The Hungry Gamer Reviews Middara

[@HungryGamerReviews]

Some people have been sharing art that I have not come across in the game yet. This leads me to believe that it is not quite as balanced in the art as I have found in my 20 hours of gameplay. So I do need to pull back on my impression of the mitigation of the problematic elements of anime in that regard. Though I stand by the mitigation of the character tropes...at least for now.

[@brennamoncur4434]

Thank you so much for this wonderful review! I worked as a designer on Middara and it feels so good to hear when people see what we were trying to do mechanically. I think everything you said was very kind, and even your criticisms were valid. I'm so happy to see folks enjoying the game. Thanks so much for playing!

[@HungryGamerReviews]

Wow! Thanks for watching. I am dying for the PM to reopen so I can get my mitts on the new stuff!!!

[@brennamoncur4434]

@@HungryGamerReviews I'm so excited for the next chapters! I had to move on after the first game launched, so there will be lots of fun surprises for me too 🤩

[@HungryGamerReviews]

@@brennamoncur4434 I hope you will let me know if you have moved on to another game, I would love to check it out.

[@brennamoncur4434]

@@HungryGamerReviews Sadly I didn't. I just moved on to a different career, but if I ever get back into development, I'll let you know!

[@markwhitmore8441]

Such a great, thorough, and thoughtful review! Thanks for taking the time and effort to make such a tremendous video.

[@HungryGamerReviews]

Ty for watching!!!

[@kanadrishiraj]

I have seen many thumbnails of you eating board games, but this is the first review I saw. Wonderfully done! Subscribed! Looking forward to more. Your review convinced me to buy a NIS copy. That and local pickup!

[@HungryGamerReviews]

Thank you! I hope you really enjoy it. And local pick up is a HUGE win. Just don't hurt your back!

[@aaronriggan2373]

One quibble - In what universe is the Middara box not huge? The box weighs 22 lbs!!! Really great review - We've played through Ch. 2 so far and we're having an absolute ball!

[@HungryGamerReviews]

LOL I am thinking about Gloomhaven, anachrony, too many bones and games of that ilk...even empyreal spells and steam. But you make a good point...I have become numb to it I guess

[@Trueflights]

It's the same size as Mechs vs Minions. Definitely a large game, but I have others that are bigger.

[@tobyr21]

i’ve just started to play act one, so I sat down to enjoy your review, and I enjoyed it very much. I want to leave you with a comment that Marco Omnigamer made about the way the women’s clothes are portrayed in this game: The women just seem not to know how to dress for combat. of course, in Middara, that goes for the men too. -Toby

[@HungryGamerReviews]

Thanks for watching. I find the sexuality aspect to be close to as ridiculous for the men and women which is why it doesn't really bother me. Rook is a great example. Jks starting loading is a breastplate but he is shirtless. Now some of the optional add-ons are crazy pants

[@ericmatteau9954]

Great review. That made me even more looking forward to receiving my copy. :)

[@Trueflights]

They have a very nice abridged version of the story so that you can get the idea of what is going on without having to read the entire novel. There is also the Forteller app that has everything voice acted out for you along with sound effects.

[@anonymouse8953]

Thank you for this fine review! This game is indeed outstanding.

[@SoloBoardGamingKnight]

I stayed up all night creating an insert for Middara. I was able to store everything except the tokens. I kept tokens in a bead organizer because baggies would have made that a nightmare. I also was able to fit all the cards sleeved.

[@HungryGamerReviews]

Wow! I have a buddy that uses a plastic crafting/bead organizer for the whole game. Just tossed the box and put it all in there.

[@BattleSpew]

I love Middara. I backed it way back on their first kickstarter campaign and waited with bated breath for it to finally arrive. I then got two friends to jump into it with me, and we played the campaign through to completion. We ended up dedicating a table to the game, not bothering to pack it away, because we would be back every week, sometimes multiple times per week, just to keep playing it. And now with the updated rules and cards, we're playing it again, with a fourth person joining us.

[@HungryGamerReviews]

That is awesome. How many sessions did it take to finish the whole thing?

[@BattleSpew]

@@HungryGamerReviews At around 6 hours per session, and reading everything in the story, it still took somewhere around 12-15 sessions. Acts 2 and 3 should take about as long, combined, as Act 1 does, according to the devs.

[@HungryGamerReviews]

@@BattleSpew so great you have finisjed

[@arikwolf3777]

Now this is the game for me. Detail miniatures-Check. Unpainted-Quibble. Dungeon crawl-Check. Modular board-Check Check. Rolling Dice-Check. D6 dice only, no D4, D8, D12, nor D20-Quibble. Solo rules-Check. Character progression-Check. Rules on/in card decks-Quibble, Can use pieces for other games esp. D&D-Check Check CHECK!

[@HungryGamerReviews]

So what are you waiting for!!! Order it!

[@arikwolf3777]

@@HungryGamerReviews: One week: Payday!

[@crimsonsun2000]

Very lovely review, you echo many of my own thoughts especially around Anime as a whole, which is something I can take or leave, but I think Middara does it well and it doesn't negate from my gameplay experience, I also love the lore of Middara, its rich and almost believable.

