COMPONENTS - I can only speak to the miniatures version. The box, books, cards, and board are all excellent. The storage solutions for tokens and such work great, and they have really nice guides for how to get the game set up and how to put it away again. The minis look incredible. The only negative is that a couple of mine have arms that don't always stay on. I could glue them, but that would mess up the whole "push to fit" thing. 0:00 - Introduction 0:33 - Narrative Campaign 1:32 - Character Options 2:36 - Boss Mechanics 3:36 - Tactics and Tests 4:43 - Battleflow 5:44 - Final Thoughts
The boss announcing its action is one reason I enjoy deck-building video games like Slay the Spire, Monster Train, etc. over traditional RPG. Like you said, much more tactical and rewarding than a lucky draw. Aeon’s End gets a grandfather pass, but I do prefer this style.
I'm still trying to convince myself that I only need the standee version for the reprint. Not because I don't want the minis, but because I don't have much space left. 😅
I'd take double sided player boards, better quality cards, better dice over miniatures any day. The minis are nice but I'll easily sacrifice that for standees if it means some of the things I mentioned is offered instead for a similar cost.
Game I most regret I didn't back. But no worries, next campaign is coming soon, so I'm probably just like 3 years and 200$ shipping (standee version) from playing it!
Excellent work, per usual. The daily e-mail checks will continue until otherwise noted. Hate reading in games normally, but futzing around/reading through the app makes me want to table this really badly. Some cool looking/sounding bosses!
Hey Mike - What's your current favorite boss battler game of this type? (or maybe top 3). Also which game do you think you'd go back to more ofter Stars of Akkarios or Oathsworn?
I’m about to play Akarios. It’s on my table. So stay tuned with that one. And right now, Oathsworn might be tops for boss battlers, but I’m hopeful Primal is even better when it’s out! And Aeon Trespass is coming soon too
@@beakerkell I believe it's this fall? Here is the early landing page: www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowborne-games/oathsworn-into-the-deepwood-second-printing?ref=clipboard-prelaunch
Hm... this definitely isn't very similar to Gloomhaven, so no worries there. But it also doesn't have the awesome card combos and puzzliness of Mage Knight. So... I would need to know more games you like and don't like to be able to recommend it for you :)
It looks great but I just don't know if it'll ever get to my table. Three years after backing this I have several other campaign games still waiting to be played. Plus it's so huge, it takes up a lot of space. I might end up selling my pledge and seeing how the reprint goes.
It's not the worst table hog of some of the recent giant games I've played. But yes, it's tough when we get lots of long-term game options in close proximity to each other :)
Just an fyi if you haven’t received it yet: I just got my all in, and I never received any shipping emails at all. Comes in two boxes, got one on Thursday, one on Saturday. So it should be here soon!
If you're someone who hated the programming while burning your cards style of combat from gloomhaven, would you say this would be a good or a bad choice?
If that’s specifically what you hated, I think you might really enjoy Oathsworn. You have full control of your actions on your turn (no programming ahead and making mistakes), and your cards go into cooldown and then come back. There is none of the slow weakening of card options turn after turn like in Gloomhaven.
I was really excited about the Battleflow system, but it fell really flat for me. I didn't find much strategy in it and I felt it wasn't used as well as it could have been. Each player doesn't really play that many cards each encounter (and only 1 per turn), and there are only 2 cards for each cooldown position, so it never felt like there was much "flow" to the cards. I'd play a card into my "3" spot and only have 1 card available that would move it to a "2" spot, but if that card isn't helpful, the card in my "3" spot is just going to rot there. If I could play more cards, I may play that useless 3 card just to batteflow the card in my "3" spot, but resources are scarce and card play opportunities are rare, so you can't really waste one playing a dead card. There's also no arc to each encounter. I'm not building combos or upgrading abilities as I play. Just playing one card per turn and seeing what that card does. Again, no flow. Just slow card play and some stagnation around my player board. I hope someone else takes this idea and runs with it. It's a really cool mechanism in theory, just not handled well here.
