Ouija • A serious board game for serious players
Next up on my horror in board gaming series is a cult classic of a title – Ouija, Board. Made famous in countless movies, television, and video games, this icon of horror is heralded a classic amongst tweenage children, alternative young adults, and the people behind Blumhouse Productions. Never having played the game myself, I thought it was high-time I did so that I could prepare newcomers to the series for the spooky experience they were in for…
A game stuck between plains of existence
One of the most obvious aspects of the Ouija experience is the developer’s lack of commitment to any one genre. While on paper this seemingly gives opportunity for the gameplay to become experimental and revolutionary, it only leaves the game feeling like it doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. It seems at first that the game is intended to be a minimalistic indie adventure indicated by its limited set of actions the player can perform. There are only two actions that can influence the outcome of the game which come firstly in the form of sliding the planchette (the controller) over the board’s letters and words to type out messages, and secondly in a completely passive capacity where player’s hands are guided by an NPC (non-playable character) to listen to a reply. Needless to say, this design choice is limiting to the overall enjoyment of the game and offers no opportunity for in-game tactics. The game also feels as though it wants to be a JRPG in a similar vein to Pokémon or Final Fantasy with its strong focus on chance enemy encounters. Sadly though, the core gameplay experience advertised is lacking when these encounters are rare, lackluster, or don’t show up at all. Additionally, there is only one enemy type found in-game (ghost-type enemies) making the game again feel like it wants to be a survival horror experience, but ultimately leaves the player feeling short-changed. The one positive mechanic is additional gameplay modes that allow you to play a single campaign or in local multiplayer (no online compatability yet announced).
A transparent narrative
From the get-go you are told that there are spirits out there and that they are waiting to be asked questions. The game wastes no time on set-up and immediately throws the player and their party into the midst of the story at the opening of the box. As most board games tend to do, the narrative is completely dependent on the player’s input. However, here it feels like a rather lazy attempt to force interaction between the players and the beings of the ‘spirit-world’. There is virtually no pre-established world built for Ouija which makes it particularly inaccessible to newcomers and to players who like to be able to lose themselves in the universe and its lore. If one of your party, or yourself, isn’t a particularly strong writer who is able to prepare a campaign for you, you might find the game to be lacking in any kind of compelling or engaging narrative and may find yourselves just sliding the planchette aimlessly across the board. Perhaps there might be a DLC story expansion pack in the near future? Props to the multiple endings (spoilers) though – not knowing if your time spent in-game will see your players irrevocably possessed by a demon of the seventh circle, or see them simply packing the game down and calling it a pleasant evening between friends is a great way to ramp up tension and make way for a possible sequel.
Expanding on the ectoplasmatic experience
While the story is yet to receive its expansion pack, there are a number of different ports of the title that offer some variance on the overall Ouija experience. These are mostly cosmetic changes from the traditionally gothic stylings of the original, but do offer the opportunity for player customisation. Some skins of the game include a Stranger Things version, a version based off of the popular 15-season television show Supernatural, and one based on the personality of musician Ozzy Ozbourne. One rare and controversial skin, popular amongst long-time fans of the series, is the above pictured ‘Girl version’ that was designed to specifically increase the viability of female players abilities to contact the dead in-game. It is hard though to review the customisable aspect of Ouija favourably though when it is common industry practice to re-release the same title with simple cosmetic changes, done first (and more successfully) by competing titles such as Monopoly, Clue, and Trivial Pursuit.
A game better left uncontacted
Overall, my time spent with Ouija was lackluster and disappointing. The gameplay is too simple and monotonous, and very obviously relies on the tried and true method of group-psychological idiomotoring to propel its gameplay. Perhaps if the story was more reliably engaging and didn’t focus so much on just contacting the dead (who, were almost always regretful or vengeful about something in their past life) then there would be more replay value in the title at least. As it stands, Ouija is a poorly designed and poorly crafted game that does the bare minimum to elicit enjoyment from the player. I give it zero Cthulhus out of five. More to be read here.
(0 / 5)
Next in my journey of all the cool games I saw at PAX, Quest Master! Quest Master is a love letter to retro dungeon crawlers and level designers. Taking inspiration from both Mario Maker and the Legend of Zelda franchise, Quest Master promises the ability to play and design dungeons with a variety of enemies, traps, and puzzles.
