On
22nd of January in Steam appeared a new addition to the very popular Early
Access, which allows you as you're aware to play games while they're still in
development. Now I rarely use Early Access and usually use only to mark things
which to follow. But in this case the game I'm about to tell you about grabbed
my interest so hard that I couldn't resist. Armello looked like the perfect
combination between boardgames and modern technology.
"From the Rat to the Bear
The Clans declared
Time has come
To take the Throne"
I think
that this short quote pretty well tells you what the objective of the game is.
But although it seems that all agree on what must be done Armello is not a
co-operative game. In fact it is just the opposite. But first let's tell you
more about the Clans.
"From Great Horrors
Great Heroes emerge"
The Four Clans have chosen their Heroes
and they will have to defeat all dangers that the world will throw at them. And
on top of that they will have to face the other clans.
The Chosen ones are:
- Thane of the Wolf Clan - The Wolfs are the
knights of Armello, they're fair, honest, proud and their only task is to
protect the Clan. If for that the King must be killed, so be it.
- Sana of the Bear Clan - The Bears are the oldest
Clan in Armello, heirs of the ancient Druids. This Clan has served the
Throne for many years, but the most important thing for them always has
been to protect the world of Armello. And now the corruption of the King
is threatening this world.
- Mercurio of the Rat Clan - The Rats are the most
numerous clan and this is their biggest straight. They're everywhere.
There is no event in the Kingdom without a Rat present. There is no crime
without a Rat sniffing around. With the huge amount of money and influence
that they have, The Rats are the rulers in shadow.
- Amber of the Rabbit Clan - The Rabbits were the
first who found the underground treasures of Armello. And took them for
themselves, fashioning them into beautiful jewellery and mighty weapons.
This allowed them to stood together with the other Clans.
When
you're ready with choosing a character it’s time to leave your clan grounds and
try to save the Kingdom. But your time is limited! The corruption eats the King
and he is dying. If your Clan is not the most influent when he is gone, you
will have missed your chance. But if the influence race doesn't fit your taste
there is another way - sneak into the palace, pass by the Guards and stand
against the King. But don't underestimate him, The Lion might be sick, but he
will be no easy opponent. To do this you will have to prepare yourselves. This
you can do by completing Clan quests and gathering equipment.
"Sana was walking through the
forest. The Sun was setting behind the threes. Worry had grasped the bear's
heart, because she has heard rumours about disappearing Bears in those forests,
but there were no clues who might have done this. It could have been the Rats
or the Rabbits....suddenly there were noise on her right! Sana turned ready to
defend herself. Towards her was running Amber from the Rabbits, but there was
something wrong, her sword was sheathed, her eyes were filled with fear.
-
Run! - The Rabbit shouted while darting past the Bear. But Sana had no time to
follow as the huge Bane was already upon her..."
Armello
is separated in two big parts - Day and Night. Few things depend on those
phases of the game. For example dice roll results, Bane spawning and
Declarations.
Banes
and The Kings Guards are the "neutral" sides in the game. The Banes are
enemies of all and The Guard minding their own business most of the time. But
they can jump on you if you enter the Castle or someone chooses the right
Declaration. At some point you may even be forced to attack them because they
have the habit of standing in your way. But be careful they're strong opponents
in the beginning of the game.
"Mercurio was just passing through
the small town when he heard some noise nearby. The Rat sneaked in that
direction and peeked carefully behind the corner while one of his hands was
resting on his long dagger. There he saw the source of the noise. Thane of the
Wolfs and Amber of the Rabbits were fighting. The Wolf skilfully swinging his
sword, but the smaller Rabbit was easily avoiding all his attacks..."
The
battles in Armello are done by rolling dice. The idea is very similar to the
one in The Witcher - if you roll more swords than your opponents rolled shields
you score hits and vice versa. There are also some differences and strategies,
but I'll let you find them by yourself. The results from the battles are also
few - you kill your opponent and win 1 prestige point for that(unless he is a
Guard, then you lose 1), your fight ends without a winner, then nothing happens
or you die in which case you lose 1 prestige point and respawn at your starting
position. The one who have most prestige when The King dies is the winner.
Digital boardgame
League
of Geeks unlike others have utilized at 100% the resources of modern devices
and computers. Armello is fully 3D, every character is fully animated with his
own moving, attacking and defending animation. The board, cards and characters
are various and unique, also well drawn. Now I agree that this kind of puts the
game further from "classic boardgames", but at the other hand it
turns it into something that is enjoyable to play on the computer. It might
even attract players who don't play boardgames.
Players interaction
When
the game is competitive its very important the scale on which players can
interact with each other or with other words how much you can hinder them. In
Armello this is main part of the game, there are a ton of ways to make it
harder for the other players. Starting with simple things like taking their
towns and choose nasty Declarations and get to poison apples, stealing items,
laying traps and ambushes. The big amount of interactions is probably the
reason why killing players give you prestige. Because believe me, the game can
easily turn from peaceful questing to vicious head-hunt.
Conclusion
Armello
is great combination between classic adventure boardgame and a PC game. In it
you will control one character bit it will not be just some pawn on the board
but it will stride, fight and defend. At the same time you have limited actions
per turn, roll dice and play cards.
In my humble opinion Armello is a link that may make
fans of both PC and boardgames to sit and play something together.
The game as always you will find on the links
bellow.
Let your Clan be victorious!
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