Why are you only playing one card per turn? Your recharge allows you to play 2-3, unless you move a ton. And cards shouldn’t be stuck in specific positions. Everyone’s level 0 card has a cheap option to flow one card around
Yes, multiple turns per round, but attacks are expensive. I was playing The Blade, and most of his attack cards cost 4. His recharge is 6. So he gets to do one thing. His cheaper cards let him do things like “Roll” which moves 2 spaces. Not helpful, so not worth playing most of the time. I also played the Ranger, who has a basic attack cost of 4 also. She has a few cheaper cards, but they aren’t great. A card that gives her a cheap attack, but only against minions? Not super great. Again, I really wanted to like this game, but maybe my expectations were out of line. I was hoping for a boss battler with a interesting combat system. Most boss battlers just have you throw a d10 and see what happens (Townsfolk Tussle, KDM) and I was hoping for more here. Admittedly, this is better than those, but not much. I’m still holding out hope for Primal, though. The combat system there looks great and seems much less fiddly (see rules for Thrown in Oathsworn to know what I mean by fiddly)
@@mitch-TO I agree that Primal is the most likely to appeal to me for full-on combo card play, but Oathsworn does it pretty well for me too. Sorry it didn't work as well for you!
@@HorukaMorishima it's my favorite fighting game at the moment (with BattleCON close behind). I designed a solo automa for it that works really well, if I do say so myself :)
@@OneStopCoopShop Haha, that’s the greatest not-so-humble brag ever. I’m just jealous because my wife won’t let met get anywhere near your size collection.
@@OneStopCoopShop ahhhh... so the character I kept looking at behind you because I thought she looked like Rachel Alucard actually just IS Rachel Alucard XD
I looked at the Battleflow system it seems like it a needlessly complicated cooldown system. Not that it’s bad but I don’t see much of a benefit of it right now. All I can hear in my inner monologue is Morty saying “That sounds like a cooldown system with some extra steps.”
It’s more than just cool down. It’s resource management since your cards are also your main defense, so you want to keep your flow going smoothly to get those back in your hand so you don’t die. But of course it’s going to be fun for some and frustrating for others!
If you go for the miniatures version, absolutely. I believe the standee version is one box for everything, but I know some people don't love standees :)
While I'm a minimalist fan myself, I can't imagine seeing a KS boss battler campaign game that won't throw in oversized minis. It's not needed but flashy games sell better.
@@crushingit5128 oh, without a doubt. I appreciate that they made a standee version, but for this kind of game the mini version is going to outsell it by a landslide every time.
They find a lot of reasons for you to fight in the forest ;) But in all seriousness, that’s how all these KDM-like battlers operate. They take a basic blank map and layer terrain onto it
If you’ve played more of it do you still feel like this game is even decent? First scenario was promising second scenario was fun but Having played 8 or 9 scenarios it got worse and worse and worse. The bosses were meh, the story got worse, the puzzles felt designed by a toddler. The combat is basically identical each time and the characters only feel different in a superficial way and there is kind of just a correct way to play your cards. I think this happens because the game also has to work with fill in characters with two basic options. No desire to play it again. It’s mediocre at best. Feel tricked by all the reviews raving about it and makes me question reviewing a game after 2 plays etc.
I haven't finished the campaign (that's how these things usually go with a billion new games always coming in), but I got past the halfway point, and your experience is much more negative than mine. Don't get me wrong, some fights felt a bit samey, and I did pursue similar strategies in terms of which spots to break and in what order. But I thought the boss variety remained consistently great. And because I switched out which characters were companions and which were full heroes after each battle, that kept abilities fresher than they would have been otherwise. But at the same time Oathsworn definitely isn't going to make it into my top 20 of all time or anything. Because I agree with you that games like this often become too much of a grind, and I like game systems that make things highly fresh play after play with modular systems and the like.
