Try it Tuesday: June 7, 2022
I always try to choose a theme for each Try it Tuesday, albeit a loose one. Sometimes it’s a stretch, and sometimes it pans out pretty well. I also try to prepare these in advance, so I have everything squared away in terms of game acquisition and whatnot. Well, last night was one of the nights where everything worked out well: the theme was “hex maps” and that sort of goes with this whole “season of the witch” vibe I’m rolling with lately BUT I DIGRESS. Every game had an element of strategy to it as well, though some were more intense than others.
Let’s dive in to the first impressions though, shall we? As per usual, links that support the stream will be made available below.
Old World
Old World is not, as the running joke was for the night, any relation to the game New World. Don’t worry, I thought it too in jest. Truthfully, Old World is a very complex strategy game that takes elements of the Sid Meier’s Civilization series and meshes them together with the Crusader Kings series, which is a pretty interesting twist. One of the game’s creators is none other than Soren Johnson, who was a lead designer on Civilization IV – so it makes sense. The game also places you firmly in the early history of Greece, but I honestly spent the entire two hours I gave it on Try it Tuesday plodding through the tutorial so I can’t speak too greatly to how expansive the game actually is. I’d like to go back to it. What I did experience through the very deep tutorial was an equally deep game that’s full of a lot of surprises: the rewarding feeling of scouting a map out, which should be familiar to anyone who loves the 4X genre. The expansion of a city into cities, the conquering of barbarian tribes – and then they open you up to the Crusader Kings inspired area, where your lineage and familial influence start to come into play. I can see the potential for some truly fun scenarios to unfold with Old World, but only if you have the patience for it. I’d say it’s much slower than the Civilization series, but still feels about the same in many ways. Patience is, again, required for something like this, because while the learning curve isn’t that steep, there is a lot of information to take in from right out of the gate. As I said, I spent the entire time I gave it on the show in that tutorial, and we only got about halfway through. I’ll need more time with Old World for sure, but what I saw was already something I deeply enjoyed.
Links for the game:
- Steam
- GOG
- Humble Bundle
- EGS (use code skinnedteen)
Oaken
Oaken bills itself as a turn-based tactical roguelike, which it objectively is. Throw deck building in there, and you’ve basically got all of your bases covered. Oaken feels like playing chess, but a bit more complicated. Each journey down the tree gives you a new quest or objective(s) that you must stay in line with, although one seems to always be a constant: defeat all enemies. The others are just a bonus. Oaken has a very cute art style – it’s actually what initially drew me towards the game, because it looks great – and the systems for the game do seem fairly solid: but I couldn’t help but feeling a little lost at times as to the game’s real purpose. I know it’s a roguelike, but it felt as though an incomplete story had been presented to me, which sort of threw me off from right out of the gate. I don’t know if this is something I missed or if it just wasn’t there, but Oaken didn’t entirely click for me. The gameplay itself was fine, though not entirely my jam: you’re moving around a hex map, placing characters around your main character, trying to defeat enemies that are spawned within this tiny space. Strategy comes into play in a big way here based on how you place, where you place, how many enemies come, and what exactly their skillsets are. Trips down the tree will also grant you new cards, boosts to currently existing cards, and other opportunities to create a stronger build altogether. As I said, the systems are all there. I just felt a bit of a disconnect between me and my purpose with Oaken. I didn’t entirely get it. For what it’s worth, the game has outstanding reviews in early access on Steam, so I think if you’re into these types of hex strategy deck builder games, then Oaken is worth taking a look at. For me, as someone who really hinges big on lore and story, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
Links to the game:
Dorfromantik
The way that I structured the picks for this particular show was so that the most chill and relaxed game would go last, and I definitely didn’t let myself down with the choice of Dorfromantik, a peaceful building sim based on a hex map. The game definitely has strategy and goals, although there is a creative mode to boast about as well. Dorfromantik offers its players an escape from the stress and anxiety of daily life with simple, beautiful, relaxing gameplay that is engaging and fun. It ticks all of the boxes. Graphics are gorgeous. Sounds are pleasing. As you complete goals and expand the map, you unlock new tiles and biomes. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Dorfromantik, and I don’t think a lot of other people do as well: throughout the rest of the night and my time with the game, people were coming in to gush about how much they loved it, how peaceful and relaxing it was, how it helped with their anxiety or winding down for the day. I may even boot up Dorfromantik when I’m done writing out this post! Definitely a high-tier recommend for anyone, because what it has to offer is a very zen-like experience that actually feels rewarding and, at times, a bit challenging. Truly, Dorfromantik is like little else I’ve ever played.
Links to the game:
