It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here but this was one of those things that got me thinking “you know, I’ll bet the QT3 gang would appreciate this.”
Super Dungeon Explore. It’s a basic dungeon crawl game done in a chibi anime style. One side controls the hordes of baddies, the other side gets the heroes. Having each hero controlled by an individual player works just fine so you can play it like an RPG.
I wrote up a review of the demo this morning. In a nutshell, it’s a really approachable tactical combat game with a great design aesthetic. It’s something your kids will want to play and you’ll enjoy playing with them. It could be a great gateway game.
It sounds like the guys making the game really have their heads screwed on straight so I’m really looking forward to the final game (you can buy the minis now, but there’s no definitive word on the release of the game).
I’m a huge fan of Hulkalikes myself, but there are a couple of aspects of the current trends in the subgenre that leave me a bit cold. One is the push towards more RPG components, which I think have to walk a fine line between adding meaningful but fundamentally tactical (as opposed to individual) decisions. I think Claustrophobiadoes that really well, but I’m a little concerned about the recent Earth Reborn (for instance). Once you head more into the individual statistics/decisions spectrum, the more appropriate comparison becomes the standard big names in dungeon crawlers and the like, which hold a lot less appeal to me. One huge warning tends to be how many players they cater to: it sucks, but I’m convinced the dynamic works best between two adversaries that are asymmetrically matched in a manner that is balanced by scenario objectives as opposed to a player/DM type relationship. Again, a fine line.
Beyond that, I’d have to see the implementation of die rolls and to what extent they affect the validity of decisions. It’s also typically a warning to me if there is an overemphasis on the miniatures vs the game, which even the order of shipping here leaves very open to debate.
Thanks for the review, though, I’m always interested in new takes. I’m surprised not to see it listed at at boardgamegeek, yet. Have you considered creating a listing there for it?
I checked the que last night and an entry for the game was pending on BGG. New games actually can take quite a while to get into the database there. Last time I entered one (only about two weeks ago actually) it took about two weeks from the time I entered the info to the time it went up.
