Planet Apocalypse | Review | with Mike

Demon-fighting time! How much fun is it to smash giant minis in this mix of tower defense and hero upgrading?
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0:00 - Introduction
0:38 - Enemy Activation (Pro)
1:19 - Troop Units (Mix)
2:08 - Actions and Combat (Pro)
2:43 - Gift Upgrades (Pro)
3:27 - Core Content and Cost (Con)
4:30 - Final Thoughts
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"Music from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com)"

[@scyldscefing3913]

You do an exceptional job of providing relevant concise content in a short time. Thanks.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Thanks so much! That’s exactly what I’m striving to do :)

[@bigticket5657]

Great review, Mike. This is my favourite game of 2020. The only negative is the base content for those buying at retail. Buying at least 1 expansion is a must. Even though they cost 60-80 dollars a pop, they do add alot of replay value to the game and the new maps are way more interesting than those in the base game. I'm looking forward to PA2. =)

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Yeah, looking through the expansion content (since the details are in the main rules), I was impressed with the crazy bosses and maps they had to kill my heroes :)

[@DieNische]

Great to see you covering this game. You are totally right with the price point of the base game. I would say that you get 3 sessions out of the core game before you want more. But the expansion content is amazing and the replay value rises exponentially. This is my favourite game 2020 so far - a genius design, amazing boss battles and boss ideas with lots of cool choices and challenges. I would like to see an expansion review from you. ;)

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I could imagine that happening if either I pick one up, or pass it on to my friend and THEY buy it ;)

[@DieNische]

@@OneStopCoopShop Great plan overall.

[@bernardgodfrey3499]

Shame on the final con, a mistake that is, unfortunately, frequent in trying to sell a KS. Like you Mike, I like miniatures, but don't love them. A few extra scenarios and less plastic or resin is much more preferable. I'm still on the fence, as everything else is calling to me. Great review.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Yeah, this one has me conflicted. I could still imagine myself picking up one or more of the expansions...

[@bobnetherton4957]

@@OneStopCoopShop Thanks again for the review and playthrough. I am really conflicted as well, even more so after watching your playthrough. I'll ponder this over a couple of games of The Darkest Night :-)

[@killastutz]

For what its worth, since getting it at retail it is actually my #1 board game. I don't even like the theme of this, but simply can't get enough of it. In two weeks we have played 30 times. I have added expansions as well, but for me it was worth it!

[@Tombonzo]

Great 5n5, Thanks again.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

All for you, Tom ;)

[@danieltaylor3755]

What is a good solo alternative to this one?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

It’s a bit unique in the mix of character building and tower defense. But for a similar theme with character leveling and tactical combat, maybe Cthulhu: Death May Die

[@RedeyeX23]

Good review, , this is one of those games that was great for Kickstarter but isn't worth it at retail..so true about the content.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I think there’s another Kickstarter planned, so maybe there will be a second chance ;)

[@hmgrraarrpffrzz9763]

Well, I don't think there is a huge difference. I paid during the KS campaign 160$ + shipping for the core game, stretch goals (basically an expansion box), one expansion, and one or two additional bosses. On some well known websites you can buy the game new for 70$ and an expansion box for less than 50$. So there you pay 170$ for the core game plus two expansions. Not a big difference, and shipping might be cheaper.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

@@hmgrraarrpffrzz9763 oh good to know. I figured it was a bigger discount.

[@seanmorgan2257]

Definitely agree with you Mike, watched your playthrough and enjoyed it but when the add ons cost almost as much as the base game becomes a rich mans game

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Well said, Sean

[@kwulfe]

Thx for presenting it. In general I always hesitate to spent several hundred dollars on a single game with lots of expansions. But here the All-in Pledge is worth the money because more maps, more demon lords is what creates the modularity here. I would have preferred if they had find a different solution for the troop cards. I think they doesn't really fit to the overall aesthetic of the game and the card quality is also not really good. Nice troop tokens or maybe standees, miniatures would have been better in my opinion.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Oh, interesting point. If they could find a solution that still presents troop information in a clear way, I’d be happy with alternative troop options. And yeah, this is kind of game that seems made for an all-in on Kickstarter :)

[@mabos555]

I just liked the fact the you can play as Israel and that's it

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Lol, gotta take what you can get I guess!

[@carpegodi1]

Boar, I have to say I am totally dissatisfied with a lot of things about the game. After three games, there are a lot of questions about the rules that can't be answered anywhere. The German translation is a farce. You should really talk to the german translator and ask him if he has ever played the game before he started to translate it. Or ask him if he just let deepl run through it? There is so much that is wrong. Super bad! The quality of the game's components is also miserable. For the price, that's just outrageous. One of my miniatures had two broken arms. The cards all stuck together and when I tried to separate them, the color came off and now I have crappy cards. (This is a problem most backers have from the first kickstarter, some even have really broken cards). The insert of this game is also just bad. Most of the box is just air and the organizer slots are ridiculous and just annoying. Who came up with these card slots? You can't get the cards out properly, yes you can bend the cards easily when you try to get them out. Besides you can't put sleeved cards in them. A card slot even bends the cards because it´s to small. Somehow I have the feeling that there was either no quality control at all or the quality was deliberately waived because of the profit. I can't understand all this at all. For me the game is a rip-off. A cool game idea (no question), but a bad quality of the components for a lot of money and a completely immature rulebook with a damn bad German translation. I have translated game rules for publishers myself, I know what I am talking about. I would be ashamed if I had sold this game to people for the price. It's a pitty! The game has the potential to be really good but not with all the shortcomings I mentioned before.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

That's really frustrating. Sorry to hear about both the component woes and the poor translation!

[@larrybartels3833]

The graphics on this game looks like it was published in the 80's. Player boards look cheap and again the graphical layout just seems uninspired. The game board sections- again just look ugly and do not add to any immersion.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

None of the graphic design was off-putting when I played, but I do wish they had more art, like for the individual gift cards.