The Civilization series has long reigned supreme over the turn-based 4X strategy genre. Even though the genre has recently become more populated with games like Humankind, Old World, and Endless Legend—all of which are great, by the way—none have reached the same level of gameplay that Civilization offers.

Realistically, that's to be somewhat expected. After all, Sid Meier's Civilization is a series that's been around for over three decades with the original releasing all the way back in 1991. Over the years, developer Firaxis Games—and Micro Prose, back in the 90's—continued to build on and refine the 4X formula leading up to the series' seventh mainline entry, Sid Meier's Civilization 7.

Unfortunately, when you're the master of a genre, you can really only refine it so much. Civilization 6 is great, but other than the addition of districts, the argument could be made that it really just felt like an updated Civilization 5.

With Sid Meier's Civilization VII, Firaxis has managed to find a way to really push the series forward in the form of its Ages system. Interestingly enough, the Ages system resolves a lot of long-stand issues with the series, while also offering more for long-term fans of the series and at the same time making the intimid?ating genre more approachable to newcomers.

Sid Meier's Civilization VII (PC [reviewed], PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Firaxis Games
Publisher: 2K Games
Released: February 11, 2025
MSRP: $69.99

In a nutshell, Ages breaks Civilization 7 into three sections: Antiquity Age, Exploration Age, and Modern Age. At Standard game speeds, each of these Ages will last between 150-200 turns and span anywhere from 3-5 hours, depending on how long turns take you. By breaking the game into these three Ages, players have the option t??o play a single Age-based game that begins and ends with a single age, or they can opt to play out a longer game across all three Ages that will stretch out over a dozen hours or more.

This one change actually does a lot of Civilization. For starters, Civ players often end up on one side of the coin when it comes to game length. Some complain that the games take way too long, while others wish they could do more, and really mold their empire over the course of a long game. Sure, you could mess with game speeds and lengths in Civilization 6 in?? an attempt to do so, but that more or less just artificially increased the length.

Now, with the Ages system, players opting for a shorter game can play through just a single Age, while those looking for longer bouts can grow and shape their empire how they want over all three Ages in a much longer game. ?With the new system, each Age is also more refined to offer somewhat different gameplay, as well.

While each Age can be seen as its own sort of self-contained game, a playthrough that stretches over all three Ages will have its own self-contained goals as well. This primarily happens through the natural gameplay flow of Civilization—laying the foundation for your empire i??n the Antiquity Age, exploring the world and coming up with a gameplan based on your opponents in the Exploration Age, and then executing your gameplan in the end-game of the Modern Age.

The potentially shorter games of a single Age are a big welcoming point for new players, but so is a revamped tutorial system. I'm the kind of person who usually skips a tutorial, then either learns things on my own or ends up having to go back and suffer through the tutorial anyway. In Civ 7, the tutorial isn't a set of pre-built instructional s?cenarios or a bunch of videos or even text documentation like most games in the?? genre. Instead, enabling the tutorial simply adds extra instructions when you're first starting the game as well as explaining new systems or features as you unlock them, including when you reach new Ages.

Pretty much every core system of Civilization has been enhanced or improved upon in Civilization 7 as well. Visually, Civ 7 is far and above the best the series has ever looked. Not just from a directly graphical standpoint; after all, that's to be expected seeing as Civ 6 is almost a decade old now. But with Civ 7, the game takes a more realisti??c approach than the previous install??ments, which often favored a more cartoony look. This results in a vibrant and colorful landscape that really evolves as you progress through the ages.

It's always been absolute eye candy to watch the spot of land you chose to plop down your first settlement change and your empire grow over the course of a game in Civilization. With the more realistic graphi?cs, this progression looks even more amazing. It's cool to watch your settlement advance in technology and sprawl out while keeping your Wonders through the Ages. Seeing a modern city built around the Colosseum is still always a fun sight to behold.

The soundtrack for Civ 7 is top-notch as well. This has always been a strong point of the series, and I was happy to see that each civilization still has its own unique ??music tracks. It really sets the mood for playing each civilizatio?n, and I'm looking forward to playing each one eventually for their scores alone.

In terms of content, Civilization 7 launches with 24 Leaders to choose from, and over 30 Civilizations across the three Ages. I believe there are ?a couple more unlocked by linking your game to a 2K Games account, as well as through various collector's editions. While I'm not a fan of content like this being locked out and not available to everyone, it's worth noting that there are Leaders and Civilizations available for all players of all playstyles: Cultural, Diplomatic Economic, Expansionist, Militaristic, and Scientific.

In my main playthrough across all three Ages, I started as Augustus and naturally, as Rome is my civilization, in the Antiquity Age. Typically, Rome is a Cultural Militaristic civilization. However, I ended up really taking a liking to my only close major opponent (Hatshepsut) and over the course of the Antiquity Age found myself focusing less on my military due to not really needing one, and more on science, especially because I was actually located in a perfect spot geographically for it with plenty of buffs to science to be had by wo?rking the lands appropriately.

Naturally, as I reached the E??xploration Age, I shifted my civilization to Abbasid, a choice that still catered to Cultural but also Scientific over Militaristic. By the end of the Exploration Age, my dear friend Hatshepsut was consistently being sieged by Xerses and Charlemagne, leading me to shift back towards a Militaristic approach both to aid Hatshepsut but also to defend myself more efficiently. This led to me once again changing course in the Modern Age, and adopting Prussia as my civilization. Despite going into the late game in a three-way World War, I was still able to secure a Scientific Victory.

This type of flip-flopping between playstyle focuses really isn't much of a possibility in previous Civilization games. But in Civilization 7, you not only have the option to change up your focus with each Age, but you're also not penalized for it. In fact, in most cases you'll still retain a lot of the advantages from previous Age focuses even if you shift into something different in later Ages.? It's a great change to the series and I can't wait to see what people who are m??uch better than me at these sorts of games end up doing with all the possibilities within this big change.

Legacies and by extension Legacy Paths further complement this change. This new system basically gives you tasks to complete while you're in an Age. Completing them will give you buffs for that Age based on the focus the tasks were part of. For example, building a Wonder in the Antiquity Age will grant you a Cultural Legacy Point and a Diplomatic Legacy Point that can be used in future Ages. But you also receive the option to put one of those points into a specialization of Culture in a future Age that will grant you +1 Culture and?? +1 Happiness for every Wonder you own. This allows you to further tailor your build to your desired playstyle as you progress throug?h the Ages.

For the most part, Civilization 7 runs great. I'm currently using an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT and for some reason when using DirectX 12, my game ends up crashing after some time. Sometimes it's after just a few minutes of play, other times I can go up to an hour without issue. Thankfully, there's also the option to launch using the V??ulkan API instead of DirectX 12, and I've had no crashes with it. If this is like previous issues I've had with an AMD card, this is most likely more of a driver-related issue that will be fixed when AMD drops a Civilization 7-specific driver update, but I did feel it was worth pointing out.

Slight technical hiccups aside, I also feel as though the Modern Age feels a bit less fleshed out compared to the other two Ages. The tech tree alone for the Modern Age feels a ??lot smaller and contained. There are also fewer branches in the tech tree compared to the prior two, and it feels like a pretty narrow progression towards the end. It's not unfinished or anything like that, but definitely noticeable.

Furthermore, I tried starting a game directly in the Modern Age, and it felt a bit rough around the edges. You get to select from a pool of starting staple points for your empire, like a city, a town, some military units, and some tech. Basically it tries to jumpstart you into a game as though you've already built up some in the first two Ages. But paired with the more lacking scope of the Age, it felt a bit off to actually play starting from the Modern Age. This may simply be curtailed by having more playtime and an overall understanding of everything going on on a systematic level, but at the moment I def??initely recommend everyone starts in the Antiquity Age at the very least until you've got the game down.

I'm excited to see what direction Firaxis and 2K go in terms of post-launch content for Civilization 7. The current roadmap for the future already talks about new Leaders, Civs, Events, and Wonders, but I'm curious if there are plans to add any new major features much like the early expansions in Civ 6 did.

Regardless of my minor gripes with the game, Civilization 7 is a ton of fun. The Ages system is a major game-changer and really enhances the genre in a big way. Firaxis probably could have gotten away with a safer approach with this installment, opting for just better graphics. Instead, it boldly revamped a lot of the core systems to make the entire game more streamlined for both newcomers and veterans alike. I'm glad Firaxis is still finding ways to improve a genre it has mastered over the years, and as a result, Sid Meier's Civilization 7 has the series in its best shape yet.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Sid Meier’s Civilization VII appeared first on Destructoid.

All Civilization enjoyers know one rule is absolute when it comes to playing the popular 4X strategy series: games will always last long??er than you anticipate. If I got a nickel every time some friends and I would plan to "play a game of Civ tonight" and end up playing the same game over the next few day??s...well, I'd have a lot of nickels.

With Sid Meier's Civilization VII, developer Firaxis has created a solution to this problem i??n the form of three Age?s: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern. On standard speed and Age lengths, each of these three ages will last between 150-200 turns, equivalent to about three or four hours of playtime. For those seeking a long grand campaign that progresses through all three Ages, you can do so.

Those looking for a shorter game can opt to start at the beginning of any of the three Ages, and doing so in the Exploration or Modern Age will give you an Advanced Start to the Age, so it's as if you h??ave played the previous ones.

Back in August 2024, I got some hands-on time with Civilization VII's first Age, the Age of Antiquity. Now, for the first time, I got to dive into the second one: the Exploration Age. As the game describes it, the Antiquity Age is all about settling the immediate lands around you and planning out your civilization. With the Exploration Age, your new goa??l is to, well, explore. And expand. Reaching the Exploration Age will let you change your Civilization, and therefore change the focus of your empire. This means you can focus on expansion or economy in the Antiquity Age and the?n switch towards a militaristic or science-focused approach in the Exploration Age.

I will say, when I first jumped in, I immediately wanted to check out the Exploration Age, so I opted to utilize the Advanced Start to do so. With how much new there is in the series' latest entry, and having not played Civilization since the preview event back in August 2024, I was a bit overwhelmed by all the new systems. After about an hour, I decided to restart from the Antiquity Age, where that was not an issue. Obviously, after playing more and getting a real grasp of all the new additions to Civilization VII, this won't be an issue. But until you have that experience and knowl?edge, you're probably bette??r off starting in the Antiquity Age, which gradually introduces the new systems to you over time.

The Exploration Age is where you really start to reap the benefits of the fruits of your labor from the previous Age. And with the ability to change your civilization and shift your empire's focus, it fixes a long-time prob?lem of the series. You don't feel penalized for changing? things up, and it adds a lot more flexibility for less-experienced players who might not be min-maxing things from the start. That being said, I imagine it will also create some crazy "build potential" for veteran players who do try and min-max the best civilizations to change to in each Age for each Leader.

After my all-day play session through the first two Ages, I backed out to the Main Menu and found the newly announced meta progression in Civilization VII, and I have to admit: it's pretty awesome. As someone who enjoys chasing achievements and trophies in games, this new system rewards players for doing so. Regardless of your skill level with Civ 7 and how you choose to play—whe??the?r you focus on one specific Leader or experiment with many of them—you'll complete challenges and unlock rewards along the way.

Every Leader in Civilization 7 has their own Leader Path to progress through, starting at Level 1 and going up to Level 10. Your account as a whole has ?a Foundation Path, also starting at Level 1 and progressing all the way up to Level 50, earning XP towards the path regardless of which leader you play as. Both Paths have various challenges you can complete to earn X,P such as completing quests, reaching Legacy Path Milestones, and more.

