Earth Under Siege playthrough (review copy provided)

[@sharkey1337]

Been playing my copy, LOVING it! The game is so much XCOM, just ecstatic it's such a fantastic experience!

[@asavi3]

Got my copy and just finished this same mission! I love just about everything in this game, thanks for the video!

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Hope your mission went well!

[@asavi3]

@@OneStopCoopShop I decided against full murder mode, which let me get the spec op mission and some additional alien gear. I’ve been playing solo with two operatives and two squad members and think the game tends to run a little easier with more characters on the board. Both of my operatives are dps which offsets the increased enemy health from having more characters. You did a great job showcasing the dice mitigation and number of choices that can be made on the fly as the game hits you with stuff.

[@stevekozlowski5963]

Great video! Very fun to watch. Looking forward to more content :)

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Gotta play some more and then I’ll have a review. Probably a podcast too

[@gogodemons]

So glad you covered this! Enthusiasms.

[@fundip533]

Wow, this kinda came out of nowhere! When it was crowdfunded, it looked like a generic dungeon crawl among the dozens of great ones we’ve gotten in the last few years. There really was nothing about it that stood out when I looked at it, even down to the generic name! Happy to see it’s not that at all!

[@manozzified]

Nice playthrough! One thing, at 19:00 (and later on), you need to make a Stealth check before taking a Sabotage action if the zone is in line of sight of (unaware) enemies or cameras. Unfortunately, the Vormacht Disguise doesn't get you out of these checks!

[@stevekozlowski5963]

Technically the stealth check comes AFTER the sabotage action, but otherwise you are correct! :)

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Dang it, I totally missed that. Thanks for the correction for my future plays! That would made things tougher, specifically that initial camera sabotage which was pretty key

[@crokinoledk]

Hello, thank you for a playthrough! It was good one, like the game I suppose. Could you please share your opinion- how does it stack up against SAS Rogue Regiment? Thank you in advance.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I have my review for EUS coming this week, and then I'll discuss my relative rankings in my "best of 2024" videos in early January. But in short: EUS has campaign play, while SAS is focused on one-off play SAS's stealth gives you a bit more leeway, while EUS can be a bit more all-or-nothing (a wrong move can quickly set off the alarm) EUS has equipment you can upgrade and other new capabilities, while SAS sticks you with the same options of operatives and equipment Those things might help you slightly decide which you would like better for now.

[@sakarilaiho3497]

Can you use two 1hand weapon during one attack? Pistol + blade?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I don't believe so. You have to pick one weapon before you resolve the attack action.

[@tiredguy2753]

This game looks very interesting and honestly if it was not for the newest kill team getting a solo/ co-op mode , I think I would definitely give this game a go.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I’m curious about Kill Team, though I haven’t trusted games workshop to make games I love for 20 years or more 😅

[@tiredguy2753]

@@OneStopCoopShop Completely understandable. That being said I think just getting the starter box is enough to get the most out of the solo-co-op , then if you really fall in love with it then yeah you can certainly purchase more.

[@Scopi]

Violence isn't the answer, Mike says, but I say it's usually a good first guess.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Violence only AFTER you sneak in and take their stuff 😜

[@ObeliskM]

How would you compare it to other stealthy coops, like Reichbusters, V commandos, Brotherhood of Venice? Overall looks nice but enemies feel kinda samey. All similar humanoids..

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Enemy differences are stronger when you don’t stab them immediately and they get to actually attack 😅 I’ve only played V Commandos of the ones you’ve listed, and I prefer Earth Under Siege. Steve from Co-Op Guild has been comparing it to Reichbusters, but I know he had tons of problems with Reichbusters balance and design mistakes and such, so I would guess he would prefer this one in that matchup too

[@bcantui]

Great playthrough! Really enjoyed it. The game looks fun and very strategic. How much more viable would it be to get the spec ops mission and weapons if you had played with 3 squad members instead of 1? What about a 4 player operative game? Sort of a completionist and I would probably risk every mission at least getting the spec op 😅

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I’m still figuring out how I feel about player balance. You get to do way more with more operatives, of course. And the only major boost for enemies is increased life for SOME of them. But then of course you also have more stealth checks that can go wrong… so yeah, not sure yet how more operatives will pan out. My suspicion is that like a lot of co-op games, such as too many bones, a bigger party will lower difficulty a bit

[@bcantui]

@@OneStopCoopShop yeah, while watching I kept thinking if we all divide and conquer (with 3-4) we can get everywhere easily! But the amount of stealth checks probably means the alarm would go off fairly quickly. Which then brings the question will doing breaches just be better at higher player counts and stealth is just hard mode without the tools to tackle the mission (with an earlier alarm).

