Lands of Evershade Review - My Favorite Awaken Realms Game Yet

[@coffeespoonman7931]

Played this at Essen. Best thing I have ever played by AR, and I love most of their games. Insta-back for me. All-in (well, at least gameplay all-in plus minis).

[@BoardGameCo]

Glad someone else agrees!

[@stephenwyda2568]

​@BoardGameCo How does this compare to Story of Many?

[@coffeespoonman7931]

@@stephenwyda2568 I played both at Essen and enjoyed both, but this was much better overall, both in terms of story and mechanics. Having said that, I'm backing both. This at the gameplay all-in level and SoM just core (so far).

[@intrepidfool]

I love you but my wallet doesn't like you very much, Alex

[@BoardGameCo]

There's a lot of good games out there, but great games are something else

[@reznor_59]

Took the words right out of my mount… haha!

[@cyrus1469]

Ikr

[@siposbalint2000]

The character creation and the world seems great and very rpg like. I hope that if the game does become successful, they will release extra adventures, classes and whatnot to expand upon the world and not just leave it for another adventure game.

[@ralder1]

This sounds so good! I love narrative awaken realm games, going through Kings of Ruin right now and loving it, but damn it's long.... I'm 20 hours in and not even halfway! And this has two big problems for me. First is I've got it set up permanently for now, but I just know there's a big chance I'm not coming back to it once I put it away, the hurdle is just too big, getting back on track and remembering the story. So that means I have to power through, which I don't like... And also, on shorter games I like to just go with the flow, see what my choices bring me and experiment. But with a game this long, no way I want a bad ending, or even worse, resetting on death. So I'm sometimes cheating, going back on choices, whatever to, once again, power through... That really takes away from the experience for me. This sounds like a game with the narrative and gameplay I love, without the burden of such a long commitment! I'm excited!!

[@a.c.s.6204]

Oh no another 5/5 today. I'm going to have to buy this now. My bank account is shrinking as we speak.

[@ccampbe3]

Can't overstate how much a shorter manageable campaign is a big selling point. Arkham Horror LCG campaign length is perfect, for instance, and is a big reason why it's my favorite game.

[@derekgarcia3069]

I'm torn because yes, 9-15 hours is very manageable, and can be done over a weekend, but if their intent is that you comple up to 3 of them to see the highest levels...its kind of the same thing as a 30-50 hr campaign broken into chunks.

[@ccampbe3]

@derekgarcia3069 yeah I can see that being the case, one thing I love about Arkham is your character doesn't carry over from game to game and Evershade seems to go against that. Good point!

[@Thomas-kx9op]

Concerned about the real possibility of blanket tariffs on products from China coming into the USA after 01/20/2025. I hope Awaken Realms is looking at how this might affect the project? Would product have to be received in Poland and ship to the USA from there? Hopefully, we will able to back for PM access or late pledge later on Gamefound after this issue has been understood. I have a real concern that this issue could negatively impact projects that have been crowdfunded, but have not yet delivered to backers.

[@bosik111]

Isn't Trump also planning tarrifs on Europe as well? In that case intermediary wouldn't help. Especially since the product is made in china, so even if they stopped in Europe they'd need to doing shady things like reboxing and forging country of origin to go around the tariffs. Contrary to what many people believe, cost of tariffs are paid by the consumer, not country of origin.

[@Thomas-kx9op]

@bosik111 Not that I am aware of

[@Bi-WizeVan]

From what I understand, the last time Trump was in, the tariffs were introduced in stages with each hitting a different industry. Games and toys didn't end up being penalized. For a great rundown, check out the latest episode of Crowd Funding Neds podcast.

[@arthurdent9281]

​​@@Bi-WizeVanWhat he was saying he would do this time is much more expansive, and focused primarily on China, where he plans to set much higher tariffs.

[@ChaBox998]

if that is the case, then it would be better to back now since the price will be locked. But of course, if things will get that bad...there is a possibility that we need to pay more, or worse, the project fails...

[@xtrem5428]

I'm not too worried about the narration app given their track record. ISS Vanguard has amazing narration, with multiple VAs and well placed sound effects. The flag management is also great and simplifies things so much.

[@jcapo5]

Awaken realms is becoming my favorite table top company. When the game shows up it is always top quality. Etherfields will always be my favorite

[@rawkyle9385]

What other AR games have you played?

[@jayvir6]

I don't think I've played an Awaken Realms game I didn't like. They may have faults sure, but they are almost all top tier for me.

