Malf on 18/6/2018 at 14:21
So I mentioned this in the big ol' NWAYP thread, but I think this deserves its own, and is certainly my favourite game so far this year (caveat: I haven't played that many games released this year).
On the surface, it looks simple and a little too abstract; how can you tell a decent story through a card game?
And yet, nothing has sucked me in quite as much as this in such an interesting way for a long time.
You usually start out with very limited options; indeed, the first play, you start with one card and one "Verb" tile. These two concepts are the entirety of the game, although you have variations within those categories, such as temporary and permanent instances of each.
Cards can be things like jobs, funds, abilities, personalities, events and items.
Verbs are things like Work, Time, Study, Explore, Dream.
The entire game is played by dropping cards on to Verbs to generate interesting interactions. For example, dropping a Health card on the Work verb sends you off to do manual labour. At the end of 60 seconds, you'll get your health card back and unusable for 60 seconds (due to fatigue), along with a shiny funds card. Maybe an injury too if you're unlucky.
Slowly, over time, you build up more cards and more Verbs, all the while exploring possibilities. What happens if I drop a fatigued health card on the Dream verb? What about a Passion card?
The flavour text on pop-up boxes and cards helps flesh out the world as you play, and you begin to notice more... interesting options popping up (the aforementioned Passion card and Dream Verb for starters). Acquaintances make themselves known to you; the Suppression Bureau makes its presence known; exploring the city reveals the existence of a secluded bookshop with a library of very interesting books; and your dreams start to get weirder.
Next thing you know, hours have passed by, and you're juggling between running a cult with 10+ members, fending off investigations, managing the day job, exploring interesting locations and making sure your dreams don't drive you insane.
This is written by one of the guys responsible for Fallen London and Sunless Sea. While I bounced quite hard off of Sunless Sea, this has grabbed me by the short & curlies. It's unique, compulsive and rewarding in unexpected ways.
I've avoided using online guides where possible, as exploring the concepts myself is so much fun, and I now have gotten to a stage where I think I might stand a good chance of beating the game.
It'll be a while yet, I'm sure, but I feel I have the basics nailed.
I know how to avoid raising too much suspicion; my last game ended when I drew too much scandal to my position on the board of my day job and I had to resort to painting to make a living. The more interesting the pictures were, the more money they made, but also the more strain was placed upon my sanity, and the Suppression Bureau became increasingly interested in the odd works dripping from my brush.
I have an inkling how best to explore the dream world of the Manse and its many ways and gates.
I know how to best utilise my followers and how to escalate them within the cult and improve their abilities.
I know how to improve my abilities and perform rites that reverse some of the damage done to my ravaged body.
In short, I have learned much that is forbidden and eldritch, but enough to know that far more awaits.
It's heavily influenced by Lovecraft, for sure, but even more delightfully, there's a strong vein of whimsy and romance running through the game that puts me in mind of something like Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray".
It does get a little wearing to play for hours only to fail and have no way of recovering, but the temptation to leap right back in and begin afresh is always compelling. And each play-through always leaves you with interesting stories, as while it relies a lot on the excellent writing of the developer, the narrative threads that develop feel very much like your own.
Highly, highly recommended.
Just try to avoid resorting to guides, as a substantial amount of the fun is related to you discovering how the various systems work yourself through trial and error.
demagogue on 18/6/2018 at 14:43
Ah, I had high hopes for this just because of the pedigree of their previous games, but then I read reviews on the Steam page and it kind of turned me off of it. I think some people got disillusioned and thought of it as just cycles of grinding with different names for different cards that all came back to grinding. It probably works better if you let the mystery be itself... Anyway, I thought this would be worth a grab when it goes on sale. I do like creative card games, so should like it in principle.
Malf on 18/6/2018 at 14:54
I get the impression that if you're grinding too much, there's probably a quicker way of doing things. I certainly have streamlined my games on each consecutive play-through, and next time around I have definite ideas about how to get back where I was quicker. But as I said, it can feel unforgiving to lose all that progress because you've neglected to keep your fascination in check or you can't find a particular temporary card fast enough.
But next time through, you find ways to minimise the things that ended your game previously.
Drifter82 on 25/6/2018 at 19:08
Google it you twat.
Malf on 25/6/2018 at 19:09
Oh, be fair to ZB. I think this is the closest I've ever seen him get to posting anything useful about a game in Gen Gaming.
Mr.Duck on 26/6/2018 at 09:43
Quote Posted by Malf
Oh, be fair to ZB. I think this is the closest I've ever seen him get to posting anything useful.
Fix'd.
Anarchic Fox on 29/5/2020 at 18:17
This is at a steep discount right now, if anyone's interested.
I loved the concept, and had a blast for the first few hours. Unfortunately, it grew tedious once I got a stable game going using the detective. One of my timed actions advanced my goals, while the others maintained the status quo. Dread and fascination seemed like immense crises the first few times, but now all they mean is that my game will slow to half speed while I deal with them. The game's surprises no longer feel charming, but obfuscated. I feel, rightly or wrongly, that I have an intuitive picture of how the game progresses from here, and it isn't attractive.
I did figure out how to explore the Dream Manse and succeed at expeditions. I never did get to the point where I could do rites. Should I push further?
demagogue on 29/5/2020 at 23:22
I think this game eases into its final form when you start playing it like sudoku or a crossword or solitaire, just going with the pure flow of the gameplay, whatever the cards are handing you at that moment, that happens to tell a little story while it's going. I think that's the mindset a person has to be in to keep playing it after crossing that point you mention.
Anarchic Fox on 30/5/2020 at 01:09
Defeated again by my lack of flow. :tsktsk:
I think playing as the detective was a mistake. That job trivializes two or three concerns, at the cost of tedium. Once I've gained some distance from the game I'll try again with a different character.