles
5:17 - Final Thoughts
I've got Middara on the solo table, playing Akarios with the wife downstairs and have Oathsworn for our 3p group. Between these three, I'm the happiest gamer ever.
Holy crap, every surface of your house is clearly in use :)
@@OneStopCoopShop Even the floors, much to my wife's displeasure.
@@coffeespoonman7931 this bathtub floor is PERFECT for this solo wargame!
@@OneStopCoopShop I thought I was the only one who played board games in the bathtub...
Which one do you prefer so far? I'm intrigued by Oathsworn and I'll start SoA soon!
Really like these 5 in 5 reviews, please keep them coming! :)
Been making them for about 3 years now, so no plans to stop ;)
@@OneStopCoopShop That is wonderful to hear, thanks for the great content!
Thanks for sharing. Your opinion is always greatly appreciated.
Thanks Tony!
I have been waiting a long time for this. I cleared Nemesis off my eternal game table to play this and I plan on playing the entire campaign two-handed solo. So far, so good!
Good luck! It's long, but epic.
Love your reviews, Mike. I’ve just finished painting the minis and started the campaign. I do like how it mixes different elements (space exploration & world exploration) for a change of pace. May not work perfectly but I just finished the Chronicles of Drunagor campaign and all the expansions and it really got boring with nothing really different from mission to mission. This is a breath of fresh air.
That’s a great perspective/comparison. Glad you are enjoying it!
Great stuff Mike, thanks as always! Bairnt's playthrough and painted figures made me take the plunge and buy a paint set. Let's see if I can do the ships justice and not fall back to "Well, the ship is painted all black because of space."
All black = STEALTH MODE!
Thanks for the review! I'm currently trying Gloomhaven JotL and then I'll try this one!
Nice one-two combo :)
Thanks for the review Mike. Enough here to douse some of those fomo flames burning within the depths of my wallet! Appreciate all you guys do 🙂
Happy to help!
Your intro music for this one makes me laugh. I give your points for variety! As for the game, I always thought if Tainted Grail met Gloomhaven, I might have the perfect game, but I expect it's hard to pull. Enjoyed the review, Mike. Thanks.
Hahahaha, I had to go back and listen myself. And yes… a bit porn-ish, lol
Appreciate your thoughts on the game!
I really enjoyed the combat in this game. I wasn’t a fan of the exploration or the campaign writing, though. I found myself just flipping through the book to find the next mission.
I kind of expect a good number of groups to do that eventually. Like I said in the review, the narrative sections can bog down easily, which is in sharp contrast to the quick and exciting combat.
Sounds like you like the philosophy of the game and ideas they intended to pull off, but some things just didn’t get fleshed out like they should, perhaps from cutting corners for time and costs?
I think that’s fair. Clearly the primary focus wad the combat system, but the rest still works pretty well
Got this based on your demo preview. Now I'm unpacking it while listening to your review. Full circle 😁
What goes around comes around 😜
I ordered this before covid and still haven't opened it :( If only I had RL friends. Considering if I should wait til my children get old enough or play 1P.
It works fine solo, if you want to try it
Missed the KS. It’s $200+ on their website :(
Oof 😅
Yeah, it's expensive but on the plus side you would get all the stretch goals that the kickstarter backers got. I ended up purging some games that I wasn't playing to get this.
You should do a video of games you played solo while you had Covid. Hope you get well soon.
I already did... because it was basically all Oathsworn and Stars of Akarios. They are both huge, lol.
Thanks, finally testing negative and feeling better!
I really like how the game looks, but for $170? Seems overpriced to me, especially when compared to Gloomhaven/Frosthaven.
It's definitely expensive!
That being said, I consider it always an error to compare anything to Gloomhaven/Frosthaven/Jaws of the Lion. Their unbelievable success and ridiculous economy of scale means they can charge less than basically anyone for way more content.
Literally every other game in the industry looks like a "bad deal" and "overpriced" if you compare to Gloomhaven :)
I'm not saying that Akarios is at a fair or "right" price, just talking in general.