[@Carcharothification]

This looks awesome, but tight on cash and a backlog of games says wait till later. That said I still have the two campaigns for Hexplorit to go through, which look very similiar to this, and those are clocking in at 4200 and 9200 entries.

[@ctarabusi]

I am really interested in this. It seems like if Oathsworn and Baldur's Gate 3 had a child :)

[@apokai]

GREAT review! Very useful and detailed! Your videos are the best!

[@Fadeslayer]

I backed Story of Many, which I find more enticing to me than this. Arydia back then I had the chance to late pledge it, but I wasn't willing to shell out that amount of money on a boardgame. Now, many months later, I have spent more than that for a game so maybe I would have backed it because it looks like I would LOVE it. But I have so many long campaign games coming that I think I will skip on this, and maybe get it in a few years on the used market or new at a huge discount (as I only buy retail with >25% discount when it's possible to), after I played all other campaign games, IF I would be still interested in campaign games

[@ronthal]

Yup the only thing that makes me hesitate is that we should receive Arydia in the coming couple of months (I doubt one can late pledge now), and it looked damn good and pretty close to this proposition...

[@nakanoFIN]

Multiple shorter campaigns sound great. That’s one aspect I really like in Divinity Original Sin Boardgame. The length is managable. Will potentially play it through twice with different build and story path.

[@froggoslime]

Looks amazing and thanks for the review. What is the thematic tone here - lighter than the dark tone of tainted grail?

[@girlmeetsmeeple5415]

Great review. This one definitely sounds like it is for me. Hopefully the app for this is as thorough as the one for Etherfields. It makes following various bread crumb story entries easy.

[@michaelhansen8290]

Very good video. what to choose: Lands of Evershade or Oathsworn?

[@paulbrusa68]

Hi Alex! Thank you very much for the review! What can you say about the Solo-Mode? Is it a smooth gameplay for 1 Player, or do I have to control 4 characters, etc.?

[@BoardGameCo]

I've been playing with 2 exclusively. Both two player and solo and both work. I haven't tried true solo but it is present.

[@nitro1048]

How would you rate replayability do you eventually know whats going on after a couple of campaigns or are the combinations and choises near infinite specially with future possible expansions? Also do you think its a good addition if you already own Cthulhu DMD , Massive Darkness 2 , Elder Scrolls Betrayal , Gloomhaven Jaws and Grimcoven? Listening to you it does seem to do something that the others dont and it might deserve it's own spot in the collection.

[@BoardGameCo]

I think replayability would be high even within the same campaign, but for myself I imagine I would still only play a campaign once...too many games anyways, no need to replay something even if the overlap is only 30% the same.

[@wouter9437]

A great insight in what the game feels like and is trying to accomplish. Still your review left me wondering about the repetitiveness of actions. How many actions are there, are they diversely applicable and do they feel repetitive? Coming from D&D I can see D&D having a quite limited action pool whom are carried by the diversity of how you embrace those actions. Investigating a tree for signs of wolf scratches is completely different than investigating which armorer will be the best to visit but is still the same action. However D&D has the advantage of allowing anything to be said and done which this game does not. I remember you mentioning that Tainted Grail felt too repetitive after a while and I could see it happening with this game as well. How do you feel about this?

[@Sammarco7]

My heart is willing...but my wallet...

[@davidubois86]

Do it.

[@Sammarco7]

@davidubois86 i did.. ):

[@IsraelNorth-q8s]

Setting the time investment aside, are you more interested in Lands of Evershade or Story of Many?

[@Matti_Mattsen]

Just got the All-In Pledge, can't wait to play this.

[@Hyperschark001]

same here. unfortunately, we have a year or more to wait ^^

[@djfusion2808]

I was already feeling really positive about this game, definitely something I’m looking forward to now.

[@-LiQuidGaS-]

@Daniel : how do you like this game as a solo? Is it hard to manage or is it a decent experience?

[@xtrem5428]

One question I have regarding this game: How important are the enemy miniatures? Comparatively, ISS Vanguard has gorgeous minis, but most barely get any use.

[@DukeJohnny]

Daaaamn, my wallet's gonna hurt this month :D Keeping my fingers crossed for this campaign, hope they get another massive hit and we get tons of unlocks and a brilliant game at the end!

[@cptmark427]

Wow. I’m very impressed by your ranking. I’ve been watching you for a while, and I’ve yet to see you give a game a five. I find that our approach and taste in. games is quite similar, so I will be strongly thinking of backing this one. I recently purchased tainted grail kings of ruin. How do you think this game would compare to that one in particular? Thank you for all of the great videos.