Leveling up these Paths earns you a variety of rewards from cosmetic Badges, Banners, Borders, and Titles for your Player Card, as well as actual game-changing rewards called Mementos. These Mementos are essentially special items that you can equip on your leader at the start of a game, giving you a little extra bonus as well as giving you the ability to further specialize your play style. And while Mementos can be used in multiplayer, lobby hosts also have the option of disabling them. The added meta progression helps to fix one of the longstanding issues with the Civilization series, which is the feeling of "What now?" after ending a many-hours-long session by rewar?ding?? players over time for their achievements.

I'm excited to check out the third and final Modern Age and see what the late game of Civ 7 feels like. Once I've done so, keep an eye out for my full Sid Meier's Civilization VII review as we get closer to its February 11, 2025 release? date!

The post Preview: Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is perfect for shorter micro-games or grand campaigns with its new Ages system appeared first on Destructoid.

The complex yet exciting woodland showdown between cats, birds, and other cute animals in Root has won the game many fans. The asynchronous gameplay and unique factions make for a rewarding experience, whether it’s your first game or your one hundredth. But if you’re ready to try something new, then you’ll definitely want to check out our picks for the best board games like Root, that have similarities in either mechanic?s or theme.

1. Spirit Island

In Spirit Island, your role is to protect a remote Pacific island from invading colonists and make them fear the land enough to leave it. You’ll have a unique nature-based spirit that comes with a number of interesting powers, and you’ll have both a deck of cards and an energy pool to manage as well. Each turn represents a few years of alternate history and offers a ton of exciting decision points. This is certainly a more complex game, but if you’re already a fan of Root, then you’ll enjoy the lengthy learning process. Each adversary fac?tion provides a different challenge and gives the game multiple dif??ficulty settings.

2. Star Wars: Rebellion

The classic showdown between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire comes to the table in style with Star Wars: Rebellion. I??f you’re allied with Darth Vader and his stormtroopers, you’ll need to destroy the rebel base to win the game. If you’re working with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo instead, you’ll need to convince various planetary systems to turn against the Empire and aid you instead. The Dark Side has significantly more ships and troops to work with for thematic reasons, but the balance between the two opponents is perfect.

3. Axis & Allies Europe 1940

Axis & Allies games are some of the best World War-themed tabletop titles, and Europe 1940 is a great place to start the series. Despite its name, the map includes not just Europe, but all of Africa and the east coast of North America as well. The game works perfectly on its own, but you can also pair it with Axis & Allies: Pacific 1940 to create the ultimate area control game that fully captures the grand scale of the conflict. The Allies win by taking Rome and Berlin, and the Axis win by controllin?g eight victory cities.

4. Scythe

If you’re looking for an asynchronous Euro-board game with slightly less conflict than Root, then you might want to try Scythe. There’s usually still a showdown or two amongst rivals before the end of the game, but most of the time you’ll instead focus on building your engine. Gathering crops allows you to enlist recruits, harvesting wood lets you build structures, and mining for metal unlocks your mechs. When one of the players gets six stars, the game ends, and scoring begins. Popularity is often a key multiplier when it comes to valuing your accomplishments, but you can st??ill win without it in certain situations.

5. War of the Ring: 2nd Edition

The dark lord Sauron is marshaling his armies in the East, and the forces of the Free People must muster the last of their strength to oppose him. The basic premise of the classic Lord of the Rings books is a fantastic foundation for a board game, and the War of the Ring takes full advantage of it to create an exceptional thematic experience. The person playing as Gondor and the remnants of the West must hold out long enough for the Fellowship to reach Mount Doom and destroy the One Ring. Their opponent controls the armies of evil and aims for a swift victory via territorial control. There are also plenty of fun War of the Ring expansions that further improve the game.

6. Shogun

If you love classic war-themed board games with a complex area control system, then you’ll love Shogun. This boa?rd game takes place in the same era as the recent televi??sion show from FX that goes by the same name. You’ll want to take provinces that yield silver and produce crops to form the basis of a solid kingdom. You’ll also need to expand your holdings, marshal troops, and win battles to claim victory. There’s a neat dice tower, and the “Big Box�edition of the game comes with all four expansions.

7. Inis

The Celtic-themed area control game Inis has several design elements that will appeal to fans of Root. The first of these is the game’s various win conditions. You can either hold six territories, be the chieftain of six opposing clans, or have units in areas with at least six total sanctu??aries. There’s also an action card and drafting element that lends itself to seemingl?y limitless strategies, and a deed system that reduces win condition requirements. The map tiles are gorgeous and colorful, and you’ll need to think very carefully before you pick a fight with your fellow players.

8. Cosmic Encounter: 4th Edition

In Cosmic Encounter, you play as an alien species who has just arrived in a new galaxy that’s full of dangerous creatures and potential allies. You start with five home worlds, and four ships on each of them. You will also get a handful of cards that will allow you to attack and negotiate with other systems. What really s??ets the game apart from similar tabletop titles is? the wide selection of special powers, which can completely change the way you and your opponents play your cards.

9. Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection

Liberty or Death is the fifth entry in the COIN (counter insurgency) game series, and like other entries before it, the game centers around a complex conflict between a number of factions that all have unique win conditions. This is very similar to Root, where each person is essentially playing their own style of game. This time around, you’ll join in the American Revolution as either the Patriots, the British, the French, o??r the Indians. However, the French and the Patriots, for example, will largely work together. There are multiple scenarios included in the box, and each one has a different length. There’s also a complex solo mode that’s a ton of fun.

10. Oath: Chronicles of Empire & Exile

Though the best-known game from Leder Games is Root, its campaign-based title Oath is arguably just as fantastic. The art style between the two is relatively similar, but the most noticeable difference is that the events of one Oath game will carry over to the next. There are a ton of cool action cards that bring about unique plot twists, and the game mat and other components are both high-quality and colorful. There are lots of victory conditions, and this gives ?the game considerable replay value.

The post 10 Great Board Games to Try if You Like Root appeared first on Destructoid.

The cowboy ranches, whiskey saloons, a?nd untamed frontiers of the Wild West make for a fantastic board game setting, whether you’re placing workers, playing cards, or flipping tiles. With the board games that we’re highlighting in this list, you can explore the territories by rail or on horseback. You can also face off against your friends in a pistol duel, tend to a herd of cattle, or, of course, become a wanted outlaw.

10. High Noon

In High Noon, your goal is to cause as much gunslinging mayhem as? possible in the fictional town of Saratoga. Around the board, you’ll find crates full of loot that will give your posse a leg up in a duel. Explosive rounds, a metal chest plate, or some medicine might be the difference between victory and defeat. You can change the layout of the map every time you play, which is a feature that adds considerable replay value. All of the weapons have different benefits and drawbacks, and dealing damage to your opponent’s units will give you gold. The richest gunman in the West at the end of twelve rounds wins the game.

9. Ticket to Ride: Legends of the West

The classic train-building board game Ticket to Ride pulls out all the stops in its Legends of the West edition. Completing destination cards and linking together a long train will still net you a ton of points, but this time??, the effects of one game will roll on into the next. Over the course of a twelve-game journey across North Ameri??ca, you’ll unlock new Frontier boxes that add territories such as California, Florida, or the Great Plains to the map. The campaign also has plenty of fun story twists, and sitting down for a game is always an exciting and rewarding experience.

8. Tiny Epic Western

Explore a miniature boom town and start gun duels in Tiny Epic Western, a worker placement game with tons of variability when it comes to its locations. You’ll also get a poker card that essentially dictates ??your winnings for these placements. You can purchase buildings, but if you don’t you’ll get an additional posse member for the following round. If you were the first to purchase a building in a round, you can also advance an ind??ustry, which will potentially increase your score. There’s a solo mode, and games usually take about 45 minutes.

7. Bang! The Bullet

In Bang!, you and your fellow players will face off in a classic Western movie’s pistol duel. At the beginning of the game, everyone gets a character card with a special ability and a secret role that determines their objectives. If you’re an outlaw, you’ll need to shoot the sheriff to win. The sheriff, on the other hand, needs to take down all the outlaws with the help of his deputy and trusty six-shooter. If you’re playing as the renegade, you couldn’t care less who shoots who- as long as you’re the last one standing. The Bullet version of the game com??es?? with all the expansions.

6. Lewis & Clark: The Expedition

If you’re looking for a more complex board game that’s set in the Wild West, then you’ll definitely want to give Lewis & Clark: The Expedition a try. It’s a race in which your goal is to reach the ??Pacific Coast before any of the other players do. Along the way, you’ll need to carefully manage your group of expedit?ionaries by making camp, scouting the territories, and working with Native Americans. The worker placement system works great, and once you figure out all the mechanics, you’ll find that the pacing is perfect.

5. Gold West

Gold West is a board game that’s all about successfully managing your resources and spending them as smartly as possible. You can pay for goods shipping, buil?d settlements with wood and stone, or purchase investments, which count for straight victory points. You can also visit the game’s modular boom town, which has interchangeable tiles to ensure its layout changes every time you play. Despite its western theme, it’s a great pick for Euro board game fa??ns.

4. Wild Tiled West

Build new towns on the furthest reaches of the Western Frontier in Wild Tiled West, an engaging board game that requires the perfect balance of strategic thinking and luck. There are plenty of interesting character cards to play, and each one has a cute critter drawing that’s reminiscent of the popular tableau builder Everdell. As you mig?ht have guessed from the name, tile placement is the central mechanic of the gameplay here. Th?ere’s a fantastic drafting system to go alongside it and plenty of interesting ways for you to claim victory.

3. Fliptown

Fliptown has a creative blend of map exploration and classic poker that greatly rewards its more imaginative players. In a given turn, you’ll start by flipping over three cards from a standard deck. Then, you’ll decide how to use those c??ards. One is for travel, one represents your distance value, and the last one will go in your poker hand. The suit of your travel card dictates where you’re going. The trail, mine, badlands, and town all offer something different; in one turn, you might get gold, while in another, you might pick up a new gun or horse. Make sure to manage your wanted level, or the sheriff will come find you.

2. Western Legends

Become an infamous outlaw or join forces with the law and fight for justice in Western Legends, an open-ended board gaming adventure with loads of replay value. You’ll play as a famous individual from the era, such as Annie Oakley, Butch Cassidy, or Wyatt Earp. However, this tabletop game isn’t just a reenactment- you and your fellow players get to rewrite their stories instead. Gamble at the? saloon, mine for gold, or head out to the corners of the map when it’s your turn. If you’re a wanted man or woman, you’d best avoid the other players since they might try to bring you in for a reward.

1. Great Western Trail: 2nd Edition

When it comes to exploring the Old West in tabletop format, there’s nothing better than Great Western Trail. Your goal in the game is to earn money and victory points by moving your cattle between Texas and Kansas City. You’ll need to make this entire operation more efficient by hiring cowboys, upgrading the railroad, and investing in buildings along the route. There are a ton of fu??n strategic decisions to make each turn, and the theme meshes perfectly with the mechanics. The game’s complexity is definitely on the higher s??ide, but both beginner and experienced board gamers will enjoy the challenge.

The post The 10 Best Wild West Bo??ard Games of All Time, Ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

If you l??ove board games with remarkable strategic depth, you’re probably a fan of a few tabletop titles that fall under the “Euro�category. Whether you’re growing crops, completing objective cards, or amassing a fortune from trading?, these board games are always immensely satisfying. In the list below, we’ve assembled our picks for the ten best Euro board games of all time. There are a ton of games that fall under this classification, but our choices focus on titles that clearly feel like a quintessential Euro board gaming experience.

What is a Euro board game?

