Recensioni recenti di MichaelOmegatron

The quick review: An endearing turn-based video game, in the skin of a tabletop board game. It’s a great time once you learn to accept it for what it is, warts and all.

Note: I played single player only (never touched multiplayer), and played on my PC with a DS4 controller. I have heard of stories of friends teaming up against solos, which scared me away from the multiplayer.


My time with Armello began with a rocky start. After playing through the prologue, I was still confused by a lot of the basic rules and mechanics of the game. The UI seemed more like an obstacle to fight through than a helping aid. I was conflicted, because behind the frustrating and confusing presentation I could sense there was something fun buried underneath. But I didn’t think it was for me...However, I also wasn’t too keen on the idea of giving up and feeling like I wasted money for a game that would just sit in my library...So I pushed through. Now 53 played-hours later, looking back at that conflicted impression, I’m so glad I stuck it out! Armello has found an endearing place in my heart.

Gameplay:
The object of the game is to become the new Ruler of Armello. Before a game you choose a character from 4 different clans. Each clan has unique buffs to choose from and each character has a unique ability. I only have the base characters and felt they were well balanced. Each player takes a turn moving through tiles across a randomly generated board. They play cards to do a variety of things like equip items, sabotage other players, cast spells, etc. The different tiles can have different effects that are helpful or harmful. Combat is based primarily on dice rolls, with some potential input to sway their outcomes. The game has a lot of RNG in it, which I actually think makes it fun and adds to its aesthetic. There are 4 different victory conditions, though two of them are essentially the same thing. But the variety does add some depth to the gameplay.

Some fantasy games incorporate elemental-types or class-types that have advantages/disadvantages with each other. Armello does not. What’s good or bad for one character is true for all characters. Rather, what really matters is what your play style is for that game session. If you’re going for a rot victory, then rot is good for your play session. Otherwise it’s just an annoying way to lose 1 HP per turn. So what’s good or bad is fluid in this game, which adds to the replayability.

Speaking of play style and fluidity, it’s best to approach each game with the flexibility to change course based on how the game is going, or how the RNG treats you as you play. If you try to force a type of victory, you might get frustrated.

One weird thing about this game is dying. You die a lot. But death is treated as a mechanic, not necessarily as a defeat. When you die you respawn at your base, which sometimes is desirable if you need to travel to that side of the map quickly.

There are a lot of rules, but since it’s a video game, the AI takes care of a lot of the calculations and stuff, so it’s a much more streamlined experience. It definitely stays true to the slow pace of a tabletop game.

Overall there is a lot of risk vs reward assessment, which works to help counter and work alongside the RNG elements. This makes for a nice mix of immersive competition and light-hearted gameplay.


User Interface/tutorial:
This is my big negative mark against Armello. (Playing with a DS4 controller. I can’t speak for keyboard and mouse).

Armello presents itself as a tabletop board game, but thinking of it as one actually hampered my enjoyment. It was only after I learned to let go of my board game expectations that it began to win me over.

The User Interface is clunky, and doesn’t follow the expected gamer intuition you learn growing up playing video games. First example: I expected the left analogue stick to move my “active cursor” on the board, while the right stick freely moved the camera. Instead, the camera was locked to the left stick, and moving between tiles led to clunky and awkward viewing. The right stick fast forwards AI turns by holding it right, and up and down zooms the camera in and out.

Big problem: You cannot zoom out to see the whole board. If you zoom out, a cloudy haze obscures the board. The inability to take the whole board in at once is by design! I really don’t understand...

Second example: To view character info and equipped items, you must click Triangle or Square respectively. But Circle doesn’t exit out, as you would expect. Instead you must hit Triangle or Square again respectively, as a toggle. Exiting a menu is not typically a toggle.

Third example: At the beginning of a turn, during what most board games call an “up keep” phase, every effect gets processed super quick, faster than you can keep track of. You’ll see player stats go up and down, HP drained, resources gained, all too fast to process just why these things are happening.