[@hunkalloc]

As parents: Is there a chacne to have a cool 1 1/2 Hour sessions at a evening? Or does it take more time?

[@DayKlight]

as far as i understood it, there are these adventures, that are split into the chapters, and in total youd need 10-15h for 1 adventure, 1 chapter can be around 3-5h long, but the chapters are split aswell as far as my understanding goes into 2 parts, these parts can be for example 30 min, long and second part 3h long (found the info on the shelfside video), so its very hard to say of you can fit an act into 1 1/2h , maybe its over in 1h maybe in 3, hard to tell atm

[@Paraboloid0]

I was on the fence with this one, but now you've put the cat among the pigeons. I backed both Agemonia and Arydia, so I'm definitely more interested now, but on the one hand do I really need another? Depends on how much is offered in the gamefound campaign I suppose. Hopefully not too many expansions.

[@gidiyaniv82]

Thanks :) Have you ever reviewed Middara?

[@crastorhale7438]

I always respect your opinions and reviews of a game, irrelevant if you work for GF or not. Been watching your content for long enough to know that. Appreciate the content as always. Thanks Alex

[@jayvir6]

I'm curious about the tests at hand. Are they all fail-forward? I would hate to encounter a fail state just because I couldn't pass a test.

[@37stu]

@BoardGameCo Are the rules on the sheet become overwhelming or is it easily manageable?

[@vazrenato]

I wish the AR companion app could track the locations and actions I've taken during the campaign. It’s really hard to remember whether I took a specific action or not after playing the game for several months...

[@4Tforyou]

Let's hope that AR learned from their mistakes with apps. They completely ruined the Kings of Ruin app. So many buggs and mistakes (missing keywords, link to wrong chapers)that in the end I was not able to finish the last chapter. Their best? For me Tamashii was topnotch. So please do not convince me... Love your content!

[@a.c.s.6204]

Tamashii is a fantastic game that doesn't get enough love in my opinion. It's so easy to pick up and play and the augments you get change every game the way you play.

[@Groovestonenz]

Ugh yeah I'm not a fan of the ISS Vanguard app. Some bugs in there have made it annoying to progress for our group.

[@Nidamir]

Oh.. so another step up in campaign games from AR that I should not back. But they get better and easier to table so I might get it and slowly make peace with selling the older ones.

[@AuthorDiCristofano]

How does this stack up against Tanares?

[@fatgim]

Im not sure what the con to the app would be honestly. A big TV screen with the app displayed that everyone can see would be great?

[@zimbo5521]

This game looks totally wicked awesome!!!!

[@1Dreamking]

This looks like it could be the best game ever, at least of it's kind, even so my biggest problem will most likely be to find other players to play it with me so if I am gonna get it I will most likely have to consider it a solo game and play double handed.

[@stephenwyda2568]

How does this compare to Story of Many?

[@luisecmf]

While the gameplay looks interesting, I do have the feeling they made it intentionally ugly so they can sell deluxified add-ons. I expect better looking dice, tokens, player trays, maps and so on...

[@kurentas]

Easy now, it's another 2 years or so until release so things will change along the way

[@luisecmf]

@kurentas what do you think will change? They just pulled this trick with Grimcoven selling extremely expensive dice

[@kurentas]

@@luisecmf I backed Grimcoven (ignored the ugly and expensive extra cubes) and followed Dragon Eclipse closely and well they changed quite a bit. I expect mechanisms, design and overall content to change as well, it's a long time until production and they will keep on introducing feedback. And if customers say certain parts are not good enough I reckon they will work on it.

[@adamswierszcz5586]

Played it at AR hq, I like the artwork and the customization of the characters, but I'm not convinced yet .

[@stickandmud]

The game looks beautiful. It will be my only campaign for 2024. 'Alf' is weird though... too silly for the atmosphere

[@1Dreamking]

To me (swedish) Alf sounds more serious than many other itterations of name for the race. Copied some text from Wikipedia cause I'm lazy atm- ;) "In Norse mythology, Dökkálfar ("Dark Elves")[a] and Ljósálfar ("Light Elves")[b] are two contrasting types of elves; the dark elves dwell within the earth and have a dark complexion, while the light elves live in Álfheimr, and are "fairer than the sun to look at". The Ljósálfar and the Dökkálfar are attested in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the late Old Norse poem Hrafnagaldr Óðins." "Svartálfar In Norse cosmology, svartálfar, also called myrkálfar, are beings who dwell in Svartálfheim. Both the svartálfar and Svartálfaheimr are primarily attested in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson."

[@arthurdent9281]

But great if you get attacked by some cats.