A Euro board game typically features complex mechanics, indirect competition, minimal dice rolling, and a scoring system creates multiple paths to claiming victory. There’s often an emphasis on economic development and engine building, while combat with other players usually isn’t front and center. The “Euro�term distinguishes the genre from more traditional American board games, which often emphasized thematic rather than mech??anical depth. However, nowadays there are plenty of Euro board games wi?th engaging themes.

10. Great Western Trail (2nd Edition)

Great Western Trail is a game that’s all about getting your herd of cattle from Texas up to Kansas City, and making a few pit stops along the way. Despite the western Am?erican theme, the mechanics of this title are firmly entrenched on the Euro side of the po??nd. You can hire and place workers, focus on deck building to get better cows, or upgrade buildings along the trail so you can charge the other players fees when they stop by. It takes a long time to setup, but once it’s on the table it’s always a hit.

9. Catan

The original Settlers of Catan board game, first released in 1995, helped to define Euro board games and set them apart from their luck and theme-based American counterparts. For that reason alone, it deserves a place on this list. Boxing out other players from accessing parts of the board is still fun to this day, though you can admittedly get into situations where you know you’ve lost well before it’s actually over. The randomized layout of the island’s map allows for lots of variability, and there are plenty of solid Catan expansions to choose from.

8. Le Havre

Le Havre is an economic engine builder that starts off with a few slowe?r turns but quickly escalates up to an epi??c scale. By the end of the game, you will hopefully have amassed a fortune in coins, building investments, and ships. But to get there, you’ll first need to gather food early on to feed your workers, pick up trade items, and find the perfect time to sell your goods. While the theme is fairly simple, the strategies you can deploy are anything but. Thankfully, the rules are also fairly straightforward since there’s only a handful of actions to choose from when it's your turn.

7. Scythe

The richly drawn world of Scythe adds plenty of interesting thematic to exciting Euro-like board game mechanics. Each player gets both a faction and a play mat that dictates the combination of actions they can take for the game. In one round, you might be producing food and metal, then ??building a structure. The player to your left might also choose the production action, but their play mat might allow them to spend metal to build a mech instead. You’ll need six stars to win the game, and only two of them can come from combat with other players. In fact, you might not even need to win a fight to win the game, because gaining popularity and bolstering power can be just as important.

6. Terra Mystica

In Terra Mystica, players choose one of fourteen different factions to control and work to transform the lands around their home region. Building structures around the map is essential, since they allow you to pick up more workers, trade, and unlock a faction-specific ability. There are also four religions to choose from, and investing in them gives you? better skills and abilities. It’s the most complex board game on this list.

5. Viticulture

In Viticulture, your objective is to create a world-renowned wine that everyone wants t?o try. It’s a worker placement game in which most of the actions you can take on your tu??rn are right in front of you on the board. While that might make it sound simple, there will be plenty of tough decisions to make, particularly when it comes to timing your actions in accordance with the changing seasons. The process of harvesting, bottling, and marketing your wares is easy to enjoy and doesn’t require you to worry about the other players too often.

4. The Castles of Burgundy

If you want to try a quintessential Euro board game, look no further than Castles of Burgundy. This kingdom builder primarily focuses on collecting settlement tiles. Smart placement of these tiles will give the player more money, more trade goods, and more favorable dice rolls. Take over an entire region for bonus victor??y points, and advance your position on the turn order track to create the best duchy in medieval France. The game starts a bit slow, but quickly picks up its pace in the middle stages.

3. Agricola (Revised Edition)

Uwe Rosenberg’s farming and engine building board game Agricola is an epic tale of rags to riches with no shortage of strategic depth. At the start of the game, you’ll have two workers and a handful of basic improvements for your farm. Approximately two hours later, you’ll have a prosperous harvest and a bountiful feast of victory points. Agricola has many similarities with Rosenberg’s other famous Euro board games, A Feast for Odin and Caverna: The Cave Farmers. All of them are great, but there’s arguably only space? for one of them on this list.

2. Brass: Birmingham

Brass Birmingham is an immensely satisfying economy-driven board game with a ton of exciting mechanics. Despite its Euro board game status, it’s definitely not lacking in theme. The dark and gritty Industrial Revolution England that players journey back to is engaging, atmospheric, and wonderfully illustrated by the board and other components. Throughout the game, you’ll enjoy building a network of railways and canals, selling goods, and increa?sing your production power.

1. Concordia

The strategic depth and numerous pathways to victory in Concordia make for an incredible tabletop gaming experience. You’ll start your journey off in Rome, and send your colonists out to build a trade network. As you link regions as far apart as Egypt and Britannia, you’ll get to build houses and gather more resources from them. You can also purchase the action cards available on the board, which are completely randomized. Once the last card is sold or one of the players places their fifteenth house, the game ends. The classic theme, simple yet engaging economy-driven gameplay, and lack of dice rolling make Concordia an essential Euro board gaming experience.

The post The 10 Best Euro Board Games of All Time, Ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

Engine building board games at their best can be immensely satisfying and incredibly variable, with tons of unexpected outcomes. When you sit down to play, you’ll of course start out with nothing. But as it turns out, with a pair of farmers, a pile of rocks, and a couple bars of metal, y?ou too, can build an empire. In the list below we’ve assembled our picks for the best engine building board games of all time. Every single one of them is a game night staple that’s absolutely worth playing.

What is an Engine Building Board Game?

The hallmarks of this type of board game are simple. You usually begin with very little to work with, whether it's coins or bushels of wheat or workers. You must then begin working toward victory by ??gathering resources. The more resources you have at your disposal, the more cards or tiles you can play. These cards and tiles will then either make it easier to ga??ther more, or make everything you have in play more efficient. By the end of the game, you’ll have a well-oiled machine that lets you take incredibly powerful turns.

13. It’s a Wonderful World

The futuristic, dystopian card game It’s a Wonderful World is a modern classic of the engine-building genre. The game takes place over the course of four rounds and includes a drafting system that allows you to sabotage your o?pponent’s systems. Well-timed card placement and resource generatio??n are the keys to a successful strategy. However, you’ll also need to think carefully about which cards you need to discard rather than build. It typically takes less than an hour to finish a game, and there’s a solo mode.

12. Gizmos

In Gizmos, each player works to design a machine that they hope will win them the top prize at the next Great Science Fair. When it’s your turn, you’ll have to file designs, build contraptions, or pick up resources from the ga?me’s marble dispenser. With a good arrangement of cards in play, you can quickly pick up steam. It’s easy to learn and looks deceptively simple, but mastering the game will be challenging for most players. On some occasions, your starting hand can make it tricky to win, and for that reason, it’s just a bit further back on this list.

11. Fantastic Factories

Fantastic Factories is perfect for players looking for a new engine building board game that’s a bit less of a slow burn than the other entries on this list. ?The theme is straightforw?ard and direct, and the card combos are satisfying and easy to trigger. It’s a bit friendlier than your average tabletop title since player interaction is limited, and this can be either a blessing or a curse depending on your preferences. It’s easy to learn and works great for players of all ages.

10. 7 Wonders

Develop an ancient civilization from the ground up in 7 Wonders, and then build a monument to your greatness to claim victory points. The game takes place over three phases. The first is all about mining, logging, and quarrying ?stone. In the next round, you and the? players to your immediate left and right can use these resources to start assembling armies and attacking enemies. By the final round you might have made a few scientific innovations, or perhaps built a pantheon or palace that people in the future will consider a great wonder.

9. Splendor

If you’re looking for an easier to understand engine builder that’s accessible for all players, Splendor is a great pick. You’ll have a set of gems to work with in the first round, which you can use to pick up cards. These cards essentially function as more money for you to stack with your initial gems. The purchasing options are randomized, and most of the more expensive cards w??ill give you victory points. The first player to 15 points takes the crown. Though it’s on the simpler side, there’s plenty of strategic gameplay.

8. Scythe

The first World War rages on into the 1920s in Scythe, an exceptional alternate history board game of mechs, worker movement, and production. Each turn you’ll need to think carefully about what you’re going to do both now and in the next several rounds. If you produce oil, you can upgrade the efficiency of your play mat. If you choose to ma??ke food instead, you can purchase bolsters that react to your opponents' actions. With more workers and more resource generation comes increased power and popularity costs. You can also make metal or wood to build mechs and structures. Mastery of this board game takes time, and that’s because there’s so much more here than just engine building.

7. Dominion

The classic deck-building card game Dominion is all about adding fuel to your deck’s engine to ensure that you have efficient draw and coin generation. While it might seem tempting to only pick up victory points for the end of the game, these cards typically slow down your deck. Instead, you’ll need to build a setup with actions and treasures to ensure that you can do something meaningful every turn, whether it’s putting down a string of markets and villages or cursing your opponents. There’s also a ton of great Dominion expansions that utilize novel mechanics and gi??ve you more ways to win.

6. Underwater Cities

Underwater Cities is a building and development-themed board game in which each player aims? to effectively transform the sea floor with new civilizations. Science and research are of course essential to success, though you’ll also need to think carefully about where you’re going to put your domes and tunnels. Color-matching card placement will help ensure you get the most out of every turn, but this is often difficult depending on what y??ou have in your hand. Like all the best engine building board games, it’s both complex and satisfying.

5. Wingspan

The bird-themed board game Wingspan is a medium-weight engine and tableau builder that just about everyone will enjoy on game night. Each round, you can either play a bird to your mat, lay eggs, gather food, or draw. As you continue to put more cards down, these actions will become significantly more productive, and lead to some sizeable turns. There are ton of different effects to mix and match, because no ??two birds are alike. With the goal board and the variety of bonus cards available, no two games are quite the same either.

4. Race for the Galaxy

When you win a game of Race for the Galaxy, you’ll feel like you’ve conquered the entire universe. That’s because in each gam??e you’re working to bend an immense network of planets and solar systems to your will with new technologies and social changes. There are seven different phases that can happen in a given round, but each player can only choose one of them. As a result, the possible actions you can take will remain re??latively unpredictable. It’s a system that keeps things exciting right up to the very end.

3. Res Arcana

In Res Arcana, the engine you build will quite literally be magical. That’s of course because you and your fellow players are competing mages who have to manage a mi?x o?f essences to make artifacts and claim monuments. You’ll know everything about the items you have to work with up front at the start of the game, though the order in which you get to use these tools varies. The first player to ten points wins, and with the right engine, you might be able to pick up all these points in a single round.

2. Agricola

Agricola is the ultimate farming board game, and perfectly balances worker placement with engine development. Your farmstead has little to offer at the start of the game, but by adding rooms, working in the field, raising livestock, and having children, everything will begin to run more smoothly. You’ll have both occupation and minor improvement cards in your hand to aid you, but you can also choose to use the major improvements available on the table instead. The scoring system also gives you plenty of different routes to victory an?d rewards setups with more variance in production.

1. Terraforming Mars

When it comes to building up a resource generation and card effect engine, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as Terraforming Mars. Each player takes on the role of a corporation bent on turning the Red Planet into an industrious civilization that churns out a massive profit. You’ll start by increasing you??r production tracks with mines, microbes, and monetary investments. By the end you’ll be building space technology on Jupiter’s moons, constructing dom??ed cities, and thawing enough water to create an ocean. When it comes to engine building board games, it’s our top pick.

The post The 13?? Best Engine Building Board Games of All Time, Ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

With an arsenal of Terraforming Mars expansions at your side, conquering the Red Pl?anet is more exciting than ever. Whether you’re settling deep space colonies or building the Luna Metropolis, the added maps and game mechanics of the expansions bring additional layers of depth and chaos to the original board game. But which expansions are the biggest game changers? And which expansion is the best one to buy first? In this ??guide, you’ll find a complete breakdown of the game’s add-ons listed in the suggested purchasing order.

How Many Terraforming Mars Expansions Are There?