[@OneStopCoopShop]

@bcantui well, I think even with the more aggressive approaches you don’t want the alarm going off until the mission is nearly done. With everyone turning into a patrol (which means they will keep respawning) and an extra red blip coming in each round, the alarm is pretty much a death sentence no matter how attack-oriented your team is if you trigger it too early

[@manozzified]

@@bcantui I think the boost in enemies' health is more subtle that it might look. You might need 2 or 3 attacks to kill an enemy that only required 1 with two operatives. So, you might split your team to divide and conquer, but will the smaller teams be able to clear a whole room in one turn? There are also variants in the rulebook for increased difficulty!

[@OneStopCoopShop]

@manozzified yeah, I’m too scared to draw 2 threat cards a round yet, but maybe I’ll get there eventually

[@krunco6228]

Thanks so much for another great demo play. Really like your work. I realize this is a solo channel, but do you (or anyone) have thoughts on playing with 4P? My friends and I are playing 4P Divinity Original Sin the Boardgame and have SAS Rogue Regiment teed up, but this does look like something we'd like for our 4P coop campaign choices.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

The turns tend to move pretty smoothly. The only elements I can see potentially derailing a 4 player game are that sometimes a character’s best move might be not to move (in a stealth situation), which could leave that player maybe slightly bored, and that the freeform turn structure, where any player can take the next action, might be chaotic with some groups of 4

[@krunco6228]

@@OneStopCoopShop Thanks, Mike, I get that. We're playing Kinfire now, and as you know, the initiative draw from the bag means you can sit there for a while and not do anything other than play support cards. As to the chaos, I would hope that would lead to a lot of fun conversations about how to split up the actions so as to be most efficient. Just checked BGG, and with under 10 ratings it's at "Best with 4P" for the moment. I'm going to keep an eye that, I think. I want to be sure it's not a 2P game that technically can be played with 4P.... Keep up the good work!

[@OneStopCoopShop]

@@krunco6228 Oh 4-player should definitely work well. It's nowhere near the problems that Kinfire Chronicles can have at high player counts.

[@erikpeters7072]

Looks good. Where does it fall in your top games of 2024?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Not sure yet. I gotta play it more. But I think at least top 10 is likely

[@CamObscura88]

Is this based on Flashpoint Fire Rescue? Never played it, but seems weirdly similar?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

The fire fighter game? They are HIGHLY different games, in almost every way 😅

[@CamObscura88]

@@OneStopCoopShophaha maybe it was just the map (and subtitle) that thew me 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@jefferydraper4019]

Soooo...the example mission is XCOM 2's John "Central" Bradford, the Ranger, and Lily Shen, The Engineer-Specialist. Okay.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

You’re saying that like the game evoking X-Com missions is a bad thing 😅

[@jefferydraper4019]

@@OneStopCoopShop Not at all. I love XCOM. Im playing a campaign of XCOM 2: Long War of the Chosen right now.

[@jefferydraper4019]

@@OneStopCoopShop I wonder if they sell he minis separately??? It says they are heroic "38mm." Whats that in relation to like to GW or Bolt Action minis??? I hate companies going with weird scales. To me, we should have standardized 1/72 and about 1/43 for gaming. Sooooo much wasted effort in making one-off scales.

[@VaultBoy13]

@@jefferydraper4019 They'd be a weird size paired with GW minis. The aliens would probably be usable at that scale, because you could make up a reason why they're taller. The heroes would fit weird. On another note, the quality of the miniatures is just OK, and some the heroes have some derpy photo-poses like holding a gun behind their head. Unless you're specifically looking for something like the XCOM2 Advent for game, then I wouldn't buy the game for the miniatures.

[@jefferydraper4019]

@@VaultBoy13Thank you for leting me know. I just HATE companies using off-scales!!!!!! Yes, I would rather have them as more minis for other games, though I would play this game also. Derpy photo poses are okay. I look at it as they would have that pose sometime. I like the "character" of some of the campy poses. Its like "Me, Hero!!!" followed by thumping of the chest.