[@Z4R0K_]

You reviewed two of my most interesed games of november today and both look so good rip to my wallet ahah :)

[@BoardGameCo]

I specifically loaded up to 5 out of 5's for today :)

[@srebme2]

Crap. I skipped the other video today. Now I need to watch it and try not to spend more money.

[@henrikwakman7776]

Forsaken feels like the superior compparable game.

[@EarthenGames]

I thought I was gonna save myself from backing this but dang it…

[@jeffreydunford9251]

Sounds a bit similar to Arydia, in terms of trying to be an RPG in board game format. How does it compare to Arydia?

[@BoardGameCo]

Arydia was my main thought when I was playing this...they play differently but give me the same feeling.

[@jeffreydunford9251]

@ thanks for responding. I hadn’t got to your overall conclusion when I posted my question, but then was happy you mentioned it as comparable.

[@siriactuallysara]

I really shouldn’t. But I also really should have bought 6 games at a recent gaming convention auction. Too many games not enough time.

[@Camj41]

I’ll check it out but I’m anticipating Arydia. I really enjoy combat which it sounds LoE can lack.

[@nte2336]

Man i really have to decide between this and Avalon the riven vejl

[@raisingmorningstar8944]

I feel like there is no such thing like a campaign that consists of three acts with each 10-15h playtime for people that just want to play a shorter campaign. What would they do? Just play one act and then leave the game as is? Pay for the development and production of three acts but play only one? Play only one of three acts just like buying only the first book of a trilogy? It makes totally sense to me that you want to reach a bigger audience. But like this it makes only sense for people who want to give it a shot, because their friends have it and they would like to try it out for one act. But for the one who buys it, it doesn't really make sense to me...

[@siriactuallysara]

Question does the game feel railroading like oathsworn. Which had amazing stories and chooses but ultimately your choices didn’t matter

[@BoardGameCo]

Not to me, at least not yet.

[@eduardogarcia699]

If you could only support Avalon or LoE, which one would you go for?

[@BoardGameCo]

That's a great question and a hard one to answer. I think I would say evershade, but the main reason for that is that I have a lot of area control games that I really love, versus the only game I can think of that really mirrors this in what it's doing is Arydia

[@nigeltinning8713]

South Australia checking in. Love these videos. Love the culture. Love its hosts and presenters and love the hobby.

[@namewithheld8115]

South Australia is an interesting place. It's a state about the size of most of Europe, with of population of ~1.1M. Of that, about 1M people live in Adelaide, which means you have about 100,000 people in an area the size of Europe. On the other hand, it also has some of the best wine in the world!

[@LeeKenshin7]

5/5 got my interest and then you mentioned Arydia which I got coming so this will have to wait.

[@intrepidfool]

Why not both? Arydia is going to deliver in 2025. And then Evershade will arrive in 2026.

[@LeeKenshin7]

@intrepidfool I am seriously considering it but have recently limited myself to completing or selling a campaign game before going to the next one. I may just wait for Evershade to hit retail as I did with Oathsworn.

[@truthbetold7765]

3 hours?! No thank you, the game looks super detailed and amazing but to play that game by myself for that long is not really for me

[@MrWillyBeans81]

I think this game looks cool enough, but the hype is a little over done in these previews for some pretty standard ideas. Gushing about how a basic keyword system (if you have battlemage turn to paragraph 12) is the world reshaping itself and interacting with you based on your choices is a little much given that this is used in just about any boardgame like this in the modern era. I can literally find videos from 10 years ago making these exact same claims. I just wish we could tone this stuff down, because this is what always leads to the post-release backlash.

[@andrewwilson895]

As a fan of traditional tabletop RPGs, the excitement around all the various board game "RPG simulators" baffles me. That said, if you don't have a creative/dedicated player to act as GM, and/or you really enjoy the overproduced experience, I guess it makes sense.

[@intrepidfool]

I really enjoy Fateforge board game by Studio Agate (a french rpg company). World building and branching narrative combined with puzzly combat encounters make for a delightful mesh appealing to boardgamers and role players. Great way to get a taste of an rpg experience in a condensed time frame. Lots of similarities between Evershade and Fateforge conceptually and structurally (but not mechanically). Makes sense as the two design teams have been working closely together on the Tainted Grail rpg.

[@andrewwilson895]

@@intrepidfool Yeah, I didn't meant to conflate my impression of "RPG simulators" with "any board game with a story element." Fateforge is a game that was on my radar for some of the reasons you mentioned. It doesn't seem to be trying to simulate the RPG experience-I guess one of the features I keep seeing is /a lot of reading/ and /roll a die to make a skill check/.