@@desertwind666 I really enjoyed Middara this year, playing with the newest ruleset. They are of course pretty different games, crawler vs. boss battler, though both have long narrative stretches. Middara is a LOT to track, especially late campaign when you have a billion abilities and items, but when it all comes together it can be amazing. But in all honesty I'd rather play something from this year like Leviathan Wilds that I can throw on the table and finish in an hour, have an awesome time, and not have to play 40 more scenarios in a big campaign
COMPONENTS - I can only speak to the miniatures version. The box, books, cards, and board are all excellent. The storage solutions for tokens and such work great, and they have really nice guides for how to get the game set up and how to put it away again.
The minis look incredible. The only negative is that a couple of mine have arms that don't always stay on. I could glue them, but that would mess up the whole "push to fit" thing.
0:00 - Introduction
0:33 - Narrative Campaign
1:32 - Character Options
2:36 - Boss Mechanics
3:36 - Tactics and Tests
4:43 - Battleflow
5:44 - Final Thoughts
You just need to glue the chest pieces together and this fixes the loose fits without effecting the push to fit options.
@@CloudStyleGamer thanks for the tip!
If the arm falls off the mini you have to take a wound.
Reprinted campaign has already launched on ks for those who missed the 1st ks
The boss announcing its action is one reason I enjoy deck-building video games like Slay the Spire, Monster Train, etc. over traditional RPG. Like you said, much more tactical and rewarding than a lucky draw.
Aeon’s End gets a grandfather pass, but I do prefer this style.
Good call on Slay the Spire and Monster Train! Both great games.
Very fair review. So many are saying BEST game ever made but this review is very objective. Thanks!
It’s fun, and has flaws, but I imagine it’ll be the #1 game of the year for many. Not sure it will rise that high for me, but it’s possible
I'm still trying to convince myself that I only need the standee version for the reprint. Not because I don't want the minis, but because I don't have much space left. 😅
In all honesty, I wish I had the standee version for that very reason! :)
I'd take double sided player boards, better quality cards, better dice over miniatures any day. The minis are nice but I'll easily sacrifice that for standees if it means some of the things I mentioned is offered instead for a similar cost.
I agree with these.
I’m waiting for my shipment like Ben Stein is still waiting for Ferris Bueller.
Lol!
Thanks Mike.
Hope to watch the playthrough soon
Hope you are feeling better
Take care
Thanks!
Game I most regret I didn't back. But no worries, next campaign is coming soon, so I'm probably just like 3 years and 200$ shipping (standee version) from playing it!
Oof, hopefully not 3 years, since I assume it's mostly just reprinting and shipping (though in today's shipping situation, who knows...)
Should be under a year, maybe...
Thanks Mike. Looking forward to this showing up some day.
Should be soon I think? I believe 3/8 of the US boxes are shipping now or soon, with the rest docking? Maybe I'm wrong on that...
@@OneStopCoopShop I hope so. I'm getting used to being very very late because I didn't go all in. Like still waiting on Etherfields.
@@kevinerskine3299 Right? I'm in exactly the same boat... pun intended.
Excellent work, per usual. The daily e-mail checks will continue until otherwise noted. Hate reading in games normally, but futzing around/reading through the app makes me want to table this really badly. Some cool looking/sounding bosses!
Glad you've been enjoying your app journey so far :)
Thanks for sharing. Excellent points.
Hey Mike - What's your current favorite boss battler game of this type? (or maybe top 3). Also which game do you think you'd go back to more ofter Stars of Akkarios or Oathsworn?
I’m about to play Akarios. It’s on my table. So stay tuned with that one.
And right now, Oathsworn might be tops for boss battlers, but I’m hopeful Primal is even better when it’s out! And Aeon Trespass is coming soon too
Thanks for an excellent detailed review
Thanks for watching
So excited to jump in on second Kickstarter!!
I'm hoping it does really well!
Do they have an estimated Kickstarter date yet?