There are currently five official expansions for Terraforming Mars. However, Stronghold Games is working on three more, which will first be available via Kickstarter. There are also a few additional add-ons that develop the world of Terraforming Mars beyond the boundaries of the iconic board game. But before we get to those, let’s take a look at the main expa??nsions. 

1. Terraforming Mars: Prelude

If you’ve played Terraforming Mars without any of its expansions, you’ve probably noticed that the early generations can be quite slow. The cards in the Prelude box jumpstart your corporation’s production and terraform rating right out the gate, which puts you in the middle of the engine-building action when the game begins. For this reason alone, it’s easily the best Terraforming Mars expansion to buy first. The Prelude expansion also adds five new corpo?rations to the mix, ensuring further gameplay variance.

2. Terraforming Mars: Hellas & Elysium

The Hellas & Elysium expansion adds two new game boards that explore the far side of ??Mars. Ocean spaces shift positions, placement bonuses change, and cards like Noctis City lose their placement restrictions. In addition, each board offers new milestones and awards that change your strategy significantly. On the Hellas map, the temperature rises quickly. On the Elysium map, the game’s expensive cards are more impactful than ever.

3. Terraforming Mars: Colonies

With the Colonies expansion, the reach of your corporation extends to the distant expanses of the outer solar system. A randomized selection of the new colony tiles placed during setup represents destinations where players can either build a colony or send their trade fleet for resources. If you trade on the moons and planets where your opponents have a colony, they’ll benefit from your act??ions. The Colonies expansion also added 49 new project cards and five new corporatio??ns, so there are even more ways to win. 

4. Terraforming Mars: Turmoil

If you’ve already purchased all three of the expansions listed above but want further mechanics and gameplay variance for Terraforming Mars, you can go with either Turmoil or Venus Next. Turmoil is the most complex expansion available for the game, designed specifically for experienced players. It includes the new committee board, on which you can add your delegates to political parties to influence which?? party will be in power during the next generation. The ruling party then passes policies that alter the game environment. Alongside the committee board, a series of global events will also take place each generation, w?hich add considerable chaos to the game by restricting resources, decreasing temperature, and even destroying cities.

5. Terraforming Mars: Venus Next

The Venus Next expansion adds a new global parameter, the Venus track, which increases your terraform rating in a similar fashion to the temperature and oxygen scales. However, the Venus track doesn’t have to be maxed out for the game to end, which means it will sometimes be ignored entirely, depending on which corporations are in play. For this reason, Venus Next is the lowest priority expansion on this list. However, it adds five new corporations, 49 new project?? cards, ?and a few additional milestones and awards, all of which are definitely nice to have. 

Expanding the Terraforming Mars Universe

The world of Terraforming Mars includes more than the original board game and its expansions. If you can’t get enough of this fantastic universe, here are a few extra ways to amplify your Terraforming Mars experience.

Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition

It’s easy to mistake Ares Expedition for one of the original game’s expansions. However, it’s a standalone game that simplifies many of the core mechanics of the original. As a result, it plays at a significantly faster pace. While the oxygen and temperature parameters tied to the completion of the game remain the same as the predecessor game, tile placement is no longer important because oceans are locked in place and simply need to be flipped. The game also has three expansions of its own, Discovery, Foundations and Crisis.

Terraforming Mars: The Dice Game

Terraforming Mars: The Dice Game is another standalone game that reimplements many of the mechanics of the original. Dice randomize resource production, and only two of the three global parameters are needed to complete the game. It’s a good choice for younger players who enjoy the theme of Terraforming Mars.

The Terraforming Mars Book Trilogy

The Terraforming Mars books are neat novelties that provide extensive backstory for the events of the board game. There are three entries in the series, which begins with In The Shadow Of Deimos. The story continues in Edge Of Catastrophe and is completed in the final novel, Shores Of A New Horizon. The events of the books closely involve the Terraforming Committee and its influence on the taming of the Red Planet, which means they’ll make the most sense to gamers who have already played the Turmoil expansion. 

Terraforming Mars Puzzles

In addition to the games and books, there are also Terraforming Mars puzzles available for true collectors and enthusiasts. The Prelude and Colonies puzzles focus on the key art from the expansions after which they are named, while t??he corporations puzzle features a fun display of all the corporation and board game tile and card icons. 

The post The Complete Terraforming Mars Expansion Guide appeared first on Destructoid.

Love board games but tired of setting up all the pieces and organizing times when everyone can get together? Digital board games make it easy to sit down and enjoy a session of strategic combat, cooperative exploration, or competitive engine-building with friends online. In this list you’ll find a lineup of some of the best digital board games that you can dive into r?ight now. 

1. Dune: Imperium

In Dune: Imperium, your goal is to take control of the planet Arrakis and its spice. Increasing your standing on the game’s four influence tracks, which represent the Fremen, Bene Gesserit, Spacing Guild, and Empire, is just as essential as winning conflicts with other players. You’ll play as a great house leader, utilizing their unique passive and signet ring ability. The game is part deck-building and part worker placement, and one of its key expansions, Rise of Ix, is making its way to the digital port soon.

2. Terraforming Mars

As a rich Earth-based corporation, it’s your goal to make Mars habitable and take over as much of the pl??anet as possible. The game gives you an incredible variety of ways in which you can do this, from building cities and greeneries to crashing one of the planet’s moons against its surface. By increasing oxygen levels and temperature, as well as placing ocean tiles, you’ll accumulate terraform ratings and move towards the planet’s completion.

3. Scythe

It’s the 1920s, but the Great War is entering its next round of conflicts, in which giant mechs roam throughout Europe and destroy everything in their path. In this alternate history, engine-building and resource management are the name of the game. As the Nordic, Saxony, Polonia, Rusviet, or Crimea faction, you’ll conquer territories, engage in ?conflicts with other players, and work towards control of The Factory at the center of the board. The game also earns bonus points in my book for its fantastic artwork.

4. Wingspan

Whether you’re a bird enthusiast or not, Wingspan is an awesome strategy game. Here your goal is to play birds in each of the three biomes in your play area: wetland, grassland, and forest. As you? continue building each of these spaces, you can launch a series of satisfying effects based on the bird cards in each row and collect the points necessary for victory.

5. Everdell

Everdell is a fantastic worker placement game in which it’s your goal to build a thriving city inhabited entirely by adorable animals before the next winter. Playing cards from the meadow and managing your resources are at the core of the gameplay, but you can also host fun events, send your workers on journeys, or visit one of the game’s randomized forest areas. The music and atmosphere that the digital port?? brings to the game are fantastic.

6. Elder Signs: Omens

Elder Signs: Omens leans into classic Lovecraftian horror, with players trapped inside the Miskatonic University Museum wit??h an ancient demon that must be sealed away before time expires. It’s a cooperative or single-player dice-rolling experience in ??which your investigators will need to best a series of scenarios to collect the coveted Elder Signs, which close the portal to the beyond.

7. A Game of Thrones: The Board Game

One of the biggest problems with the physical edition of A Game of Thrones: The Board Game was that you needed six players in one place for four to six hours. Thankfully, the digital edition fixes this. As one of the great houses of Westeros, players conquer as many of the map’s castles as possible, allying with neighboring players or ??perhaps engaging in conflicts with them instead. Bidding power tokens for control of the Iron Throne, the Valyrian steel sword, and the messenger raven are ?also essential to achieving victory.

8. Mysterium

Mysterium is a cooperative game in which a team of psychics investigates a murder at an old manor, where a ghost attempts to communicate the details of its death to the living. Players are given strange, artistic clues that must be correctly interpreted before the clock runs out. Along the lines of Clue, you’ll need to successfully identify ?the correct person, place, and weapon to solve the c??ase.

9. Carcassonne- Tiles & Tactics

In Carcassonne, it's your objective to build a kingdom using a series of tiles containing fields, roads, cities, and monasteries. Cities with completed walls, roads? that successfully link two cities, and monasteries all work for increasing your score, as long as you’ve got ‘meeples�tokens in the correct space. It’s a classic g?ame that starts out simple, but you can also add any of the game’s six DLC expansions to make it even more fun.

10. Root

Root might look like a cute game based on its art, but it’s an intense war game. Players control one of four factions: Marquise de Cat, the Eyrie Dynasty, the Woodland Alliance, and the Vagabond. The strength of the game lies in the differences in play st?yle of the??se four factions, all of whom seek control over the woodland and its resources.

11. Dominion

If deck-building games are your favorite, Dominion is a must-play. The objective is to have the most victory points. However, these points are mostly tied to the worst cards during the game because they slow down your deck’s engine. Instead, you’ll want to buy gold and add a few of the game’s ten kingdom cards to your deck. These kingdom cards rotate each game, and there are hundreds to choose from if add on the game’s numerous expansions.

12. Gloomhaven

Gloomhaven is a dungeon crawler RPG in which you’ll play through an epic campaign as one of seventeen mercenaries, collecting loot, upgrading skills, and making critical decisions that affect the game’s story. Scenarios in the campaign play out following addictive turned-based exploration and combat. The world of Gloomhaven is original and de??eply engaging, and the game’s complexity makes it suitably challenging, even for experienced board gamer??s.

The post ??12 Great Digital Board Games You Can Play Right Now appeared first on Destructoid.

I'm becoming increasingly aware that a lot of my articles are about retro or classic games. Well, I am monstrously old, after all. And on that note, if you want a more modern version of the beloved 90s RTS game Dungeon Keeper, look no further.

KeeperFX is a fan project that aims to keep Bullfrog's l??egendary strategy game alive and well. The website says the aim is to "preserve and expand upon the original," while bringing with it improvements to the visuals and new feature?s.

It does require an official copy of Dungeon Keeper in order to play the FX version �either through a disc (remember those??) or a downlo??aded copy of the Gold Edition �but the fan project itself is free.

What's featured?

Here's a quick list of what you'll find in KeeperFX:

• Windows 7/10/11 support
• Higher screen resolutions
• Modernized controls
• Many bugfixes [sic]
• Additional campaigns and maps
• New level script commands
• New creatures, textures and sprites
• Multiplayer
• And much more!

In short, it retains the general look and feel of the ol' D-to-the-K,?? but with some modern overhauls.

Some of you may already be aware of KeeperFX as it's technically been around since 2008. However, the latest download represents build 1.0.0, aka the "first full version." According to the site, "all original Dungeon Keeper code has been rewritten" and it's a ful?ly open-so??urce standalone game.

For those with nostalgia on the brain, this sounds like a neat way to experience a gaming relic of the past. And let's be honest, we haven't had much luck from the series since that awful, awful, Dungeon Keeper mobile game.

The post KeeperFX is a fan project that’s keeping Dungeon Keeper alive appeared first on Destructoid.

Where would we be without Steam? It's easily the most popular way to download and play PC games in the current climate. The developer Valve also treats us to numerous events and sale?s throughout the year, and the next one is just around ??the corner.

If you like strategy games, then get ready for Steam Strategy Fest. As the name implies, this will be a celebration of all things? tactical. A recent promo video gives a brief hint at what's to come.

//youtu.be/xYp3ugqPxiA

The event will kick off Monday, August 28 at 10AM Pacific and w?ill go on until September 4, so that's a week in wh??ich to get your strategy on (that's a saying, right?)

What's to be expected?

As always, Steam isn't saying absolutely everything about Strategy Fest. Suffice it to say, you can find demos and discounted games on sale throughout the week. As for what's going to be on offer, it's hard to say, but the short video above outlines a few titles that are likely to be included, such as Dune: Spice Wars and The Riftbreaker. Essentially, if this is a genre you're into, you're bound to? find something you li?ke.

