Watch your Back: Week January 29 to February 4
Last week of January, and the games calendar shows just three new releases. Let's dive in.
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The Search for Lost Species is a 1-4 player app-driven deduction game in which you are a researcher trying to locate animals in danger of extinction.
You will be working your way through the app, choosing the action you wish to perform and proceeding according to the result the app is giving you. In the solo mode, you are playing against an artificial opponent the actions of which are also monitored by the app. As you gather clues, you will be able to figure out where the animal you are searching for can be found. It is launching on Kickstarter on January 31.
Personal opinion: A fine idea but not exciting enough for me to back.
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Then we have Alynthia: a 1-5 player cooperative/competitive adventure game in the co-op mode of which you are trying to eliminate dragon nests from your land.
You will be selecting your actions (move, attack, gather resources, build outposts), and rolling dice to defeat the dragons. By the end of the 5th round, all nests will have to be taken out or else the game is lost. It is launching on Kickstarter on January 31.
Personal opinion: Again, not inducing enough excitement. And the artwork is too subdued for a dragon fighting game, it looks more like an abstract euro.
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And lastly, we have Andromeda's Edge: a 1-5 player sci-fi worker placement and engine building game in which you are the leader of a faction trying to develop your civilization.
In the solo mode, you will be competing against the Unity AI. Over the course of the game, you will have to make progress in science and technology, collect resources, or attack your opponents. It is launching on Gamefound on January 31.
Personal opinion: This game is by the designer of Dwellings of Eldervale which has been highly praised- also for its solo mode. I won't be backing Andromeda but it reminded me to take a look at its precursor just in case I missed something worth purchasing.
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Let us also mention that the Minigolf Empire expansion for Minigolf Designer is launching on Kickstarter on February 1.
Thanks for the post Athena!
I found your opinion on Alynthia particularly fun because so far I had believed it was a resource management economic game and never paid attention to it - reading your descriptions and realizing it was about dragons roaming the land was a complete surprise. I'll have a look at it then, but I highly doubt I will feel tempted in the end.
Andromeda just flies past me at lightspeed, and The Search for Lost Species is out because of the app: if I'm going to play with an app, why not, but why do I need a board, as well? It may be narrow-minded on my part, but I know from experience that, whenever I…
2 games with the elongated hex tiles and both look good from the graphic design to me. However none of these speak to me. For a solo deduction I'm still mulling over Turing Machine and don't look at any more of those.
As long as the other 2 go, Andromeda's Edge while having an interesting theme is a way too big of a game (box and everything) for me. And Alynthia has dice, which makes it also not a back for me. Yes, I have crazy harsh criteria this year :D