@@beakerkell I believe it's this fall? Here is the early landing page:
www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadowborne-games/oathsworn-into-the-deepwood-second-printing?ref=clipboard-prelaunch
@@beakerkell They have not set a specific date, but have said things like 3rd quarter or Fall 2022. So likely somewhere in August through October.
Thanks! I'll keep an eye out for it. :)
Great review as always. I hated Gloomhavens card system but love Mage Knights. So should I give this a go or pass?
Hm... this definitely isn't very similar to Gloomhaven, so no worries there. But it also doesn't have the awesome card combos and puzzliness of Mage Knight.
So... I would need to know more games you like and don't like to be able to recommend it for you :)
It looks great but I just don't know if it'll ever get to my table. Three years after backing this I have several other campaign games still waiting to be played. Plus it's so huge, it takes up a lot of space. I might end up selling my pledge and seeing how the reprint goes.
It's not the worst table hog of some of the recent giant games I've played. But yes, it's tough when we get lots of long-term game options in close proximity to each other :)
Just an fyi if you haven’t received it yet: I just got my all in, and I never received any shipping emails at all. Comes in two boxes, got one on Thursday, one on Saturday. So it should be here soon!
Well this looks like just must style. Might have try it.
Hope you enjoy if you do
Thank you for making this very important video, given the price of the investment.
You can’t go into this one lightly, both because of cost and box sizes :)
If you're someone who hated the programming while burning your cards style of combat from gloomhaven, would you say this would be a good or a bad choice?
If that’s specifically what you hated, I think you might really enjoy Oathsworn. You have full control of your actions on your turn (no programming ahead and making mistakes), and your cards go into cooldown and then come back. There is none of the slow weakening of card options turn after turn like in Gloomhaven.
@@OneStopCoopShop
Awesome, that's what I was hoping to hear, thanks!
I was really excited about the Battleflow system, but it fell really flat for me. I didn't find much strategy in it and I felt it wasn't used as well as it could have been. Each player doesn't really play that many cards each encounter (and only 1 per turn), and there are only 2 cards for each cooldown position, so it never felt like there was much "flow" to the cards. I'd play a card into my "3" spot and only have 1 card available that would move it to a "2" spot, but if that card isn't helpful, the card in my "3" spot is just going to rot there. If I could play more cards, I may play that useless 3 card just to batteflow the card in my "3" spot, but resources are scarce and card play opportunities are rare, so you can't really waste one playing a dead card.
There's also no arc to each encounter. I'm not building combos or upgrading abilities as I play. Just playing one card per turn and seeing what that card does. Again, no flow. Just slow card play and some stagnation around my player board. I hope someone else takes this idea and runs with it. It's a really cool mechanism in theory, just not handled well here.
Why are you only playing one card per turn? Your recharge allows you to play 2-3, unless you move a ton.
And cards shouldn’t be stuck in specific positions. Everyone’s level 0 card has a cheap option to flow one card around
By the way, to be clear, you can play one ability card per player turn, but you can take multiple turns per round (before the boss activation).
Yes, multiple turns per round, but attacks are expensive. I was playing The Blade, and most of his attack cards cost 4. His recharge is 6. So he gets to do one thing. His cheaper cards let him do things like “Roll” which moves 2 spaces. Not helpful, so not worth playing most of the time.
I also played the Ranger, who has a basic attack cost of 4 also. She has a few cheaper cards, but they aren’t great. A card that gives her a cheap attack, but only against minions? Not super great.
Again, I really wanted to like this game, but maybe my expectations were out of line. I was hoping for a boss battler with a interesting combat system. Most boss battlers just have you throw a d10 and see what happens (Townsfolk Tussle, KDM) and I was hoping for more here. Admittedly, this is better than those, but not much. I’m still holding out hope for Primal, though. The combat system there looks great and seems much less fiddly (see rules for Thrown in Oathsworn to know what I mean by fiddly)
@@mitch-TO I agree that Primal is the most likely to appeal to me for full-on combo card play, but Oathsworn does it pretty well for me too. Sorry it didn't work as well for you!
