The base game, which will be available for $70 via Kickstarter, boasts a 30-hour campaign, according to Steamforged. The more challenging the creature, the more lucrative the rewards, which can then be turned into new weapons and armor. The miniatures for the Monster Hunter: World board game 3D printed, part of a promotional demo version of the game.Īccording to the instructions, players can take on different and more difficult monsters over time. However, it’s the campaign portion itself that’s still mostly a mystery to me. It’s a much richer system than I’ve seen in previous games in the genre, and gives players lots of reasons to upgrade their weapons later in the campaign. There’s a stamina system baked in as well, which means players will have to shepherd their resources wisely. Those cards have lots of information on them, including whether or not they stun the monster or cause portions of its body to break off with repeated blows. Players make attacks by placing cards from their hand onto the sideboard one at a time. Photo: Charlie Hall/PolygonĪnother innovation is Monster Hunter’s player attack system, which is tracked using a sideboard. Like the miniatures, everything you’re seeing in this article is a work in progress. Steamforged’s reliance on clever iconography might make it more appealing to fans of the video game franchise, but it could also mean certain features of each card get skipped or overlooked from time to time. The result is a kind of checklist that groups can follow, top to bottom, to make sure they’re getting things right. Kingdom Death: Monster simply writes the creature moves out with words on much larger cards. I wonder, though, how easy it is to read these cards in practice. It’s a simple innovation, but one that can give savvy players an edge in future fights. Each lunge puts it out of position, allowing players two chances to attack it.īut the cards also have a type symbol on the back, meaning that players can read the monster’s moves in advance and predict - at least in part - what they’ll do next. Meanwhile, with Forward Roll, it attacks first for seven damage, then moves forward. With Head Slam, for instance, the Jagras moves forward two spaces before attacking the area directly in front of it. Using iconography common to the Monster Hunter: World video game, each card tells players where to move the creatures and how to attack with them. In the image above you can see those AI cards on the left, with titles such as Head Slam or Forward Roll. Where the nuance comes in is with the creature AI. Both have seen a lot of action during playtesting. On the left are AI cards used to control the Great Jagras. Prototype cards for Monster Hunter: World - The Board Game. Faint three times during a hunt and the monster runs off, sending you and your comrades home empty-handed, but otherwise ready to fight another day. Steamforged’s approach, on the other hand, is much more forgiving: Run out of life, and characters simply faint. Kingdom Death is known for its high-stakes permadeath mechanic that can stop a weeks-long campaign in its tracks. Only by learning their subtle moves and tendencies can players hope to defeat monsters in a timely fashion and finish the campaign.Īs a board game, Monster Hunter most closely resembles Kingdom Death: Monster, another tactical miniatures game with AI-controlled monsters. Each creature is controlled by a deck of cards, which are shuffled before every hunt. In Monster Hunter: World - The Board Game, players take on the role of skilled warriors working together the take down massive creatures. It also doesn’t hurt that the miniatures - at least these 3D-printed mock-ups - are spectacular. It adds complexity, but without making things feel overwhelming. Monster Hunter manages to avoid some of the pitfalls and missteps of games in the same genre. After a few hours bringing down a Great Jagras and an Anjanath, I found this to be a surprisingly nuanced tactical miniatures game. I spent the weekend with an early, incomplete prototype of the game. With Monster Hunter: World - The Board Game, however, the U.K.-based developer seems to be firing on all cylinders. Later, Resident Evil 2: The Board Game had plenty of interesting concepts, but just as many issues with build quality. Several years ago the developer’s interpretation of the Dark Souls universe let me down due to its grueling, repetitive style of play. I’ve been fairly critical of Steamforged Games’ products in the past.
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