iOS, Android, PC/Mac •
A few years ago, Upper Deck leaped onto the board game scene with a deck-builder set in the Marvel universe. It was called Legendary, and since then has taken on so many different IPs that it’s nearly impossible to name them all. Luckily, we don’t have to name them because the digital version of Legendary is right around the corner and instead of using one of the existing IPs, the digital version will have a new fantasy theme tacked on. Considering how much everyone seems to love Marvel everything, I might be the only person on Earth excited by this change of scenery.
As popular as the Legendary card game is, I’ve never touched it. Nothing against Upper Deck, but I’m not a huge fan of pure deck-building titles. I prefer my deck-building as a secondary (or even tertiary) mechanism, rather than “building a deck” being the main focus. I’m not a huge fan of Dominion or Ascension, but give me some Mage Knight or A Study in Emerald, and I’ll play all day. I dislike deck-builders a lot less when they’re on my iPad, however, where games are short and fast and you’re not shuffling every other minute. So, I’m looking forward to getting trying Legendary when it releases next Thursday, August 17. Until then, I’m going to have to copy/paste blurbs:
…the game is set in the fantastical world of Alamyth, where players recruit legendary heroes and fight terrifying forces of evil. Players journey through the Firelands and other mythical worlds to fight the likes of Leprechaun Henchmen and dangerous evil villains. While players fight to the end collecting victory points for the win, the Mastermind ‘Terriskai: Terror of The Skies’ is scheming to complete his evil plan to defeat the entire group of players for the ultimate victory.
The Legendary DXP digital game allows users to customize their gaming experience like never before. Players will now be able to select any one of five completely different match types: Solo play (play vs A.I.), VS Friends (play against your friends), Quick Match (randomly puts players together), Custom Match (allows users to configure matches) and The Gauntlet (allows for ongoing 5 player tournaments). In addition to having a chance to win exclusive in-game rewards through tournaments and weekly leagues in The Gauntlet, Legendary DXP will also offer players a wide variety of cosmetic enhancements via microtransactions.
That last bit answers a lot of questions. There will be IAP, but we’re talking about skins and whatnot instead of buying the best gear or cards or whatever. Like I said, I haven’t played the game. While I can’t find info about pricing on the Upper Deck or Legendary Twitter, TouchArcade is reporting that the game will be free to download with an IAP to unlock the full game. During Gen Con (Aug 17-20) the price to unlock will be $2, and it will jump to $5 when the con is over.
Legendary DXP (still not sure what the DXP stands for…digital experience?) will be released for iOS, Android, and PC/Mac. I will be at Gen Con next week, so I’ll see if I can get more info on Legendary while I’m there.
I really enjoy both the Marvel and the Alien versions of this game and would gladly have paid a premium price for those IPs.
I’m pretty disappointed with the regression to a generic fantasy theme, but if TA’s prices are correct, I’ll gladly nab it for $2 because that’s a steal.
Marvel or no, the best part about this app is that I no longer have to spend 15 minutes setting up the game then twice that putting it away.
A user over at BGG Indicated that this is online-only…ugh, I hate that!
There’s no way they could use any of their IP for this.
They don’t have the rights to make any kind of digital media Marvel product, for one thing. Probably the same with all of the other ones.
Oh, I know, but a guy can wish, right?
This looks promising! I had been on the fence about buying the physical card game, but $2 is a perfect price to try it out. Hopefully Upper Deck will offer a chance to try the game out at GenCon.
You don’t like ascension? Hmm… this is news to me…
I think it would be neat if they gave us a “cave” board (or even the first 2-3 board spaces) that function like the Alien variant where cards come in face down and you actually have to explore them blindly. That mechanic upped the intensity in the game considerably.
Don’t mind Ascension on the iPad–kind of like it, actually–but playing it on the tabletop is a chore.
Aren’t most deckbuilders? Even worse than the ascension-style are the dominion-style, where setup can be a pain but tear down is no fun at all. Legendary is still the most headache-inducing deck builder I’ve come across, but I’m sure there are other candidates out there for the worst.
Yeah. I thought I kind of covered that in the first paragraph.
Any game that involves shuffling is better in digital :))
Yeah, we have Marvel Legendary, and I like the game well enough, but have wished for a digital version since before I ever played it.
I’d love to see this version take off, then maybe they could draw enough interest to pub some of the other IPs, either as IAP packs or standalone games, sort of like Pinball FX.
It is unlikely that it will ever happen, but if this system can be easily re-skinned, it would be awesome if they affered various IP skins. Heck, is even take generic skins - sci-fi, Cthulhu, horror, whatever.
I kind of like shuffling, but then again I am a bit of a fidget and it gives my hands something to do
This is now available on iPads, though initial reports say it’s a bit of a mess.
Just came here to say this - heard the UI is a hot mess and lots of crashes.
Unfortunately, like I said earlier, I’ll probably buy it warts and all. $2 for the unlock plus (allegedly) GenCon promos is a hard price to resist.
Not to mention that I heard it will go up to $5 after Gencon (maybe that’s the “Gencon promo”?)
I bought it just for that reason.