Does someone can tell me, which game is on his left shoulder? The one with the anime artwork.
I think you are talking about my collection of Exceed sets.
@@OneStopCoopShop Thanks! Thats right!
@@HorukaMorishima it's my favorite fighting game at the moment (with BattleCON close behind). I designed a solo automa for it that works really well, if I do say so myself :)
@@OneStopCoopShop Haha, that’s the greatest not-so-humble brag ever. I’m just jealous because my wife won’t let met get anywhere near your size collection.
@@OneStopCoopShop ahhhh... so the character I kept looking at behind you because I thought she looked like Rachel Alucard actually just IS Rachel Alucard XD
I looked at the Battleflow system it seems like it a needlessly complicated cooldown system. Not that it’s bad but I don’t see much of a benefit of it right now. All I can hear in my inner monologue is Morty saying “That sounds like a cooldown system with some extra steps.”
It’s more than just cool down. It’s resource management since your cards are also your main defense, so you want to keep your flow going smoothly to get those back in your hand so you don’t die.
But of course it’s going to be fun for some and frustrating for others!
How many chapters have you played ?
About halfway through. I was going to do more before the review but then I got COVID :(
@@OneStopCoopShop oh crap. get well soon
@@OneStopCoopShop Even the lesser symptoms aren't fun. Feel better, Mike.
@@CreakyTableGames Thanks! Getting a bit better each day :)
I love the idea of Oathsworn but that's a lot of box space for one game to do it justice.
If you go for the miniatures version, absolutely. I believe the standee version is one box for everything, but I know some people don't love standees :)
While I'm a minimalist fan myself, I can't imagine seeing a KS boss battler campaign game that won't throw in oversized minis.
It's not needed but flashy games sell better.
@@OneStopCoopShop Yeah it's mini or nothing for me as I'm also a painter. I've spent the last week trying to reduce the size of massive Darkness 2😂
@@crushingit5128 oh, without a doubt. I appreciate that they made a standee version, but for this kind of game the mini version is going to outsell it by a landslide every time.
I still don't unterstand how to play such a big Champagne game on just one double sided map.
They find a lot of reasons for you to fight in the forest ;)
But in all seriousness, that’s how all these KDM-like battlers operate. They take a basic blank map and layer terrain onto it
If you’ve played more of it do you still feel like this game is even decent? First scenario was promising second scenario was fun but Having played 8 or 9 scenarios it got worse and worse and worse. The bosses were meh, the story got worse, the puzzles felt designed by a toddler. The combat is basically identical each time and the characters only feel different in a superficial way and there is kind of just a correct way to play your cards. I think this happens because the game also has to work with fill in characters with two basic options.
No desire to play it again. It’s mediocre at best. Feel tricked by all the reviews raving about it and makes me question reviewing a game after 2 plays etc.
I haven't finished the campaign (that's how these things usually go with a billion new games always coming in), but I got past the halfway point, and your experience is much more negative than mine. Don't get me wrong, some fights felt a bit samey, and I did pursue similar strategies in terms of which spots to break and in what order. But I thought the boss variety remained consistently great. And because I switched out which characters were companions and which were full heroes after each battle, that kept abilities fresher than they would have been otherwise.
But at the same time Oathsworn definitely isn't going to make it into my top 20 of all time or anything. Because I agree with you that games like this often become too much of a grind, and I like game systems that make things highly fresh play after play with modular systems and the like.
@@OneStopCoopShop thanks for the reply, how do you rate middara vs this years down the track? Considering grabbing middara.
@@desertwind666 I really enjoyed Middara this year, playing with the newest ruleset. They are of course pretty different games, crawler vs. boss battler, though both have long narrative stretches. Middara is a LOT to track, especially late campaign when you have a billion abilities and items, but when it all comes together it can be amazing.
But in all honesty I'd rather play something from this year like Leviathan Wilds that I can throw on the table and finish in an hour, have an awesome time, and not have to play 40 more scenarios in a big campaign