Review: Return to Dark Tower is a pricey yet fascinating sequel

Return to The Dark TowerPerhaps the most ambitious product ever created by a restore game is a board game with legacy in one or more ways.This high concept hybrid electronic board game is about to respect the cult classic The dark tower, First released in 1981. It was also funded by Kickstarter in February 2020, less than a month after the COVID-19 pandemic changed our world forever. About a year and a half has passed since the delivery date was promised, and the copy has finally arrived at the patronage. Despite the hurdles that hindered its development and production Return to The Dark Tower Nevertheless, it is an exceptional board game. And, like the original, in the center is a towering mass of black plastic that is as novel and peculiar as the original.

The dark tower A legend of its own era, its arrival was foretold by none other than the sweet tones. Orson Welles With a memorable TV advertising campaign. It featured an iconic circular plate dominated by a precursory plastic citadel in its center. An elaborate centerpiece with an ominous beep will bring you a terrifying and captivating experience every time you bring it to the table.

One of the most interesting aspects of this new release is that it’s assembled as a sequel, not a reimagination. The story of its predecessor, referred to on the opening page of the manual, explains that the tower has been abandoned for some time while great evil is agitated in its depth. The challenge currently being presented lies in the awakening of structures, as literally evil spills from every opening to terrorize the land.

Players play the role of avid heroes such as relic hunters and brutal warlords. The box has four options, each boasting its own abilities and playstyle. Unlike its predecessor Return to The Dark Tower It is now a fully collaborative design and offers a secondary contention mode that mimics the original format. Character asymmetry supports a strong foundation for collaborative structures to encourage discussion and allow the protagonist to take advantage of the niche.

Much of the session is spent crossing the kingdom and purifying the land from the small skulls ejected from the tower. You need to balance this cleanup with the places you visit and gain resources such as a fiery spirit to promote growth and the addition of unknown soldiers to your followers. It also has the task of confronting inferior enemies such as hostile bandits, terrifying spiders, and thunder-like giants. Your character will advance and unlock new abilities and items. This will help enrich the identity of the fantasy RPG. Eventually, you’ll meet the requirements of the scenario and confront the bosses that emerge from the central fortress.

Image: Restoration game

The evolution of both settings and mechanisms is amazing. First, the motif is dark and stylish, vaguely evoking the Lord of the Rings atmosphere. This atmosphere is provided with an ominous nature, but it is never harsh. The world is fantastic, yet clearer and more exciting than the original.

The transition to co-operative form is also very modern. This style of board game exploded in popularity with the following hit releases: Pandemic When Gloomhaven Lead the way. Moving the Dark Tower family to this wonderful shared experience is a great choice. It focuses Animas on the centerpiece that dominates the table, as opposed to the fierce competition of scooping keys found in its ancestors.

The first encounter with the Monolithic Tower was one of the anxieties, but it didn’t mean the intended theme. Large mechanical parts are equipped with moving parts and electronic sensors that provide information to free apps that need to be downloaded to mobile phones via Bluetooth. When I turned it on for the first time, the tower was interrupted and locked. It was an unexploded ordnance. After investigating this issue, my particular issue seems to affect only a few consumers. The repair game was very quick to ship replacements.

I was quite shocked when the tower started to function properly. It is a short top in every sense and is dominated by its table presence and simply having such a large silhouette. I love it being a bit uncomfortable and too high, obscuring the view on the other side of the board and stretching my neck to get a glimpse of the shadow surface at the edge of the kingdom. This is great because the tower is impressive, gives the theme of choking and domination, and gives an absolute and powerful immersive feeling.

Photo: Repair game

Curiously, however, the tower is in a strange zone of being a complex slice of a digital wizard, an unintelligent automaton. It’s a kind of illusion, and you can hypnotize an ambitious participant, but only one person hasn’t looked into the activity at that moment in great detail.

Magic mainly occurs during player actions. At the end of each turn, the player drops a plastic skull on top of the tower. This may trigger an event. This is an elegant way to randomize your feedback and keep your table cluttered with additional card decks. It also causes moments of calm tension while you wait for your destiny.

At its best, the tower spins around and lights up, new monsters spawn, skulls are drained and everyone keeps the edge while devastating the land. During play, you will be instructed to remove the seal — a plastic door that closes the exit inside the tower. In contrast to one of the exits mentioned above, glyphs can stare into your eyes. These are properly annoying as they force you to spend additional resources to perform basic actions in the gaming world. Then, as you get used to this annoyance, the tower spins and three skulls spit out on your face, colliding with the abandoned game board below. It’s just a big chunk of plastic, but in my game I started to feel that certain players were maliciously targeted, even though the behavior was clearly random and unintelligent.

If you actually look at what the tower is doing, you may come to the conclusion that you can do more. The cynic may describe the citadel as a tower of glorious dice. It just randomizes what throws the skull while providing horrifying sound effects. I sympathize with this critique, but the tower’s performance is certainly fascinating and provides a great background for the ongoing battle. If you can immerse yourself in the story being told and commit to the experience, it’s a great theatrical prop.

Photo: Repair game

Photo: Repair game

Photo: Repair game

Photo: Repair game

Surprisingly, the companion app you need is more than just driving the dark tower that bears its name. This is the main mechanic of combat, managing resource depletion and character impact.Some dungeons are sometimes displayed on the map, and the app is used to explore them by choosing from multiple routes with a layout reminiscent of the original dungeon. The Legend of Zelda.. Entering a new room has the same effect as the result of an enemy attack. This is a very simple yet exciting system that presents a micro-level story to embody a more epic story. They also become more attractive because they are not overused.

In addition, one of the main features of the app is to randomize the content of the game. The beautiful aspect of this game is that it offers many different enemies of different strengths with several different scenarios. You can manually select the option you want to face or let the application decide the combination. The options here are powerful. In particular, scenarios range from caravan escorts to treasure digging to exploring three mysterious dungeons.

Return to The Dark Tower It is worth noting that the use of technology and the latest design principles is very smooth. It’s a simple, streamlined game that you can play with your 8-year-old daughter, but it also has enough strategic dynamics to confront a group of adults who enjoy their hobbies. The only downside seems to be its price.

When Kickstarter was launched in 2020 Return to The Dark Tower It costs a whopping $ 125.The tough economic conditions of the last few years have made it cooler now $ 190.. It’s a huge price for board games and hard for many to swallow. It positions the game as the centerpiece of the collection and limits its wide appeal.

Perhaps because of its cost, some may be disappointed that this modernization did not fully commit to a longer and more complex strategic design, as opposed to the current accessible approach. But it’s really amazing how well it settles in the perfect position to appeal to newcomers as well as adults who enjoyed their previous entry when they were young. It does this in both the drama of the story and the physical awe. As such, it’s a very unparalleled adventure.

Return to The Dark Tower Currently, we are full of supporters of crowdfunding campaigns. The second printing campaign will start Backer kit soon. It was reviewed with a physical copy provided by Restoration Games. VoxMedia has an affiliate partnership. These do not affect your edited content, but VoxMedia may earn commissions on products purchased through affiliate links.Can be found Click here for additional information regarding Polygon’s ethical policy..