Check out the Quest Master game announcement here:
I was given a private 30-minute demo, where I got to try out some of the core features in a pre-beta version of Quest Master. This demo was led by one of the developers, Julian Creutz who shared some insight into the game design and user experience. My interview with Julian about Quest Master can be found here.
Quest Master has two main modes, playing dungeons and building them. I got to try out both, though I had a more comprehensive experience playing dungeons. While playing dungeons, the game mechanics were intuitive and simple. However, I was continuously surprised by the complexities offered by the puzzle and logic systems. For example, you can collect a boomerang which is incredibly easy to use. To solve one of the puzzles, I had to throw the boomerang through a torch (which I thought was just decorative) to catch the boomerang on fire and enable it to activate a gem. While the individual mechanics were basic, they combined into a sophisticated puzzle-solving experience.
Immediately, I was eager to look under the hood and see how the dungeon building mode enables the puzzle solving as previously described. Once again, I was impressed with the sophistication of a system with such simple mechanics. The controls for building weren’t intuitive for me, though I also don’t use a controller for much of my gaming (like I was during the demo). Additionally, I could see how it would be really easy to get accustomed to as you build.
As it was a short demo, I wasn’t able to try any of the multiplayer features (i.e. co-op, online map sharing) so I can’t speak to the success of their implementation. As this is supposed to be a large part of the game, I’m wary of wholeheartedly suggesting Quest Master for those interested in the multiplayer experience. However, I was impressed with Quest Master’s modern take on retro dungeon crawlers like the Legend of Zelda games. The graphics and controls feel like much needed quality of life updates for a system taking inspiration from older classics.
I recommend wishlisting Quest Master if you are a fan of old Legend of Zelda games or are looking for a fresh take on the dungeon builder genre. If Quest Master interests you, don’t forget to check out my conversation with Julian too!
(4.5 / 5)
Check out my other PAX posts here!
This past week I had the opportunity to go to my very first PAX East convention! For those who are unfamiliar, PAX East is a large gaming convention in Boston. This year marked its 20th anniversary, which meant an extra layer of celebration and festivities! Courtesy of a HauntedMTL Media Badge, I got to play tons of new games and meet even more interesting people. One of the games I was able to demo was LONESTAR by developer Math Tide.
LONESTAR is a roguelike spaceship building game reminiscent of FTL and Dicey Dungeons. It was released for early access on Steam in January and has gotten largely positive feedback. In the game, you play as a bounty hunter traveling through various sectors to defeat your bounties. Along the way you can visit a shop, take a breather, or experience other various events.
I was able to play the early access build for thirty minutes on the showroom floor, and I was pretty instantly hooked. I love roguelike deckbuilders, with Slay the Spire (especially the Downfall fan expansion) being a strong favorite. LONESTAR nails what I love from the genre, with an aesthetic smoothly integrated in its form and function and novel gameplay mechanics.
LONESTAR’s ‘deckbuilding’ element takes the form of ship systems. You can collect, buy, and upgrade them as you progress through a run. However, your ship only has so much space on board. As a player, you have to prioritize weapons and utility systems while also ensuring you diversify your damage output/defense across all three sections of your ship. At the beginning of each round, you are randomly given number values that can be input into your ship systems to achieve varied effects. The enemy responds in kind, meaning whoever can get the highest damage output is who overwhelms the other in the round.
I loved the possibilities for synergy and strategy as your pilot explored more dangerous sectors. It was incredibly rewarding to turn a couple of crap numbers into a super powerful attack. I also enjoyed the various options for “vacation” time in between battles, which kept everything feeling fresh. Of note, I only played for thirty minutes. While they were a rewarding thirty minutes, the game was not incredibly difficult. I cannot speak on the general replayability, though I would have been happy to continue playing for at least another hour. My only critique from the whole experience was that some of the vocabulary was unclear. However, that could have been due to starting mid-run during my demo.
If you enjoy deckbuilders and are interested in a spaceship game a bit easier than FTL, I think LONESTAR is a great choice. It is still in early access, however, I feel confident that the game is plenty of fun already. It is also only $10, so definitely worth taking a chance on. I’ll continue to watch the development of LONESTAR with great excitement!
(4.8 / 5)
Exx Vxx
April 22, 2020 at 9:19 pm
I once encountered a demon spawn. But it turns out spraying it with water and repeatedly tossing a bible at the head kills it in 5 turns. The only attack it had was menace.