Considering that we recently had the Visual Novel Fest, and before that the Stealth Fest, Valve does a good job of making sure we all stay tuned into its gaming platform. We can't help ourselves. There's usually something for everyone at these sales events. They make our Steam libraries ?look nice and bulky, even if they have the opposite effect on our collective wallets and digital bank accounts.

The post Steam Strategy Fest begins next week, celebrates…well…strategy games appeared first on Destructoid.

It was dated today

So we've already gotten three waves of DLC for Fire Emblem Engage, all of which take place in the Paralogue Islands. Think of these like a "DLC paradise" of sorts, where you'll meet with more all-star members of the Fire Emblem cast and a?cquire more spirits to play with. Well, Wave 4 is a little bit meatier.

Instead of charact?er DLC, this time Nintendo i?s billing it as a "new story scenario." Titled "Fell Xenologue," you'll acquire new party members, and will adventure through new locations and maps (plural), as you attempt to potentially wrap up this game's universal storyline. Thanks to a new trailer from Nintendo, we do have a date for all this: April 5.

This is a pretty quick turnaround, when everything is said and done! Note that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 came out in mid 2022, and still hasn't hosted its big story DLC release yet. That's still coming in late 2023. Granted, story DLC for a game like Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is going to be even meatier than a Fire Emblem game: but it's nice that Engage fans don't have to wait that long.

Provided the DLC is worth it, at? least. Hopefully it de?livers!

All the details you need for Wave 4 of Fire Emblem Engage's DLC:

• It's a new story scenario called Fell Xenologue
• It includes new characters, locations, and maps, as well as more class types
• It's out on April 5

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_oeDuN3i6M

The post The big story DLC for F??ir??e Emblem Engage is out in April appeared first on Destructoid.

Multiverse of madness

We're almost at Wave 3 of the season pass for Fire Emblem Engage, and wow, that time has just flown by.

As revealed in the February Nintendo Direct, Hector, Soren, Camilla, Chrom, Robin, and Veronica are all coming to the game in spirit form. Chrom and Robin happen to be the newest kids on the block, and they actually launch on March 8. Thanks to the official Japanese Fire Emblem Twitte??r ?account, we have some footage of what that meeting actually looks like, and how the pair operate in battle.

You really can't go wrong with releasing all-star former series cast members as DLC, I have to say. Although not every facet of the fandom is going to be thrilled with "X or Y" inclusion, you're going to hit some superfans, and dropping them in duos is a great way to split the difference.? So far the character DLC has been a great appetizer for the main course. About that!

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R-M-DxcQ4Q

What's next for Fire Emblem Engage DLC?

As a reminder, Wave 4 is the big one. That includes the Fell Xenologue chapter, which is a new story sequence.

Most of the other DLC takes place in the Divine Paralogue islands, which is the core DLC destination.

Meeting Chrom and Robin in Fire Emblem Engage

//twitter.com/FireEmblemJP/sta??????????????????????????tus/16326?52380964802562

Chrom and Robin combat footage

//twitter.com/FireEmblemJP/status/1632655445696614?400

The post Chrom and Robin are coming to Fire Emblem Engage t?his week appeared first on Destructoid.

Give it a try

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope kind of came and went for a lot of folks, but it made a good impression all the same. Odds are you were either on the fence about it or just had a lot going on four months ago (I know most of us on staff did with all the games that were being dumped!??), but now you'll have a chance to check it out for free.

As of now, a demo is out on the Nintendo Switch eShop. The demo itself is fairly meaty, providing a glimpse of the intro to the game, as well as a chunk of the first area (Beacon Beach). This game still has life in it yet, as the Tower of Doom DLC is actually out today. More DLC is on the way too, including a Rayman add-on later this year.

If you do decide to pick it up as a result of the demo, you also have the benefit of post-launch patches, which have smoothed over some of the game's bigger glitches (including a progr??ess-haltin??g bug for 100% completion).

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjpbDzGz67U

Where to download the Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope demo

Head to this eShop listing page, and click the "download demo" icon? bel?ow the title, and above the digital price text

The post A Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope demo is?? out now on Switch appeared first on Destructoid.

No need to double the file size day one

Day one patches, especially on systems like the Switch where you might be running low on space to hold your games, can be infuriating. Although there is a host of post-launch content on the way, Fire Emblem Engage doesn't seem to be party to that yet.

As ??shared on the official Japanese Nintendo Switch support site, Fire Emblem Engage will be updated to "version ?1.1.0" today, essentially for the Japanese ??launch (and global launch on January 20). You can find the full translated patch notes below.

Fire Emblem Engage launch patch notes (Ver.1.1.0)

In short, the update patches in the DLC/season/expansion pass (which you'd need internet access for anyway), both in terms of the content itself, and the functionality from the main menu. It also has the added bonus of "update benefits," which typically includes minor gift-like items that are collected en masse through a menu. You'll get them automatically after reaching Chapter 5 in the game (the chapter you're on is visible whenever you save, so it'll be easy to spot), after manually visiting the Somniel: the hub zone of Fire Emblem Engage.

The post The Fire Emblem Engage launch patch is thankfully small: he?re are all the updates appeared first on Destructoid.

There's a lot there, especially when it comes to character customization

Fire Emblem Engage is out on January 20, and I can't wait until everyone rushes in and the impressions start flying out. Fire Emblem games have waltzed with relationship aspects for some time now, and although some folks have gotten used to them, others have rebuked the mechanic. Since Engage is heavily g??oing to cater to the? latter category, it's bound to get a wide variety of reactions.

For now, there's this gigantic eight minute ?trail?er from Nintendo that might help you decide whether or not this entry is for you. Given that this trailer is all gameplay pretty much??, it's a great thing to watch before you decide to drop $60 on it.

Here's everything that the Fire Emblem Engage overview trailer runs through:

• A reminder that there's "over 30 characters" to play as (who have backstories that can be viewed in-game)
• An emphasis on how you can swap classes freely, with the example of an early-game mage-like character swapping into a monk, and dealing big damage to an elite enemy
• A good overview of the battle system, from team composition to the intricacies of the turn-based combat system (including counters to each combat type, which might be helpful to jot down before you play)
• The trailer highlights some useful battle info, including the fact that before actually triggering an attack, you can see who will go first in the bottom middle of the screen: also, a suggestion to let lower-level characters deliver the final blow to enemies when leveling
• Footage of the Time Crystal in action, which lets you rewind turns
• A brief overview of the world map system, and the Somniel hub
• An explanation on how to grow bonds to trigger support conversations (fight close together, or heal each other)

Unlike a lot of other overview videos which are mostly filled with fluff, this one has a few good pointers! In that sense, it's great for complete newcomers as well as returning Fire Emblem veterans.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJCOoTp6v5I

The post This eight minute Fire Emblem Engage tra??iler will tell you everything you need to ?know about the game appeared first on Destructoid.

Yeah, I'd say it's engaging

It was crazy to see the moment when Fire Emblem really started to make it big out of Japan. I've said it often, but growing up with people who constantly questioned where Marth and Roy were from in Smash Bros., witnessing the star power of this series (to the point where it has multiple spinoffs) from every angle has been something else. And now that it's more in the public eye, it's also subject to quite a bit ?of scr??utiny.

I don't think people will object to much in Fire Emblem Engage, though.

[caption id="attachment_358177" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Fire Emblem Engage (Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Intelligent Systems
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: January 20, 2023
MSRP: $59.99

As I talked about in my preview session, I was immediately enamored by the tone of Fire Emblem Engage. The sense of whimsy and wonder it has resembles Lunar: The Silver Star Story and other bygone JRPGs, which is a wonderful thing. It has the "badass that's also goofy" trope, the aloof hero, the unflappable confidant: the whole nine yards. That might not be a lot of people's cup of tea, but I found myself remembering and connecting to character names more in Engage than most past en??tries, even as I amassed a bigger and better party as tim??e marched on.

The premise is very familiar fantasy: a great warrior and Divin?e Dragon named Alear by default (that's you!) defeated a fell dragon a thousand years ago, and the battle subsequently put you in a deep sleep. Fast forward to the timeline of the game, and your dragon mom (for real) senses a great evil again (that's the part where you wake up). Of course there's twists and turns along the way, as well as the humanistic angle of how this world's citizens live in the wake of the divine: which means there's plenty of political intrigue and clandestine machinations to be had.

I also bought into the "chosen one" conceit, because Alear has just enough characterization to feel like a part of the world, but not so much that they dominate the storyline. Some absurd looking costumes aside, this universe is full of interesting characters, and as I mentioned ab?ove, I got attached to quite a few of them. Not everything lands, and the story is predictable in chunks (especially toward the beginning), but it has so much energy (and the game has so much to do) that it's easy to keep moving forward.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJrItZRyALY

The other strong pillar of Engage is the fan service, which is mostly muted in the form of bonds through Emblem Rings. Point blank, this is an excuse to get people to connect to their favorite old Fire Emblem characters (like Roy and Marth), but the team went above and beyond in terms of how everything is actually impleme?nted. While those spirits are? heavily integrated into the actual plot (gathering all the Emblem Rings is the initial quest), they serve a mechanical purpose, and do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to party customization. At first it seemed like another "multiverse" style cash grab, but I was pleasantly surprised after seeing how it actually worked.

On top of the typical class swapping and advanced classes, you can pair up a character with a spirit via an Emblem Ring. This not only g??rants that party member bonuses, but it also allows them to merge into a super-charged form throughout the battle for a limited amount of turns. Bonds have a multifaceted impact throughout the game, allowing spirits to pass on passive skills, bond and interact through very short cutscenes on top of the normal bonding system (with the classic A, B, C level ranks), and of course, do cool stuff during combat like unleash a giant flame attack that hits multiple squares. Yo??u also have the option to "re-engage" as it were once the meter is full again, so there are strategic considerations with this system.

In Engage, you're constantly upgrading things that matter. Y??our equipment loadout can be changed, as well as your skillset, class, bond, and a lot more. As you progress with the story more options will be unlocked through the typical in-game shops, as well as the chance to create miniature rings tha??t confer bonuses on party members who don't have an all-powerful Emblem Ring equipped.

From a strategic standpoint Fire Emblem Engage plays out like past entries, and like many famous strategy RPGs (SRPGs). There's a grid-based system, a rock-paper-scissors gear mechanic (swords beat axes, axes beat lances, lances beat swords), a party to manage and kit out, and enemies to defeat or objectives to tack?le. With no durability there's a lot less worrying about upkeep and more of a focus on? loadouts: which matter quite a bit, since you can "break" enemy counterattacks for a turn with a hard weapon counter.

[caption id="attachment_358178" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The battle maps in Engage are interesting, particularly with the placement? of copious amounts of items, buff-inducing squares, cover, and bond bonuses: which grant you full bond charge after ending your movement on them. Even in some of the easier encounters the layouts do some heavy lifting to keep things moving along. Things move pretty fast, too.

The core flow of the game is effortlessly fun. After finishing a mission generally you get the chance to lightly explore a very small little zone (imagine freeing a town, then talking to the townsfolk after), then you go back to the world map and choose what to do next. If you were annoyed at the pacing of Three Houses, Engage should be a breath of fresh air. As much as I did like those pitstops in the hub in the last main entry, the freedom that Engage allows strikes a great balance. After completing a mission, in most cases, you have the option to move on through a world map to the next story bit: or take a break and do ??some paralogues (side missions)/head back home to the So??mniel hub.

You have the choice to go back to the hub, talk to everyone, do all the minigames, fish, spend time with your mystical pet, spar, change up the hub zone music, rewatch story bits in your room: you get the point. There's a lot to do if you want to stop and smell the roses, or you can just go full throttle and continue the narrative chapter by chapter. It's ref?reshing, because I'd constantly change up how I played based on how a particular mission went.

