The Curious Expedition

GroggyGrognard · September 03, 2016, 03:26:13 PM

The full game has just been released out of Early Access. Has anyone played it? I would be interested to hear any feedback about it.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/358130/

Groggy

spelk · September 03, 2016, 05:18:02 PM

DennisS · September 03, 2016, 06:05:15 PM

I just purchased this today. The missus got me 3 steam cards for my birthday today. Happy 60th birthday to me!!! I love having a wife who's a gamer!

Anyway, I saw a bunch of videos, and this looks pretty good. There is a new one on youtube by James Allen, from Out of Eight fame, that showcases the game very well.

I'll let you all know here in a bit what my first impressions are.

spelk · September 03, 2016, 06:58:48 PM

Quote from: DennisS on September 03, 2016, 06:05:15 PM
Anyway, I saw a bunch of videos, and this looks pretty good. There is a new one on youtube by James Allen, from Out of Eight fame, that showcases the game very well.

P.S. Happy 60th!

P.P.S. The vid above is James' one. His review is also in the text accompanying the video on YouTube :)

DennisS · September 03, 2016, 10:03:32 PM

OK. I played the first game, on easy, as Charles Darwin. The objective here is to complete six separate expeditions, gaining fame and money. Fame is cumulative, and determines the winner, money is needed to kit out your next expedition.

This is an interesting mechanic. The first three expeditions, I gifted all the artifacts I found to the Society..and gained a ton of fame. This also left me short on funds needed to make the next expedition possibly easier. Possibly not..as some items I purchases I never used. Good news is that all items you purchase are available to your for all other potential expeditions.

I won...but I very nearly died on several occasions. Very seat of the pants, lots of close calls. Interesting decisions as to which route to travel, and how much risk you want to take. Lots of fight or flight decisions as well.

I like it. Fun, and I can see going back to this a fair amount. This is coming from the guy who played Avalon Hills Source of the Nile for 20+ years. I really enjoy exploration games.

As far as the replayability, it is pretty good. All maps are generated on the fly, no map will ever be the same. You have a wide variety of individuals to take with you on your trip, which, according to your play style, may help a lot. I took a missionary, a trader, and a journalist...and this seemed to work well, except in combat. It is entirely possible to bring a small, heavily armed force, and do your expeditions like Pizarro did the Aztecs.

Boggit · September 04, 2016, 01:52:49 PM

Quote from: DennisS on September 03, 2016, 10:03:32 PM
I won...but I very nearly died on several occasions. Very seat of the pants, lots of close calls. Interesting decisions as to which route to travel, and how much risk you want to take. Lots of fight or flight decisions as well.

I like it. Fun, and I can see going back to this a fair amount. This is coming from the guy who played Avalon Hills Source of the Nile for 20+ years. I really enjoy exploration games.

I played Source of the Nile back in the day. I was a great explorer game. If this is like it in gameplay then it is a no brainer for me.

I certainly looks similar from the video. :)

DennisS · September 04, 2016, 03:27:01 PM

Quote from: Boggit on September 04, 2016, 01:52:49 PM
Quote from: DennisS on September 03, 2016, 10:03:32 PM
I won...but I very nearly died on several occasions. Very seat of the pants, lots of close calls. Interesting decisions as to which route to travel, and how much risk you want to take. Lots of fight or flight decisions as well.

I like it. Fun, and I can see going back to this a fair amount. This is coming from the guy who played Avalon Hills Source of the Nile for 20+ years. I really enjoy exploration games.
I played Source of the Nile back in the day. I was a great explorer game. If this is like it in gameplay then it is a no brainer for me.

I certainly looks similar from the video. :)

If Source of the Nile were to be re-released as a pc game, then I would be happy with this result. The mechanic of exploring opening up new tiles is certainly there, as it random encounters on special sites. I would love to see the addition of longest river/highest mountain/tribe discoveries as a fame gainer. Lots of good stuff here already, but it mostly involves things you pick up and carry with you back home to get you fame points.

