Watch your Back: Week May 15 to 21
We are in mid May, I have a nasty cough, and the temperature here in Athens is 28 degrees Celsius. But let's talk business and see which games will be launching next week.
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We had mentioned Annunaki: Dawn of the Gods when it launched back in April. The creators decided to cancel that campaign and relaunch on Kickstarter on May 16 with discounted prices and new pledge levels.
This is a 4X eurogame in which four rival alien tribes seek to develop their civs and fight each other with the aim of conquering Atlantis. In the solo mode, you play against an AI opponent with its own deck of cards.
Personal opinion: You know me by now, I don't believe 4X games are good for solo.
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We have another relaunch, on May 17, of the 1-6 player solo/competitive adventure game Arcadia Tenebra. You are playing as an antihero investigator in the 19th century trying to catch a mad killer somewhere in the Balkans.
Gameplay is mostly based on skill checks, whenever a hero has an encounter with an NPC or an enemy, as well as on reading story bits from a booklet. Your goal is to collect 3 clues and take them back to your headquarters.
Personal opinion: Arcadia Tenebra has drawn the attention of some members of the 1PG, and I can see the appeal of playing a thematic adventure. To me it looks a bit like a reskin of Arkham Horror, so I will abstain.
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Then we have Kingdoms of Akandia: a 1-4 player cooperative adventure game in which a group of heroes travel across the land and try to fight the spreading evil. You have to control at least two characters in solo.
Each character's abilities can be upgraded by acquiring the required resources, and combat is performed by rolling dice. The game provides you with tasks to complete and story bits to read as you progress. It is launching on Kickstarter on May 17.
Personal opinion: This looks like an old-school overland crawler which is not a bad thing. Not sure it stands out from the crowd but I'll take a look when it launches.
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The next two releases are expansions.
The Artemis Project - a 1-5 player competitive dice placement game in which you colonize Europa and fight for resources - will get the Satellites and Commanders expansion that adds new locations and new leaders to the base game. The Kickstarter is planned for May 17.
And the 2-4 player deck building game Thunderstone Quest is getting the Deepwood Defenders expansion which comes with two new Quests. If you already have the Barricades Mode expansion, I presume you can play the new Quests solo. It is launching on Kickstarter on May 17.