[caption id="attachment_358179" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

If things felt dicey, I'd look at all of the upgrades available and spend some time reconfiguring my party. Sometimes I'd do three or four chapters at a time without stopping. And in some cases, I'd spend a few hours at the hub just messing around, donating to allied countries' war efforts, combing through the achievements I hadn't unlocked yet (which grant bond fragments, which can be used for bond bonuses), looking at the animals I adopted from the st??ory zones, that sort of thing. There's just enough to do where things matter, but not so much that you'd feel like you're missing out if you don't grind out a particular fishing segment.

I was also able to do some light testing of the online trial system before launch, and while I likely won't be playing it full time, it does seem like a nice diversion. The two main modes involve a relay race against other players o??n the same map, and the ability to create your own (or play other) challenge maps online. You can even "take over" someone's run in the relay mode, which I did every so often just to try out different party?? builds and see if I could optimize something myself. As a completely optional diversion, I'd say it's a welcome addition.

When Fire Emblem Engage was first announced I was wary of the visual style, but it grew on me once I saw it in action. The strategic bits are smooth, the customization element is deep, and I'm a sucker for the tasteful fan service that we're getting with the appearance of past franchise heroes. If you were overwhelmed by Three Houses, this is a great follow-up that doesn't just follow that same formula: and in many ways, gets back to Fire Emblem basics.

The post Review: Fire Emblem Engage appeared first on Destructoid.

Things are looking up

Fire Emblem Engage is nearly here, and we talked quite a bit about it (and the expectations th??ere??in) recently in a preview article. At this point the only thing left is a few odds and ends, as the game is set to launch just next week on January 20, 2023.

Until that time, there's a few minor commercials that have popped up on Nintendo's YouTube channel, which provide a closer lo?ok at some of ??the game's major mechanics, and cast.

Fire Emblem Engage Commercial 1

The first commercial provides a brief look at the setup of the narrative, which you're probably going to be skipping if you're going in blind. The fant??astic elements and the more grounded kingdom hopping angle are briefly mentioned too, as well as quite a few closeups of bond system (including Alear, the main character, and Marth), and some combat animations. It's short, but to the point.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj4yHLTCd9Y

Fire Emblem Engage Commercial 2

The next commercial focuses more on the party members/Emblem Ring conceit, and has a short "tactics" section that gives us some brief strategic gameplay. The core of this video lies in the opportunities to customize your party, which includes class types and Emblem Ring/Engage pairings (read: equipping party members with the spirits of classic Fire Emblem characters).

Multiple heroes from prior Fire Emblem games are t??eased as well toward the end of the video.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5D8Qakq0GM

While short, these clips get the?? gist of the new entry across. Now all you need to do is wait for some impre??ssions, or for January 20 to hit so you can dive in.

The post These Fire Em?blem Engage commercials a?re likely our last look before launch appeared first on Destructoid.

Pre-orders are up now, too

By way of a new trailer, Capcom has confirmed that Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection is out on April 14.

Amazingly, the extent of the collection's online play has been revealed (Netbattle), with support for private and public matches. This is in addition to chip, style, and program trading (which will only be supported in Mega Man Battle Network 3 "and beyond"). As previously confirmed, the collection series will also have "over 180 songs" to listen to, as well as "over? 1,000 images" to peruse in a gallery.

You can pre-order it now on PS4, PC (Steam) and Switch, via a $60 bundle that includes both collections (the physical version has "one game card" if you were wondering). Individual collections will be available "separately at launch" for $39.99 each. In the meantime, here's some more info, and a ??rec??ap of what each collection actually entails.

When this was announced it was completely unexpected, but I'm stoked this happened. My original copies of every game are readily available in every collection, but this series deserves to live on through a new generation. While Capcom is no stranger to pushing out Mega Man collections instead of new releases: it's good enough for me, so long as said collections actually have a good amount of love and care put into them. So far, this packed Legacy Collection seems to be heading down the right path.

Here's a look at the online systems revealed this week

[gallery link="file" ids="35?4136,354137,354138,354139,354140,3541??41"]

Here's a new Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection trailer

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADBHfvEWNNk

Mega Man Battle Network Switch Volume 1 game list:

• Mega Man Battle Network
• Mega Man Battle Network 2
• Mega Man Battle Network 3 Blue
• Mega Man Battle Network 3 White

Mega Man Battle Network Switch Volume 2 game list:

• Mega Man Battle Network 4 Red Sun
• Mega Man Battle Network 4 Blue Moon
• Mega Man Battle Network 5 Team ProtoMan
• Mega Man Battle Network 5 Team Colonel
• Mega Man Battle Network 6 Cybeast Gregar
• Mega Man Battle Network 6 Cybeast Falzar

The post Save the date: Mega Man Bat??tle Network Legacy Collection is out on April 14 appeared first on Destructoid.

I like it 3000

When Firaxis Games has anything in the hopper, I perk up. Hell, even 2013's now-defunct Haunted Hollow was fun. So when Marvel's Midnight Suns was announced, wi??th no "co-devel?oped" chicanery, I was in.

What I got was a fun little romp that's very different from many games they've made in the past, XCOM included.

Marvel's Midnight Suns (PC [reviewed], PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Firaxis Games
Publisher: 2K
Released: December 2, 2022 (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S) | TBA (PS4, Switch, Xbox One X)
MSRP: $59.99

Most of the XCOM comparisons started to wane as more footage showed up: and I'm entirely OK with that. Midnight Suns is really more akin to Fire Emblem than anything else, complete with a (friendship) relationship minigame between party members, and a literal abbey that serves as your hub. Yes, you're going to be rubbing elbows with big-name Marvel heroes like Blade?? and Iron Man, but you're also going to be controlling an original character named "The Hunter," who serves as a blank slate fish out of water pen that i??nks the overarching story as you go along.

It's a veritable who's who of Marvel heroes and villains: big and small. The reliable heavy Crossbones is one of the first characters you even see, amid a sea of Hydra soldiers and mystics. In a very Indiana Jones opening sequence, Lilith (a powerful demon and main big bad) is awakened, and is immediately ?bad news. Cue Doctor Strange and Iron Man, who try to unite the clans and stop her. Amid a roster of big name heroes, most of which have headlined feature film??s, you also get to create the aforementioned Hunter that's part of the Midnight Suns: the magic-backed resistance effort against Lilith.

It's a clever move by the storytellers to provide the "chosen one" trope that all of the big stars play off of: but it in turn leads to some predictable beats. More than I anticipated, there's some real ham-fisted dialogue, but the boot can fit standard the MCU has set. By any standard, it can be cornbal?ly. Like many games with huge casts, a lot of the better moments are in the quieter moments: though there are some character intros that are pop-worthy, and will elicit audible gasps or cheers from Marvel fans playing along.

Those little moments? They center around some of the light dialogue choices when talking to people, to drill down aspects of their personality, or the mission at hand. Midnight Suns also has a cute little social network for heroes: which you know some writer was completely jazzed about working on. You aren't just selecting missions from a menu either (Midnight Suns has a war table where you do do that!). There's full-on RPG elements, like map exploration (with your avatar), crafting, party management, quests, and a hub (the abbey). The abbey is just big enough where it has a ?d??ecent amount of things to do; without feeling so sprawling that there's a lot of wasted space.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7Icc7o0ex4

So how do you actually play? Cards!

In Midnight Suns, card types include attacks, skills, and heroics. Each card costs a unit called a "card play," which you'll use to actually enact actions. You get three card plays per turn, barring special abilities that can refund them, or grant more plays on future turns (banking). There's more! Attacks charge your heroism, which can be used for more powerful heroic card effects (which might blast every enemy on the battlefield, for example). Skills are classified as support and buff effects, including card draw. You can also use the env?ironment on occasion, at the cost of heroism. Playing a quick card lets you refund a card action on a KO (meaning, it's perfect to save to clear out fodder).

Lesser minions can be killed instantly (they don't have a health bar), and elites need proper damage to kill. Some effects have bonuses like knockbacks, which you can aim. It's a smart system that keeps things quick, while maintaining the theme of stepping into the role of powerful larger-than-life heroes. Some missions have constant reinforcements coming in, which ensures that Midnight Suns isn't a cakewalk on higher difficulties.

Nothing is strictly grid-based. Battlegrounds are more like a loose arena with guidelines, littered with objects like dumpsters and power transformers stuffed in that you can slam enemies with (or into). There's light movement considerations, which can matter for positioning, ra??nge, and some moves that knock enemies into each other.

Once you pick it up, it's easy to get in the groove, especially on PC with quick clicks. I was impressed at how the game carried itself as soon as I shot my first repulsor blast. The effects are awesome looking in the literal sense, at least on PC: I can see why the team opted to forgo previous generation console releases for the time being. The combat banter is fun to listen to as well, especially with characters who don't like each other: it's all playing off that small-time dialogue strength that so many modern RPGs are good at, like most of the Dragon Age series.

The more you play and the more cards you get, the more interesting the mechanics kind of layer on top of one another. Do you KO weaker enemies and clear the board or soften up elites? I started to spot environmental objects with a keener eye, attempting to weave together combos that could take out bigger enemies in one turn, rather than one and a half. It's fun, it's fast,? and it's all in the moment.

Where Midnight Suns faltered a bit for me was with what I'd call "fluff" missions. Things can get samey, especially when fighting repeat enemy types like Hydra Soldiers with standard tactics. The action is great, even after seeing the same animations and dialogue cues over and over, but the enemy layouts and arena-based formula don't always hold up, and are conducive to taking breaks between sessions (or spending more time in the abbey). Some story missions have required heroes (the Hunter included), but others let you mix in your favorites, so you can change things up t??hat way.

Crazily, there are eight difficulty levels: easy, normal, three versions of heroic (billed as an "increased challenge") and three levels of an ultimate tier ("a serious challenge"). Most of the nuances include bonus hero XP and m??ission bonuses at the cost of higher enemy health. Every single one of these barring easy and normal are locked at the start, asking players to "complete mission??s and collect star ratings" to earn them.

If you're wondering about any 2K-related meddling, there's a "NightStalker Blade" newsletter skin, and a marketplace for special skins [suits] was open, but we were provided with a??ll of them. A few look like palette swaps, and several are extremely transformative, like Fallen Hulk for Hulk. So far, this seems to be the main premium content push (knock on wood).

In several respects, Midnight Suns reflects the tendencies of the more streamlined, popcorny, and entertaining MCU films. It isn't what I expected, in a good way. It's incredibly easy to recommend to any Marvel fan, and is simple enough to pick up and play for strategy newcomers. Although the?? highs aren't as high as some of Firaxis' past work, those of you who latch onto the relationship building, social network, and silly moments will find a lot of joy here: I absolutely wouldn't be su??rprised to see Hunter cosplay at future conventions.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Marvel’s Midnight Suns appeared first on Destructoid.

Yeah, this was worth bringing back again

It's hard to really stress how incredible Tactics Ogre's legacy is. Originally debuting in 1995 in Japan, it gained a lot of traction in 1997 on PlayStation with a North American release. While I can distinctly point to January of 1998, and Final Fantasy Tactics, as the time where I went "yeah, I'm pretty into SRPGs," Tactics Ogre really was the genesis of it, beyond what I had dabbled in before it. It was the talk of my friend groups, and got so many people into the genre. So when, out of nowhere, I learned that it was coming back in 2022 (beyond the PSP edition) as Tactics Ogre: Reborn, I was ecstati?c.