With Source of Nile, I literally used the green crayon up drawing in veldt symbols on the game board. Any idea how many that took? A lot!

tgb · September 05, 2016, 07:53:51 AM

I'm enjoying it quite a bit. The combat isn't as deep as that found in Renouned Explorers. This game seems to be more about adventure and discovery. My only complaint is that while many things affect the loyalty of your party members, there doesn't seem to be a way to see the actual value.

At least it generates it's own AAR

joram · September 05, 2016, 12:50:40 PM

WRT Renowned Explorers, I think it is well designed but has too much "combat" so can be tedious. If this game focuses more on the adventure part, then it sounds more up my alley.

In any event, Source of the Nile is one of my all time favorite games. If this game evokes that kind of memory, I'm sure I will get it soon.

GroggyGrognard · September 05, 2016, 01:22:18 PM

Thanks for the feedback and posting of the gameplay review. Sounds like the only major downside is the repetition of events, but no dealbreaker.

Looks like I'll be buying it. Generating its own AAR is a nice game touch.

Groggy

DennisS · September 05, 2016, 05:11:16 PM

I won the first game, got dead last the second. If you run out of money, you're in trouble. Can't buy food, and thus can't regain your sanity. Quick airlift (balloon) back to England for all three of the last missions. Gotta buy more food!!!

joram · September 06, 2016, 09:22:59 PM

So I broke down and got it already. Long story short, it's definitely worth the price for anyone with an interest in this kind of game (for example, those who enjoyed Source of the Nile board game or Renowned Explorers or Seven Cities of Gold computer game).

I am only a couple hours in but have enjoyed what I've seen thus far. I think it's the right balance of exploration and conflict. In fact, you are encouraged to some extent avoiding conflict altogether. So far have come across many unique situations but have read there is a limit to the variety. Whatever that limit is, I have not come across it yet in the couple hours I've played. I enjoy searching through the new lands trying to find the Golden Temple or what have you.

A minor beef, while only scratching the surface on the Explorers, the do seem to be more scientists (Darwin, Current, Tesla) than true explorers. One might expect to see a Cabot, Hudson, Columbus, Pizarro or Cortez for example but so far there is no indication these are characters in the game. Maybe they are unlocks, I don't know.
My biggest beef with the game is the appalling lack of documentation. There is an all to brief tutorial which explains the mechanics but doesn't really talk about the objectives much or strategy at all. For instance, it took me forever to realize I didn't have to come back to the ship unless I felt I couldn't continue to the Golden Temple. I wasted several expeditions before I realized that. There is a wiki which is getting good but still leaves a lot to be desired with respect to specificity. But at least the wiki helped me figure out conflict resolution which is pretty opaque without some kind of guide. Another tip is you can ride your donkey if you have one, which saves on *sanity*, your basic resource. There are more small but important things to be documented somewhere I hope.

Anyway, I focused more on my concerns than the positives but that doesn't change my overall comment that this game is good and welll worth the price for those with an interest in this genre.

PanzerFaust · September 07, 2016, 02:59:28 AM

Quote from: joram on September 06, 2016, 09:22:59 PM
A minor beef, while only scratching the surface on the Explorers, the do seem to be more scientists (Darwin, Current, Tesla) than true explorers. One might expect to see a Cabot, Hudson, Columbus, Pizarro or Cortez for example but so far there is no indication these are characters in the game. Maybe they are unlocks, I don't know.

Well, the ones from the first group are from the Victorian era, the ones from the second group are not. The game has a very distinct victorian feeling from what I gather, and they went for iconic figures from the era.

joram · September 07, 2016, 05:00:51 AM

Yes actually a good point. It is Victorian-ish focused, silly I didn't acknowledge that. Partly because I was rambling on my phone. :) And Current = Curie. Dang autocorrect.