I also have to assume that some of the bugs get ironed out.
Odd that the release version is 0.09. Release rushed for the start of GenCon today?
I think that’s the prevailing theory.
Curious about this one myself. Are these crashes primarily mp play related?
Somewhere out there is a contract that mandates a GenCon release. That’s pretty obvious.
It’s pretty sketchy to tell your potential customers: “Hey, either give us $2 right now for this buggy piece of shit … or give us $5 later for an app that might actually work.”
Upper Deck could fuck up a free lunch.
I agree with this completely, but I’m one of the suckers who is going to take the bait anyway. I’ll skip my morning coffee and break even.
If I skipped my morning coffee I would get a horrible headache from caffeine withdrawal.
Maybe I should have said skip “a morning coffee” because there is never just one and I never go without…
For what it’s worth, an update to version 1.01 is already live.
Edit: Take that @Baelnor!
I was just coming here right now to say it, but mirefox beat me to it
This game is not Async is it? I think I just wasted $2 probably, I don’t even see a tutorial.
It’s rough around the edges, fun stuff like needing to quickly respond to some card an opponent played that you might not fully understand can occur, but after a game or 2 it makes sense.
This is a great 5 min summation of the rules and gameplay flow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5Lt3niMUpgHard pass, even with the update. Reviews indicate ongoing problems.
What a shit-show. I’ll check back in two or three months.
I admire your self-control. I was all geared up to buy a hot GenCon release and I was really hoping for a surprise like Exodus Proxima Centauri, Through The Ages, or Smash Up. If any of those had released, I’d have waited in Legendary as well.
It is releases like this that make you appreciate how well executed the Playdek stuff or Digidiced stuff is
Since we are all bashing the game (and deservedly so at this point). I’ll throw out a positive:
The art is good enough that I quickly forgot about the missing Marvel IP.
The game definitely has potential. Gameplay is currently excruciating and I despise the business model, but I’ll probably check in with every major update because when the game functions as it should it could be fun.
According to AppShopper, there is another update out. Among some bug fixes, the turn timer in solo has been increased to 60:00.
I already deleted the app, but if anyone tries this out and finds the experience any better, please let us know here.
Same thought.
Two updates released, according to the version history … but reviews still mention what I would consider to be basic UI issues.
I can’t help feeling that it’s not my fault they signed a GenCon-deadline contract. That’s their problem.
Any SP-ers struggling through?
I gave it another shot. It’s functional, but frustrating. The new turn timer gives you all the time in the world to make your decisions, but the rest of the game flies by without giving you much of a chance to see what is happening. Other UI quirks leave me scratching my head as to why the game was designed the way it was.
There really is a good core game buried in the mess and it is playable as is, though far from ideal.
Actually, I take that back. I’m going on a road trip out to rural PA, so the game won’t be playable for me since they made some brain-melting decision to require an internet connection.
I know it’s my job to check these things out, but I’m not touching this donkey with a 30’ pole.
Seriously … I feel like it’s three full updates away from maybe a look.
The GenCon deadline was a disaster for all parties involved.
Well, one step forward, I suppose. Keep in mind that thus far I’ve only played solo and that I am already familiar with the game. Solo mode now seems to be bug free, at least. AI players were removed, so solo is now truely solo. Unfortunately, there are almost no customization options, so you play with the decks that the game decides you are going to play with. As for UI, I was thrown for a loop at first because double-tapping to view a card now buys/attacks it, so I had to learn to use long presses instead. It isn’t ideal, but it works fine. Still, play Ascension, developers! My biggest usability complaint is still that the game automates certain game effects too quickly. If you draw a scheme twist, for example, it quickly flashes the card then throws cards around the table at the speed of light to resolve the effect.
I still maintain that there is a good game in here and it is a shame it was rushed so badly, but there are also some design decisions that baffle me and have nothing to do with rushed development.
Another update dropped. Next time my wife is out with the girlfriends and I’m home alone with nothing to do but drink and look longingly at all the board games I have nobody to play with I will probably install it again and give it a try.
Welcome to my world, brother! I’m convinced neglected board games weep.
Another update, another promise of fixes. We will see.
On the plus side, this recent update made the game a universal app.
They added a permanent sidebar on tablet to see card details. Call me fickle but it was an immediate app delete moment.
Yeah, wow! What a horrific and inelegant solution to a problem.
Deleted long ago. And I like Legendary.
Such a beginning-to-end UI fail. And the rush to hit a (contract-driven?) GenCon deadline made a terrible first impression.
I kind of wish you would look at the all new UI just to hear your reaction😏
Another update, and I’m sure another disappointment. I will always have hope for this game because if it ever get ironed out (aka a full-makeover 2.0 version), I could see myself playing quite a bit.
In addition to “bug fixes” and “UI improvements” the patch notes claim an all-new pack system to grow your collection. Because what this game needed most was a random pack economy…
I’m fairly certain the cheesy pack stuff is only to unlock the their silly foil versions of the existing cards, not actual new content/cards. So many of these updates seem to be related to perfecting their “foil metagame” which is beyond pointless to me.