Yes, let's rediscover one of the most interesting SRPGs ever made, through a modern lens, with a completely new audience in play. This "final trailer" tha??t arrived today on Square Enix's YouTube shows off what we can expect before it hits on PC, Switch, PS4, and PS5 on November 11. It's basically an overview of the themes and mechanics of the game, but if you want to completely skip most of the story beats (as vague as they may be), I recommend watching everything 1:30 on.

As a reiteration, here's ever?ything Square Enix is touting as new:

"Based on the 2010 release, the game features improved graphics and sound, as well as updated game design, bringing to life a new Tactics Ogre that remains true to its roots. Tactics Ogre veterans will experience a game that surpasses their fondest memories, while players new to Tactics Ogre will discover a game unlike any they've ever played. Reborn and deeper than ever, the game enables players to immerse themselves in the world and intrigue of Tactics Ogre like never before."

To stress again: definitely put this on your radar. Tactics Ogre is an evergreen story, and one th?at should live on through as many platforms as possible. The easier it is to experience this vision, the better: especially given that the PSP storefront is dead. Thankfully, at the very least, PSP copies are fairly cheap, running folks around $40 on average.

See, I'm already prepping you for picking up every versio?n of this game early!

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVNyoeik0ig

The post Tactics Ogre: Reborn sti??ll looks dope as hell in final trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

Deadpool and Venom are among them

It's a 2K game, so of course the Midnight Suns season pass is a thing. Announced this? week via the below trailer (presented by Deadpool), it'l?l bring more characters into the fray.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=blw2Q0YZI_E

Here's what we have so far for the Midnight Suns season pass:

• DLC Content Pack 1 - Deadpool - A foulmouthed mercenary with a heart of gold, Deadpool has a penchant for grisly violence and lighthearted, fourth-wall breaking wisecracks.
• DLC Content Pack 2 - Venom - Spider-Man’s nemesis and one of the main game’s bosses, Venom turns playable hero in DLC #2, armed with all of the same symbiote attacks that once threatened the lives of the Midnight Suns.
• DLC Content Pack 3 - Morbius - One of the original comic book Midnight Sons, Morbius is an accomplished biochemist who, in an attempt to cure his own rare blood disease, turned himself into a living vampire.
• DLC Content Pack 4 - Storm - A powerful member of the X-Men, Storm has the ability to generate and manipulate wind, lightning, rain, and other types of weather to her will.

Yes, Deadpool makes a "Morbin' Time" joke in the video.

According to 2K, the pass will also be sprinkled with additional content beyond the characters; like more levels and items. Midnight Suns is still slated for a December 2 release on PC, PS4, PS5, and Series X/S. The Switch version and prior generations are allegedly coming later, though? there's no date in sight, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were canceled.

As one of the last big games of 2022 , I think I speak for strategy and Marvel enthusiasts alike when I say that I hope this one is worth it. With Firaxis at the helm it's really?? hard to go wrong, but putting big characters like this behind a season p??ass doesn't inspire confidence.

The post The Midnight Suns season pass will have a few heavy-hitting char??ac??ters appeared first on Destructoid.

He needs no introduction

It's hard to believe that Fire Emblem Engage is already coming in January, but Nintendo seems dead set on that soonish release date: and is steadily showing off more of the game (albeit on the official Fire Emblem Japanese Twitter account). Amid the sprinkling of gameplay (more so than the trailer) we've gotten so far, the latest set of clips includes gameplay of a series star. New Fire Emblem Engage Marth footage is out thanks to the series' Twitter account, and gives us a better look a?t the hero in action.

Here is the full introduction/mini character bio from the inaugural tweet (translated/?cleaned up), which also reveals his Japanese voice actor:

"Marth (CV: Hikaru Midorikawa) is commonly known as 'The B?eginning Heraldry', and? is a noble and charismatic hero among heroes. He is the prince of the Altea Kingdom, located in the alien continent of Archanea,"

We get to see how guest characters seem to appear in Engage, and Marth is reconfirmed as a sword user in this entry. There will also be some sto?ry ele??ments involved with the summoned heroes, including the below conversation with the main character.

If Engage pulls this off, and manages to bring in some of the most celebrated characters in this series' ?lengthy history, it could lead to some explosive moments. Ideally the team actually manages to m??ake these portions sing: and elevates them over a fanservice-like inclusion.

Fire Emblem Engage Marth footage:

//twi?tter.com/FireEmblemJ??P/status/1575757841809408000

The post Nintendo shows off Marth in Fire Emblem Engage appeared first on Destructoid.

"We will announce the new date once it has been determined"

As you may recall, we reported six months ago that Advance Wars 1+2: Reboot Camp (a remake of Advance Wars 1 and 2 with extra features on Switch) had been delayed due to recent world events. Since then we haven't heard an official statement from Nintendo; and even during the Nintendo Direct this week, the publisher remai??ned silent on when it may see the light of day.

That silence has been broken via a statement from a Nintendo rep, who spoke to Stephen Totilo from Axios this week. Here's their full reply:

"The release has been delayed. We will announce the new date ??once it has been determin?ed."

Totilo had asked if the game had been fully canceled, which it doesn't seem to be at this time, given that it's "still delayed" as of this week. Beyond current events, Nintendo also has several considerations when it comes to determining the Advance Wars 1+2: Reboot Camp launch date. The game is fully completed, and they can stick it into any schedul??e lull they so choose. They could also use the opportunity of an event or stream to "re-announce" it to the world.

With that in mind, given the bevy of strategy games we're going to see on the Switch based on the Nintendo Direct presentation alone, there's plenty of other things to play in the meantime, even if Advance Wars 1+2 continues to be delayed. Strategy game fans are seeing a renaiss??ance of sorts, and the Switch is a great fit for many titles that would have previously been relegated to handhelds.

The post Nintendo says it hasn’t canceled Advance Wars 1+2 for Switch, though it remains delayed appeared first on Destructoid.

A trio of Front Mission Remake projects are coming to Switch

Nintendo gave us the rundown on the trio of Front Mission Remake titles today during this morning's Nintendo Direct. Wait, three? Yep!

The initial remake (titled Front Mission 1st: Remake) is out in November (originally slated for "summer" of 2022), with the sequel coming "next year." These were already announced. However, there's also a Front Mission 3 project announced "for the future."

Here's a recap of what to expect from Nintendo: "You’ll pilot giant machines called Wanzers in tactical turn-based combat. As you progress, you’ll obtain Skills that can help you gain the upper hand against opponents. Continue the battle in the sequel, Front Mission 2: Remake, previously unreleased outside of Japan! Take advantage of additional features, like more terrain effects, weapon and armor attributes, and over 80 new skills. You can also test your mettle at the Colosseum and use the Network sy??stem to gain intel on events as they unfold.?"

There's no shortage of strategy games available on the Switch, whether it's restored classics or brand-new projects. The thi?rd game, however, is really the one I'm waiting for. It's one of my all-time favorite strategy games, and that box art is burned in my mind. I mean, it's just a mech and a brown colo?r scheme! But it stuck with me.

The post Front Mission Remake dates announce?d, Front Mission 3 Remake confirmed appeared first on Destructoid.

Become a politician; without selling your soul

Ever since Paradox Interactive announced Victoria 3, I've been in a state of semi-disbelief. It was a strategy game in-joke for so long that I couldn't believe it was really happening. I was provided a preview build of the upcoming socio-economic grand strategy game t??hanks to Paradox. To quote Sidra Holland and Jackie Chiles, it's "real, and it's fantastic." And soon, you too can politick to your heart's content when the game releases on October 25, 2022.

For those of you present who aren't cool enough to know what the Victoria series is all about, an introduction is in order. Victoria is a grand strategy game series aptly set during the Victorian era. Whereas other entries in the Paradox family of grand strategy games focus on war or lineage, Victoria's focus lies in economics and the changing political landscape of the dawning Modern age. Starting in 1836, you control a country and all of its economy and laws while trying to improve the lives of your citizenry. You know how you always scream at your screen that you "can do better" whenever some talking head politician messes everything up? Victoria allows you to put your money (or national credit) where your mouth is?.

The problem with the Victoria series is that we've been devoid of a new entry since 2010 and the last entry is a notoriously hard nut to crack for various reasons. From the Version 0.1 build that I played, I can safely say that Victoria 3 is well on its way to addressing many of the barriers to?? entry that its previous entries had.

Bringing the Modern Age into the Digital Age

The first improvement that stood out to me was the UI/UX design, even compared to games as recent as Imperator: Rome. At a closed-door press demo, game director Martin Anward emphasized that while Victoria 3 would be easier for new players to get into, it would not come at the expense of complexity but through streamlining how information is presented. Your basic menus where you take the various temperatures of your na?tion are all still pre??sent, but sorters and filters have been given big buttons to help you get to what you need quickly.

On top of menus, important overlays of the map have also been given big buttons at the b??ottom of the screen to show you the big picture of how your empir?e (and anyone else on the map) are doing in regards to metrics such as production and consumption, quality of life, what have you.

Additionally, nearly every term, metric, item, and country has been given what is called a nested tooltip. Those who have played Crusader Kings III will recognize the feature as it is used in the base release of that game as well. By hovering over a color-coded word in a menu, you will get both a breakdown of what it means, as well as a look at how well you are doing in terms of said metric. After a few seconds of hovering over the term, the tooltip window will soft lock on your screen and you can then navigate to a nested?? tooltip within your nested tooltip. I think I maxed out at three tooltip windows as I was delving deep into my economy. It did start to get a bit crowded for simple mouse movement, but I had all the information I needed, and it didn't re??quire going to the Official Victoria wiki.

I know what you're thinking, "menu ?design, what a place to start for a preview" �but all of your decisions and actions will be made through menus?, so it's nice to see that a concerted effort has been made to streamline the intake of information for a topic as complex as economics and how that affects your populace. But fine, if you want something juicier than menu improvements, how about an actual developer-made tutorial mode?

Ooooh, teach me, Amadeus.

With nearly every previous Paradox grand strategy game, you were given a very base tutorial that mostly entailed how to navigate menus and complete actions. Past that point, you were left to your own devices to figure out how to succeed which at the time meant digging into double-digit hours of YouTube videos. Victoria 3 has not only a tutorial mode but also an objective mode that g??uides you with completing nations such as a hegemonic ruler or an egalitarian utopia.

In said tutorial mode, you are given a breadcrumb trail that acts as an interactive Econ and Poly Sci 101. Various objectives such as "grow your GDP" or "make a political party that doesn't like you happier" are presented to you and you are given the option of being shown why you should do that, and if you want to be truly handheld, how you can go about it. However, sometimes the objectives were a bit redundant. It got annoying when they were trying to make me placate a social group that stood in staunch opposition to the policies I was trying to enact. But the game never yelled at me for ignoring it. Even with the redundancy of one or two objectives, I was able to get my economy into working order thanks to training mode. Before this in Victoria 2, I had considerable trouble achieving it.

It could be easy to handwave away something as simple as an objective or tutorial mode, but when it comes to the Victoria series, it's incredibly welcoming to players who don't have an established knowledge of something as complex as statesmanship (i.e., most people). This addition is not only huge for the Victoria series, but also for the gre??ater Paradox grand strategy library. Is a tutorial also not doing it for you? How about a map improvement?

The map is alive with the sound of social upheaval

A?lso new to the Paradox grand strategy library as a whole is a new "living map."

Previous entries of the map interface were pretty much just colors and lines akin to political maps. In Victoria 3, the map has received a major update to show how your country is evolving through visual cues. You can now see new cities and factories popping up along with infrastructural changes such as trains running in your states. The neat thing about this new feature is that it isn't just arbitrary additions ?on ??the map �you can see that new building you built on the map. It's a little touch but it helps in helping drive home the connection between you and your populace.

