Armello: a pretty great digital anthro boardgame
I spent a chunk of this evening playing Armello, and I'll admit: I'm intrigued. I played the tutorial, which takes quite a while, and then played one game as a regular player. I won, though partly by luck, and therefore I like the game.
It has a lot going on. It has more mechanics than an F-1 race. There are four or maybe six win conditions, with one for each of the four archetypal character classes, and a couple that anyone might get. There are four basic stats, and four basic resources. There are limits on your equipment, and followers, and different terrain types. Crossing all of these are the basic facts that the four players are each trying to bring down the King and to do so in the way that's best for them. So the corrupt King, his retinue of guards, and the corrupted monsters that they are fighting and draw on are two other factions crossing the players.
Whew.
All that set, the art is gorgeous - good 2.5D boardgame visuals, with luscious 2D illustration anywhere it matters, and Lisa Gerrard (of Dead Can Dance, Gladiator Soundtrack, and much else fame), and flavor text throughout that all fits together really well.
I'm amazed that it all holds together, and builds off each other. The game has several timers built into its design, and they make sense narratively as well as mechanically. They all work with the anthropomorphic animal races, too. And the flavor text ... when you're looking at a card, of which there are many, the default view is the game mechanics. Hit a button, though, and you can see the flavor text for the card ... and the credits for who designed the card and did its art. As a developer, I love this and applaud the developers.
Anyway, I'm enjoying it and am eager to see what multiplayer is like with people that I know. Forget the anons, randos, and people who play the odds well enough to write the Steam Guides. I would like to play with you. I'm emsariel there as well as here. Want to play?
It has a lot going on. It has more mechanics than an F-1 race. There are four or maybe six win conditions, with one for each of the four archetypal character classes, and a couple that anyone might get. There are four basic stats, and four basic resources. There are limits on your equipment, and followers, and different terrain types. Crossing all of these are the basic facts that the four players are each trying to bring down the King and to do so in the way that's best for them. So the corrupt King, his retinue of guards, and the corrupted monsters that they are fighting and draw on are two other factions crossing the players.
Whew.
All that set, the art is gorgeous - good 2.5D boardgame visuals, with luscious 2D illustration anywhere it matters, and Lisa Gerrard (of Dead Can Dance, Gladiator Soundtrack, and much else fame), and flavor text throughout that all fits together really well.
I'm amazed that it all holds together, and builds off each other. The game has several timers built into its design, and they make sense narratively as well as mechanically. They all work with the anthropomorphic animal races, too. And the flavor text ... when you're looking at a card, of which there are many, the default view is the game mechanics. Hit a button, though, and you can see the flavor text for the card ... and the credits for who designed the card and did its art. As a developer, I love this and applaud the developers.
Anyway, I'm enjoying it and am eager to see what multiplayer is like with people that I know. Forget the anons, randos, and people who play the odds well enough to write the Steam Guides. I would like to play with you. I'm emsariel there as well as here. Want to play?