[@HungryGamerReviews]

i think if the story wasnt so jam packed full of stuff...i would not be NEARLY as engaged with it

[@crimsonsun2000]

@@HungryGamerReviews If you are excited by one bounty there's another 5 coming in wave 2... along with two more boxes and a box to store it all in... Also around 3/4 of the1.5 stretch goals upgraded those standees to minis so there's no standees remaining, act 2 & 3 will have some standees for espers but they will be released in resin then eventually in plastic.

[@HungryGamerReviews]

@@crimsonsun2000 yup intend to jump in when they reopen the pledgemanageer for the new stuff

[@crimsonsun2000]

@@HungryGamerReviews Q4, likely end of the year. They will be doing discounts so it won't be much different than having backed originally.. :D

[@HungryGamerReviews]

@@crimsonsun2000 excellent news!!!!!!!

[@mattlowder]

Let people have their eye candy on all sides.

[@HungryGamerReviews]

If your art style is about eye candy then let everyone partake. I would rather it not be as eye candy...but it feels like equal opportunity eye candy

[@MarquisDeSang]

Did you play solo with 4 characters or only 2 with the special companion cards?

[@HungryGamerReviews]

I played w all 4. I have not used the companion mode

[@Thomas-kx9op]

Great review for an amazing game. 10/10 for me.

[@HungryGamerReviews]

Thanks! You got the rest coming?

[@Thomas-kx9op]

Yes, sure do :-)

[@HungryGamerReviews]

@@Thomas-kx9op I'm waiting for late pledge to reopen

[@Thomas-kx9op]

@@HungryGamerReviews They will reopen the PM in 4Q.

[@paulwastney5134]

What are your thoughts now a year later

[@HungryGamerReviews]

I still think it is very very good. It gets a little more complex than I expected after playing another 40 hours. But still excellent

[@HarleyFirestorm]

two years later and still worth a watch, I will say that the artwork isn't something that really bothers me, its manga style and pretty much expect it, even KDM doesn't bother me with its sexualisation, to some extent I actually like it from an art perspective. I would understand if someone didn't like it as art is subjective, what I don't like is a creator/publisher being bullied into changing their direction because someone doesn't like it. As for diversity, honestly does everything HAVE to be diverse for the sake of being Diverse!. I think people are getting too hung up on these non issues. I'd be quite happy to play a diverse game as much as I would be just as happy to play one that it not, but again I don't like creators/publishers feeling like they have to do it to please a few people.

[@HungryGamerReviews]

Does it HAVE to be diverse? No. Do I think games SHOULD be diverse? Yes. Our world is not all white, no reason our games should be. And as you say, if you have no problem playing a diverse game then no reason you should complain about it really. Regarding putting it in to please people. I mean that is kind of how capitalism works right? You want people to buy stuff...you have to please them.

[@HarleyFirestorm]

@@HungryGamerReviews who are you actually trying to please?, in my experience its usually a small group of white people. As for the sexualisation, its usually more to do with a very small group of women and usually a larger amount of men who actually complain. When I say I don't mind diversity I mean it in a way that creator envisioned their product, as I believe that people should be allowed to be creative without interference from politically motivated people, and the great thing about capitalism is you don't have to buy things you don't like or agree with.

[@HungryGamerReviews]

Well since you think only a small portion of people like to see non-white people...I think we are at an impasse. I know that the community I live in, and care about diversity matters.

[@HarleyFirestorm]

@@HungryGamerReviews Don't twist my words I never said that people are against non whites in the game community, I'm not, but the fact it its a very small group of white people who shout about it, when most people don't care, but they care about those people who keep shouting about from their horse. How many black board gamers do you know?, me I only know one and we've never met in real life, and he has never brought up the lack of diversity. I have and always have lived in very diverse communities and without one single example of someone any different my Black and Asians friends would never sit down to play a board game, they would sit down and play a drinking game though, or a game of cards (usually both at the same time). For me artistic freedom matters more than a small group of white men who seem to think that they have to champion every perceived social injustice, which also comes across as a bit narcissistic. Its something that seems to infect journalists the most, I remember one channel harping on about Paleo and the cavemen being white, but not a single thing about the lack of diversity in Endless winter (I couldn't care less).

[@HungryGamerReviews]

Uh...I know lots of non white board gamers...you sure are shouting a lot about how you don't want diversity in your games. Not sure I understand why you are so angry about it. What difference does it make in your life if the heroes in a game are a mixture of skin tones?

[@kosterix123]

It’s succubus and not succubis, unless it’s a brand.

[@HungryGamerReviews]

Oops

[@kosterix123]

Anime is traditionally Japanese and middara is western. Nothing wrong with chainmail bikinis but how is the writing? How is the world building? The lore? In other words is this just Massive Darkness?

[@crimsonsun2000]

@@kosterix123 No, not close, but don't take my word for it, if you go to the 1.5 KS page and go though the updates they tell a story, its in the world but not part of the Story being told in this series (could happen in future though as they are building on the world as an established IP).

[@kosterix123]

@@crimsonsun2000 ok thanks

[@BattleSpew]

@@kosterix123 Consider this: Succubus Publishing has a youtube channel where they posted a 20+ minute long Middara lore video. The story in the adventure book, when condensed down to just the writing, is over 200 pages long. For act 1. And nearly all the big cards (with the characters & monsters) are just lore dump text on the backs of each.

[@FoxOneFoxOne]

Spoiler filled...not nice

[@HungryGamerReviews]

Spoiler filled? Hardly. There are literally 400 pages of story, I showed what 2?