[@MrMy23]

If you could only get one….. this or Agemonia?

[@BoardGameCo]

This. Which hurts to say but it's true.

[@dayoltay]

I funded CTG elder scrolls which destroyed my wallet (living in a developing country). Now you're just beating the dead, stop!!

[@elqord.1118]

AR has shit the bed so many times now that I‘m done being disappointed by them.

[@kevinc9065]

How so?

[@rawkyle9385]

How?

[@laxuscloud2495]

You will not be missed

[@nitro1048]

So did Amber Heard

[@derekgarcia3069]

This was a good video, and you helped confirm that this probably is not a game for me. Thank you Alex!🙂 The only diwnside is that thematically, i think i appreciate AR's story games more than anything, but the'yre sadly also the ones I've little interest in actually playing.

[@KniaziuM]

So, basically not a game, just a fiddly and expensive choose your adventure book? No, thank you.

[@AaronRose-q7d]

Yep, just like every other AR game. Overproduced garbage that you play a few times then it sits on the shelf and gets dusty

[@wallyiam1]

looks like a top game..but,AR are starting to pump more games out faster.without the faster delivery times...Nemesis retaliation is next year [possibly]... [i mean the proper pledge not the dodgy wave 1 which was a rerun of the first two games]..this is how MYTHIC GAMES started having problems... ive backed KS for a long time and spent many thousands on them.but since the mythic scandal..and companies like lazy squire games [apt name]..people are still waiting on lavron rising and stormsunder both at least 2 years late..and still no talk of production.never mind delivery!..KS and GF need some kind of regulating.before more companies go to the wall taking backers money with them!..i will do like a growing nymber are now doing pick it up on Ebay etc when the games actually ship!.

[@siriactuallysara]

But let’s be honest. This game is almost perfect for me.

[@mendicant1981]

Feels like they are making games for the youtube reviewers. Have they not learnt from the video game industry…. Game certainly does not look as epic as they made it sound a few months ago. I’ll continue to watch content on this, game does look decent

[@pandora8999]

+40k followers on their page👌🏻

[@rawkyle9385]

Stop it my wallet can’t take this 😢

[@mendicant1981]

I’m sorry but you play a game with story. Then complain about reading a book. It’s nothing to do with it being “big”. You just do not like this style of game.

[@amazoneyhifive6915]

If you could slow down when talking, it's very fast and sometimes hard to understand what you have said. Other wise a really good overview.

[@AaronRose-q7d]

Honestly I cannot stand Alex and it drives me insane that he is on every new game coming out. I want a preview but I just can't listen to his rapid-fire nonsense

[@yogibbear]

I don't think this counts as a "review".

[@BoardGameCo]

Interesting, why not?

[@Exilium2090]

You are employed by Gamefound, whose parent company is Awaken Realms?

[@AaronRose-q7d]

Seriously. "I work for this company and I give it a 5/5" Okay dude yeah they pay you to do that

[@BoardGameCo]

@@AaronRose-q7d And yet the last time they got a 5/5 from me was before I worked for them...weird how that happens. Did they forget to pay me for the last ones?

[@derraldlosey1118]

These kind of board games are a waste of money. You can get better RPG games on computer or console for much much cheaper. This one doesn’t even seem particularly tactical. More a choose your own way adventure book. But with a 300+ all in instead of 2-10 for a book. Or 10-70 for a video game.

[@pandora8999]

+40k followers, lmao

[@IsraelNorth-q8s]

Interesting. If I wanted to yuck someone's yum, I might write the same thing about a video game RPG. Oh, great. Another 80 hours of sitting on the couch by myself staring at the T.V. People have different hobbies. Some people have no interest in video games. Some people have no interest in their games being tactical. If this experience is not for you, it would be a waste of YOUR money. I am happy to have backed this project and others like it over the years. In the meantime, I'll be sure to tell the gentleman in our board game group who has three fingers to stop wasting his money on board games that have components that he can manipulate and get some video games instead.

[@derraldlosey1118]

I care little about your yum. My opinion doesn’t have to be positive, I am sure there will be plenty of positive opinions convincing people to spend money on this overpriced choose your own adventure.

[@derraldlosey1118]

By the way assuming you aren’t straight up lying. Plenty of rpg games you can play with only two fingers on each hand. Get out of here with that bs attempt to shame silence my opinion.

[@derraldlosey1118]

Exploding kittens had over 200,000 backers. Doesn't make it good.

[@boardgamebs]

Planning to upload a gameplay preview? Would love to see a full turn or how combat works.