While the addition of the living map is nice, it did adversely affect performance on my Ryzen 7 3700/RTX 2070 Super build. The d?evelopment team did assure us at the conference that it was a preview build of the game and improvements would be implemented before launch, but it was still noticeable enough to lead to brief slowdowns and even a crash once.

War, (HUH), what is it good for?

One of the main concerns that arose since the announcement of Victoria 3 was the perceived absence of autonomy for war and how it is waged. Whereas every other Paradox game allowed you to wage war as you saw fit, Victoria 3 has done away with direct control of your armies and is instead leaving this task up to generals and admirals that you assign to your armed forces and waging war based on their characteristi?cs. While the loss of autonomy in warfare is felt, you have other ways of interacting with foreign nations through the use of hostile diplomacy in what is being referred to as diplomatic plays.

In a diplomatic play, you can attempt to force a foreign government to change one of its policies to something that you deem more fit for your liking. At this point, a battle of the wills pops up between the two nations. Demands and possible concessions are laid out by both sides, with the opportunity for allies and even regional neighbors to get involved in the diplomatic battle. Anyone who gets involve?d can do anything from simply getting their toes wet with economic support, all the way up to committing troops to a potential conflict (with demands of their own to be met by the main player they are siding with). If something can be worked out, great, all parties walk away (mostly) unscathed. But if talks fail to reach a compromise, then the two sides will escalate to war. War is then conducted through the use of high-level strategic?? choices that you dictate such as assigning generals to armies and placing said armies along fronts.

The developers have essentially taken t?he war goal/casus belli mechanic from every other game in their repertoire and expanded it for the purposes of diplomacy. I will admit that the only action I saw in diplomatic plays ?was sitting on the bench waiting to be called up by a larger country as repayment for a good deed they did for me earlier. I did come close to forcing a change from an isolationist trade policy to an open market, but peace won.

Fun with finance (and flags)

I've been waiting for Victoria 3 for what seems like forever. By the time I returned to PC gaming in the mid-2010s, Victoria 2 was already falling out of date as Paradox refined its craft and had begun to make its games more easily palatable to the uninitiated. I've always been a closet political junkie, and I'm a big enough nerd to love the concept of econo??mics and international trade. So it was all about waiting for my turn in the sun. After a week and a h?alf with the preview build, I can tell that my turn is coming.

The entire time I had with the preview, I was having a blast. The game sucked me in, grabbed hold of my attention, and refused to let go. I couldn't stop thinking about my long-term goals and would frequently boot up the game to implement a policy change I thought of while doing real-world stuff. One evening, my poor partner came rushing into our computer room thinking something was gravely wrong ?with me because I was muttering curses at length. America had cut off my supply of small arms, and my economy took a turn for the worst because o?f it. I wanted America's head, and I was ready to back anyone who felt the same way but was limited by my size. I was promptly called a loser and left to smolder in my rage.

Victoria 3 is, without a doubt, not for everyone. It also has some ways to go before it is street-ready. But for a preview build, it ran pretty well most of the time. Even with the times where it stumbled, Victoria 3 was the most fun I've had with a grand strate??gy game ever. There is no greater joy than growing your economy while also increasing your infrastructure. I can't wait to get back into the big? chair and bring my nation into a prosperous new era of social equality.

Victoria 3 will release for PC on October 25, 2022.

The post Impressions: I got to play Victoria 3 a??nd so can you this October appeared first on Destructoid.

Legion of Doom

Fans of veteran tactical combat series Jagged Alliance are already getting their gear together for the long-awaited sequel Jagged Alliance 3, which is currently in development at studio Haemimont Games. Publisher THQ Nordic released a new trailer for the RTS title during this weekend's Digital Showcase.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah9O1LQXIvE

Once again set against the backdrop of Grand Chien, Jagged Alliance 3 sees the fictional republic overthrown by a dangerous paramilitary force following the mysterious disappearance of its president. As "The Legion" embeds itself within each and every sector of the troubled nation, the family of its missing ruler reaches o??ut to ??the clandestine Adonis corporation to send its best team of black ops mercenaries to locate the president, defeat The Legion, and restore Grand Chien to its former state of (relative) order.

The new sequel, which will arrive a full two decades on from 1999's Jagged Alliance 2, will feature the tactical engagement and strategic gameplay of its predecessor, powered by a brand new engine and modern-day mechanics. A huge cast of new and familiar mercenaries will be made available for the player's home-grown militia, given access to a huge arsenal of we?aponry, equipment, and explosive, town-rattling gear. Battle The Legion's forces, train local insurgents, and retake the Grand Chien street-by-street in explosive campaign action alone or with co-op support.

Jagged Alliance 3 is currently in development?? for PC. A release window has not been announ?ced.

The post Ja??gged Alliance 3 gameplay trailer spotlights ??calculating RTS action appeared first on Destructoid.

The Subnautica studio has a new IP on deck for Opening Night Live, and it's turn-based

As August ramps up, more pieces in the Gamescom puzzle are falling into place. Subnautica and Natural Selection creator Unknown Worlds has already locked in the reveal of its next game �a ??turn-based sci-fi strategy game that's a part of a "n??ew IP."

We'll learn more about this strategy game during the Geoff Keighley-hosted Gamescom: Opening Night Live streaming showcase on August 23 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific.

According to Krafton, Inc., "Unknown Worlds co-founder and game director, Charlie Cleveland, will officially reveal a new IP set in a sci-fi world that features imaginative turn-based gameplay. Striking Distance Studios' CEO Glen Schofield will also take the stage at Opening Night Live to share a new look at The Callisto Protocol, the upcoming next-generation survival horror game that is set to launch on Dec. 2, 20??22."

"So excited to finally share what I've been obsessed with, and working on every day, for quite a few years," tweeted Cleveland. "OBSESSED."

"We'll show you lots of gameplay too," Keighley added.

[caption id="attachment_338829" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Krafton's Gamescom 2022 crew.}[/caption]

I honestly keep forgetting that Krafton owns Unknown Worlds, but this reveal should be a firm reminder. Previously, the pair described the new game as "gen??re-defining" and suggested it would have an Early Access launch; par for the?? course for this team.

Unknown Worlds has also been hiring for more Subnautica, so don't sweat it

What about the next Subnautica? I'm all riled up thinking a??bout the po??ssibilities.

Last we heard, the team was looking for a senior narrative designer to take point on "the next game in the Subnautica universe." Some of the most memorable moments are also the most terrifying, and while it's good to have a wide appeal, freaky ocean exploration sets this series apart. Of course, it can't be unsettling the whole time �calmer, quieter breaks need to be there t??oo. There are a lot of directions the story can go from here.

Unknown Worlds has quite a bit of goodwill to spare, so whether it's this new sci-fi strategy title or another Subnautica, they've got our attention. See you at Gamescom?

The post Unknown Worlds is bringing a new sci-fi strategy game to Gamesco??m appeared first on Destructoid.

You can also pick up Recompile

A StarCraft: Remastered free download is front and center for this newest Prime Gaming update: set to arrive at the start of August.

As Prime Gaming continues to shuffle in new games alongside of other publisher-driven services, Amazon Prime subscibers have new games to claim. Several are relatively unknown, a few are higher-profile indies (comparatively), and the one Amazon chose to put front and center is StarCraft: Remastered. Not paying for a Blizz?ard game sounds pretty great right ??now to a lot of people, I bet.

If you need a refresher, here is what StarCraft: Remastered does differently:

• Full graphical upgrade of the original StarCraft and the StarCraft: Brood War expansion
• Widescreen UHD support for up to 4K resolution
• New matchmaking and leaderboards
• Player profiles that track individual statistics
• Cloud saving for campaign progress, hotkeys, and replays
• Higher fidelity music and sound
• Switch between Remastered and the original StarCraft

Beyond StarCraft: Remastered, you can find the full free lineup below.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BzNM2pyzW8

August 2022 free games with Prime month:

• • StarCraft: Remastered

  • Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders

  • Beasts of Maravilla Island

  • Recompile

  • ScourgeBringer

  • Family Mysteries: Poisonous Promises

August 2022  new in-game content with Prime: 

• • • Apex Legends

    • Call of Duty

    • Destiny 2

    • Fall Guys

    • Grand Theft Auto Online

    • League of Legends

    • World of Warcraft

The post The August Prime Gaming free lineup curiously involves StarCr?aft: Remastered appeared first on Destructoid.

I have to stress: the original

Warcraft III turns 20 years old this week: just let that sink in. The strategy classic originally arrived on July 3, 2002, and changed the genre (and eventua??lly, other subgenres) forever.

I can vividly recall when Warcraft III came out, as a friend of mine took off school for several days, and declined to hang out with my gaming group that weekend in favor of playing through the entire campaign. That act of isolation ensorcelled me into running out and buying it, and once we had a LAN setup going at his house, the rest was history. By then Warcraft III had fully caught on in the ze?itgeist, and was on its way to becoming one of the most popular strategy games of all time.

Before long, we were playing hundreds of hours of custom games. Entire weekends were spent (with Diablo 2 hell mode breaks) trying to find the best custom games possible, and we'd all go out in these little individual excursion missions downloading them before taking turns presenting the group with the coolest, most-lasting maps to play. Eventually, someone found DOTA, and that tu??rned into its own game (and genre) �but you know that story!

Years later, when we met my wife, one of the first things we did was surf custom games together (lots of tower defense!). It's been ??a unifying element throughout my entire life as long as it has existed.

All of the above is why it's such a shame that Reforged replaced the original client going forward. While the re-release did finally get an update recently, it's not only too little too late, but it's not enough. Hopefully if Blizzard hasn't gotten around to it but the time Microsoft takes over, the new owners will make it right. If all else fails, just de-couple Reforged entirely: the cla??ssic version of the g??ame deserves to live on beyond file sharing.

The post W?a??rcraft III turns 20 this week, and the original left quite the legacy appeared first on Destructoid.

With real-time skirmishes

Our first game reveal of Summer Game Fest 2022 involved Xenomorphs, and that had to be on someone's bingo card, right? Tindalos Interactive and Focus Entertainment showed off a cinematic trailer for Aliens: Dark Descent with soldier?s facing a seemingly h?opeless situation �you know the one! �and a sneaky bit of isometric gameplay footage at the end. It's a (single-player) squad-based action game. Not what I was expecting, at all.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W_fIqBj3gc

The game's official site fills in more info, with a mention of "permanent" death, "shortcuts" and "safe zones," and "setting up motion trackers in a persistent world where your actions impact levels forever." Aliens: Dark Descent will have threats like Facehuggers, Alien Queens, rogue humans, and a "host of horrifying creatures new to the Alien franchi??se." On that note, this is an "original" story, so things could get... experimental.

As little as the trailer gives away, I like the sound of needing to manage "health, resources, and sanity, to avoid permanent team losses and mental breakdowns" between missions. Granted, I'd do a terrible job if games like XCOM are any indication, but this alien-infested train could derail in a memorable way. ?Can I name my squ?ad after friends and family?

Fly me to the moon, Lethe

"The gameplay we have developed is unique, inspired from our favorite tactical and CRPG games? and packaged in nerve-wracking, real-time action," said Focus Entertainment managing director John Bert. The lighting looks good, I will say. Here's another screen:

While this might not be the Alien: Isolation sequel we've all been waiting for, and the story trailer does little for me, the actua?l gameplay foundation here seems like a potentially strong setup. Until proven otherwise, I think it's a decent use of the license. Part of it is going to come ??????????????????????????down to the controls, though, so we'll see how it turns out.

Aliens: Dark Descent is coming t?o PC?, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in 2023.

The post Aliens: Dark Descent is a squad action? game inspired by? CRPGs appeared first on Destructoid.