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| By Monolith Edition |
Batman Begins
Here on Get Hype!, I'm going to be looking at some exciting games that are coming down the pike. Today, we look at Batman: Gotham City Chronicles by Monolith Edition. This Kickstarter Exclusive game is Monolith's follow up the well received Conan launched in 2016, which was itself a 1 vs. All scenario based miniatures game. 1 player takes on the role of the villain, and the rest get to form their own version of the Bat-Family to take down evil in Gotham City.
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| If they add in a Bat-Mite playable character, I might poop myself |
This game is addressing some of the issues that befell Conan, while not trying to stray too far from the core gameplay. Unlike other miniatures style, dungeon crawly games, this game doesn't revolve around players waiting for their turn, rolling some dice, adding some modifiers, repeat. This game is actually a worker placement game DISGUISED as a dungeon crawl. As a Hero player, you have your energy cubes which you assign to different actions, but they also double as your health. Those of you who played Conan know that this system worked very well. Add in the fact that Hero players take simultaneous turns (you read that right), and you have a unique experience that isn't just a Descent clone.
In a Mike Meeple exclusive interview conducted with Monolith, they stated, "We learned to not offer some content which are not used in the game. We learned to balance the scenarios as we hired three full-time game designers."
This balance and attention to detail are welcome changes. One of the big critiques of Conan was the rulebook and the addition of assets, like weapon cards, with no explanation as to who gets what. There were often times while playing when my group all just kind of went "I mean, I GUESS that makes sense..."
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| That face when you're trying to figure out which sword Conan gets |
The preview scenarios that Monolith has released for Batman tell me that they've learned from their mistakes, and are giving the players what they want. Guidelines, but without making the game unapproachable or intimidating.
In addition, Monolith promises a large amount of post launch support, "We will support the game as we are doing for Conan and Mythic Battles. We will upload new scenarios on our website and continue to give tools to the community on our community forum: www.the-overlord.net."
The Dark Knight Returns
I am a big Batman fan. He's not my favorite superhero (Green Lantern 4 Life, y'all), but Batman is definitely in my top 5. Heck, I even named my son after Dick Grayson, the first Robin. But aside from fanboyism, I am very excited about this game. The gameplay looks to be improved and the production value of the game looks to have maintained its high standards. It is currently running on Kickstarter until March 31st, so there's time to jump on board if this seems like your cup of tea. The Core pledge is $140, which may seem a little high, but as of the writing of this article, almost 150 miniatures will be shipped with that Core Pledge. If you're still unsure about it, there are plenty of gameplay videos that are INCREDIBLY BORING TO WATCH, but give you a sense of how to play. Personally, I think Batman: Gotham City Chronicles looks exciting, and that Monolith, as a publisher has grown and matured substantially, and they are already looking to future projects, "After Batman we will launch a new KS in June for the reprint of Mythic Battles Pantheon and more. Then in September we will launch Claustrophobia..."
I for one can't wait...
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