February 2017 – Page 3

Review: The Frostrune

February 10, 2017 Kelsey Rinella 4

iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac • I worry about Scandinavians. They’ve been exporting bleakness long enough that it may actually have overtaken mythology as their principal cultural product. The Frostrune mixes peanut butter* with a bar of that bitter chocolate: it’s a point-and-click adventure in which you play the lone survivor of shipwreck, a thirteen-year-old girl. After washing ashore, you discover that everyone you encounter is dead, murdered by a legendary being with the power to create magical ice in summertime. I’ll spoil the happy ending for you: you use necromancy to stop it, but everybody’s still dead and you’re still alone.

Short Cuts: The Horus Heresy: Battle For Tallarn

February 9, 2017 Alex Connolly 1

iOS Universal, PC/Mac • The Games Workshop licensing bonanza continues. Crazy Warehouse Man says all licenses must go by midnight tonight! No exceptions. Battlefleet Gothic: SOLD! Man-o-War: Bring your floaties, we’ve got the flintlocks! Necromunda: It just makes such perfect sense! And don’t think we forgot about your massed armour fans! Sadly, that’s as excited as I’ll ever get when discussing HexWar’s absolutely perfunctory turn-based effort. I’m beginning to think they’ve kept the art team on and sent the coders home. What makes The Horus Heresy: Battle of Tallarn a tough one to level criticism at is a by-the-book approach to both source material and its tactical crunch. If ever a game felt like it was helping a studio reach a monthly quota, Battle of Tallarn is it.

Not a Miss Fisher fan? Tin Man announces release date for mobile Warlock of Firetop Mountain

February 8, 2017 David Neumann 1

iOS Universal, PC/Mac • With two stories in one day, it’s beginning to feel like Tin Man Games day around here. That’s okay, as they make some great interactive fiction ranging all the way from Shakespeare to the 41st millennium. Earlier today, they were busy conquering 1920’s Melbourne, but later this month they’ll tackle Firetop Mountain. That’s right, the long awaited dungeon crawl, Warlock of Firetop Mountain, is due to release for iOS later this month.

Tin Man Games delivers Miss Fisher on iOS

February 8, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS Universal • As someone who neither has a Netflix account nor lives in Australia–two things I’d like to correct before I die–I am completely unaware of who Phryne Fisher is. Luckily, for rubes like me, there’s Wikipedia which tells me that she’s the star of a series of books and a television show set in the flapper-decked world of the 1920’s. Oh, and she solves mysteries. I probably should have led with that. Regardless, Tin Man Games is bringing Miss Fisher to our iDevices today with their latest piece of interactive fiction, Miss Fisher and the Deathly Maze.

Rise of the Elders: Cthulhu hoping to bring new Lovecraftian horror to digital

February 8, 2017 David Neumann 1

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • When I wrote about my love for Fantasy Flight’s latest foray into the Lovecraft universe yesterday, I seem to have opened a gate allowing news of other Cthulhu-themed games to ooze into my inbox like the tendrils of a great otherworldly and indescribable beast. Yeah, it was pretty cool. The developer playing Nyarlathotep in this scenario is a new one, Strange Matter, who came together last year in France. Their first game is currently in development and, more importantly, now on Kickstarter. It’s called Rise of the Elders: Cthulhu and promises the tactical feel of XCOM, the globe-hopping adventure of Eldritch Horror, and the RPG depth of Call of Cthulhu. It should come as no surprise that I was interested in hearing more.

Cardboard Critique: Arkham Horror The Card Game

February 7, 2017 David Neumann 44

Tabletop • While the Cthulhu Mythos burst like a purulent, racist boil from the twisted mind of H.P. Lovecraft way back in the 1920’s, it’s only been in the last 10 years or so that Fantasy Flight Games has managed to turn it into a means to print money. Fantasy Flight has mastered the genre and has created a handful of tabletop titles rife with existential dread and, of course, tentacles. Their latest recalls their first, and most popular, game to tread these dark paths: Arkham Horror. Only this time, there’s no board, no 8,000 cardboard chits, and no FAQ full of rules exceptions. Just cards. Lots and lots of cards.

Star Realms creator back on Kickstarter with Epic Card Game

February 6, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • Getting an original CCG up and running on the App Store isn’t as easy as it sounds. Just ask Stone Blade how tough it was getting SolForge to actually make them any money. That’s not stopping White Wizard Games from trying with their Epic Card Game. Already available in cardboard form, the digital version is now on Kickstarter and should be making its way to our phones this autumn. For backers, however, you can play it much, much sooner.

Guild of Dungeoneering set to expand with Ice Cream Headaches

February 6, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac • Yes, I know it’s terribly flawed, but one of my favorite time wasters of 2016 was Gambrinous’ dungeon-builder-crawler, Guild of Dungeoneering. Featuring a combat mechanism that could have become rote, but instead was kept interesting via deck building and the promise of unlocking more stuff, GoD was one of my most played titles of the year. The problem came when there was no more stuff to find. Eventually the map is cleared and every new room in your guild has been built. Luckily, Gambrinous has kept adding new content starting with last year’s Pirate’s Cove and their latest expansion, Ice Cream Headaches, coming this week.

The Frostrune promises mystery and adventure based on Viking legends

February 3, 2017 David Neumann 1

iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac • One of Owen’s favorite developers was Simogo, the devs behind such weird classics as Year Walk and Device 6. He followed their every move and forced the rest of us to get as excited as he was about whatever mysterious and bizarre teaser trailer they were using to push their next gig. It must have rubbed off on me a little because very little about The Frostrune would have caught my eye if it weren’t for the Simogo-ness of it all. The trailers are beautiful, yet completely opaque regarding what the hell is actually going on. In other words, it looks pretty great.

Talisman prepares to enter the Firelands

February 2, 2017 David Neumann 1

iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac • If it seems like it’s only been a few weeks since Nomad Games updated their venerable flagship, Talisman, I can’t blame you. It’s actually been over a month, but the Talisman expansions are so numerous at this point it feels like there’s a new one each time you load up the app. Today is like that, except when I loaded it up there really was a new expansion waiting for me, The Firelands. It’s probably waiting for you, too. Go check, we’ll wait.