Clank! Catacombs Review (vs. Clank! Vanilla, Clank! in space and Clank! Legacy)

Oh my god it's finally done, I am so sorry if anyone is waiting for my videos because they take forever to make. I've just did Superficial Keratectomy on both eyes so that delays the video a bit oh and me just being lazy pos lol, but hey I am finally free from RCE (for now)
Onto the review:
Clank Catacombs is EASILY the best clank iteration to date, there is now actual dungeon crawling. It's very balanced and executed really well. Sadly they did nothing on their weakest counterpart - deck building. It's still swingy as hell, and the whole trashing lottery STILL is there to wildly put someone ahead out of pure luck. It's soooo easy to just put a rule that says "you cant trash stumbles now, that's way too powerful!" but no, they still allow that to happen.
Designers, if you are reading this (and I'm 100% they wont lol), you either make trashing readily available and easily accessable in game (eg. reserve row) or you dont have it in game AT ALL. Sprinkling it into the game creates these high ups that people can get out of luck. I know the game is lucky and all but come on. You basically dampened the luck factor in the dungeon crawling part, why not also do the same thing on the deck builder? I swear they are VERY close to designing a very fair Clank! game but somehow just missed the mark. But hey it's still popular AF so what do I know? I've also got a couple of ideas of improvement:
1. No one likes the stumble card because you feel like having half a turn whenever it comes up and it creates an unfair advantage if someone trashes it, so why not combine that card with your starting best card? i.e. so that 1 skill 1 move card will also have +1 clank, that way when you trash it you lose the good AND the bad. Are they trying to keep the economy around the same in the market (i.e., if they put too many skill cards they would make obtaining expensive cards easier?)
2. PLEASE put some drawbacks on those super expensive overpowered cards, they are no brainers to get.
Oh and Clank Legacy has to be the most overrated game I've obtained in a while. I dislike Gloomhaven and Ark Nova (edgy I know) but I could understand the appeal of those games. Clank Legacy BAFFLES me. The story is very forgettable, the gameplay is the same ol swingy fest (but now your mistforune lasts 10 rounds!) and unfair. Where is the redeeming quality here? The amount of time and commitment I put into the game is way too much for the little fun I get. Thank god my group are such degenerates, otherwise getting through the game would be like a PAIN.
Also a couple more things about Clank Legacy I didnt' get to say (vid too long)
1. Weirdly dependent on your group for it to be fun kinda like a party game.
2. Personal upgrades SUCK. They barely do anything and are such a huge disappointment. They have a lot of unlockables and new cards, but I wanna make my deck unique, screw the communal stuff honestly.
3. It's weirdly cooperative
I'd be selling the first two clank (and put my finished clank legacy in the bin lol), but I'm keeping clank catacombs for the occassional itch i'll probably get).

[@ejim941099]

Only 500 views and 6 comments? That’s crazy. You crushed this!! Excellent production value.

[@realjon4220]

Glad u enjoyed it! Been trying to get more exposure, but not sure how other than posting my vids on BGG lol.

[@tarakanlt]

Good one, and Quest for El Dorado is my favorite too,

[@crinklechips6950]

Great review, can't wait to try this game

[@brianrainer]

Hi, thank you for making this comparison! So helpful and well-explained! I'm surprised you found Clank! Legacy to not be as good, I've never played it but read so many good reviews of it. Your opinion definitely changed my mind to buy it 😂 it's been on my wishlist for some time but I think I'll save my money now 😂 I agree with what you said, sometimes the game can be so unfair, and trashing is one of the culprit definitely! One alternative solution I can think of is to add a permanent reserve row where you can trash a card and draw one card for 7 skills. I think it can change the game! Thank you for making this once again! So helpful!

[@realjon4220]

Same! Clank Legacy was very disappointing for the overwhelmingly good reviews it gets. I didn't discuss this in the vid because it's already too long: I was really looking forward to having unique decks due to legacy elements (i.e. modifying your starting deck with stickers), but that stuff is very far in between and very weak additions to your deck, my group thinks they're a joke. Only get Legacy if you REALLY like Clank, and even then, expect an unfair campaign. For the trashing stuff, adding a trashing card on the reserve row would definitely help. They either need to have it readily available to everyone or remove it completely from the game. Glad it helped!

[@FasFas160]

Really well made video! am shocked it has so little views when the editing and script is so good. Made me understand the rules of the game super easily. One question, if you were building your board game collection from the ground up and you had to pick between clank:catacombs and quest for el dorado, which would you pick? They seem similar, but i'm not sure which is most fun/welldesigned and has the best replay value

[@realjon4220]

Quest for El Dorado by a MILE because: 1. Faster game 2. Better designed 3. Race component is fun (more than dungeon crawling imo) 4. Fairer game (Nowhere as swingy as C:C) 5. Has unique and good twist on the card market you wont see in other deck building games 6. About the same replayability I'd say? The maps in El Dorado are modular and can be mix and matched. Glad the video helped! I honestly am not sure how to get more views/traction on my channel :/.

[@jameskellam2980]

I really enjoyed that. Subbed.

[@realjon4220]

🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@ansonvergens2896]

Wow! Very very good!

[@yeskha]

Amazing review (4 in one!), plus now I know all the rules. Can't believe it took 18min, felt like 9 tops, well done! Only thing that's missing is more degenerate legacy town names :D No brainer subscription from me!

[@realjon4220]

Thanks for the sub and glad you found it helpful 😁😁. We had more sus town names but they are spoiler territory lol.

[@greytoeimp]

I don't have any of the others and aren't too interested tbh, but I really like Catacombs and will def get any expansions for it. I preordered Wild Tiled West bc I am a fan of the designer, who also did Dune Imperium!

[@realjon4220]

Don't even bother with the other clank games, catacombs is the best one by a mile. Wild tiled west looks fun and I'm a sucker for polyamino games lol.

[@rolfvansoelen8916]

Great tutorial of the game, allthough i am not a fan of 'cut-all-the-breathing-out-of-sentences', it feels unhuman and very rushy. The comparison to the other Clank games makes a lot of sense.

[@realjon4220]

Appreciated the feedback. I do honestly feel like im rushing through these things at times when i play back my videos, but i also wanna make videos that doesnt require me to adjust the speed settings (most board game videos are ultra slow)