What this adds up to is a frustrating UI and control scheme that actively prevents you from full-board awareness. And that awareness is something that seems so basic to any board game. The ability to see, think, and react to the different cards and buffs on the board or equipped to characters is just taken for granted when you’ve got physical cards and tokens and friends sitting at a table, where everyone can reference the material in front of them.

Also to note for multiplayer, you can play cards on an opponents turn. This can be difficult to execute in the limited time given to you, especially when you factor in the clunky controls.


Once I got used to the controls, and realized this was a video game that wanted me to play a certain way and not a board game that should allow me basic access to basic info easily, I began to have more fun.

Another low point: The prologue tutorial. It left me confused with more questions than answers, making the game less accessible than it needs to be. I would consider this game as having a sharp learning curve for this reason. I ended up watching some videos on YouTube to learn how to play. I strongly suggest you do the same.

Atmosphere:
This is where the game really shines for me! From the gorgeous art style, the saturated colors, the flowing peaceful and mysterious music, to some basic environment sound effects, it really hits home with this addictive concoction of fantasy and adventure. Outside of the prologue, there’s not much story in the game. Yet, I could sense story in all of these elements. I could sense history, fear, hope, and war. I would get lost playing multiple games at a time, forgetting about how much real world time was passing because I felt so immersed in the fiction. I believe this is what really hooked me in and kept me from giving up at the beginning. I’m really gonna miss the atmosphere once I move onto other games.

The musical score was a really big hit for me. I’ll probably buy the soundtrack so I can use it for other real world table top games I play. Or even just to remember the fun times I had in this game. Excellent music.

Overall, the atmosphere is just fantastic. To me, the atmosphere of a game is very important. It’s the magical ingredient that can really sell me on a game when it lines up with fun gameplay. Armello nails this on the head!

Closing thoughts: Don’t let the almost assuredly confusing and lukewarm first impression deter you. Armello is a charming experience full of fun, magic, charm, and competition. The RNG is prevalent, as you would expect from a dice based game. But the limiting UI prevents me from calling this a tabletop game in a pure sense. I definitely recommend Armello! Just stay flexible with your play style, and learn to accept it for what it is, warts and all.

There is an undeniable charm to Puddle Knights, which greatly helps the patience required for this difficult puzzle game. The colorful art style, quirky premise, and light music plays easy on the eyes and ears. The overall atmosphere is very inviting, which is important because you are going to be spending a lot of time trying to figure these levels out.

As other reviews have said, it is "deceptively simple" due to its charm. Underneath the hood is a very real challenge that I believe will only appeal to a certain audience. This game is not for everyone. If you just want to play through it as a casual player, you will have to look up solutions, guaranteed. If you don't mind doing that because you just want to experience a quirky puzzle game, then it's a very simple game. There are no quick reflexes needed. You simply move around a grid and switch between characters to do so.

But if you're like me, and you want to figure it out for yourself, then that's where the real challenge lies. Some of these levels are brutal. There is usually a "hook" to these puzzles, some position you need to reach from which the rest of the puzzle will flow smoothly. But it's not always easy to figure out what that is. I had a couple puzzles by the end that I just couldn't "read" because the design was so minimal. (For example, a level where there are two nobles, two knights, and one large mud field of a level). When I finally figured them out, I was so happy that I redid them and recorded the solutions for myself. NO other game has ever had me feel I needed to record an accomplishment because I didn't think I would be able to do it again. It's a HARD game.

You need patience. You need a curious mind. You need to be ok with sitting in front of a screen, looking at the same puzzle, iterating until it clicks and you finally get it. Spending a session working on one puzzle and not getting anywhere with it is not uncommon. There were a handful that stumped me like that. But when you finally figure it out, it's such a validating and cathartic feeling! This game definitely gave me a sense of accomplishment.

I recommend this game to people who are interested in figuring out puzzles and committed to not looking up answers. If you have the patience to push through, it's a really fun game! If you think you would get frustrated by spending an hour or two on some puzzles and possibly not figuring them out in that sitting, then this might not be for you. Don't let the charm fool you. This is not an easy game. It's challenging, requires focus, and challenges the mind in a very satisfying way. If this sounds like fun to you, I highly recommend it! I thoroughly enjoyed myself.