Pecketh the Raven, One Eyeball at a Time: a Review of Nevermore
Forget quoting the raven, how about going to head to head in a card-drafting spell-flinging all out duel to the death? Because that’ll really get your feathers flying.
Nevermore hails from Smirk & Dagger Games and is a fast-paced card drafting game in which you try to outwit your friends to rise to the top. The game fledges somewhere between Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven and The Crow supernatural superhero comic series, with magic users attempting to defeat one another, turning each other into ravens by attacking or flinging spells while trying not to be turned into ravens themselves.
In a raven-peck-raven world, how do you come out on top?
There are multiple ways to win: to gather enough victory points to win while ending the game as a human, to be the last human player standing, or to peck all of the other players to zero health turning them into ravens while in raven form. You have hover stay on top of everything to be sure no one is sneaking anything past you and to make certain none of your opponents have the upper hand. But then again it always pays to keep up on the highest branches; there’s less shit to deal with up there.
Flights of cards: structuring game play
Each round, all of the players are dealt 5 cards. They try to build their hands around the suits: hearts (healing), swords (attack), cups (victory), and Light Magick (spells). Whoever has the most of any given suit in a round gets to activate that suit’s power for the round, the effects of which differ depending on what suit it is. A fifth suit, the raven cards, can either go all out and win the round (if your hand consists of 5 ravens) or cause you to lose other cards in your hand to their incessant pecking. Skulking Ravens (extra raven cards that remain after all other cards have been pecked away) earn Shadow Magick (dark spells). So the bird in the hand can be worth more, but only if you can manage to get enough of them to do something useful.
The challenge comes from having to pass cards and dealing with flung Light and Shadow Magicks. It’s not just the luck of the draw but requires attentive planning to be sure that you don’t pass cards to your neighbor that would give them an edge. And to keep cards that you think will gain an advantage when paired with the unknown cards coming your way from your neighbor to the other side. You have to pay attention to what goes and comes around to get ahead in this peck-or-be-pecked world.
Nevermore is pretty simple to learn and it’s easy to get the hang of play. And even when you are losing, you can still make a comeback and win the game while in raven form (for all that you are very limited in your ability to do), so there are many different strategies depending on how things are going and what the other players are up to. As a result, Nevermore is less frustrating than some of those drafting games where you know well in advance who is out in front while you just keep watching them fly further and further into the lead with nothing you can do to thwart them. This game offers options, like those shiny baubles you want to collect and hoard in your nest.
I give Nevermore 4.0 Cthulus.
(4 / 5)
It’s a great game to pull out from time to time and get your Edgar Allan Poe and/or Eric Draven fetish on. But Nevermore is a bit simple to keep long term interest, kind of like a shiny bauble in your nest-hoard. Sure, it’s sparkly, but there’s just not much else to it. Every game plays out more or less the same with differences depending on the players and the draw of the cards. But let’s face it, sometimes that’s just what you needed – something to glimmer at you as you peck everyone else’s eyes out.
Hey, Munchkin Maniacs! Ready to level up your game nights? Dive into the ultimate Munchkin experience with the Munchkin Big Box! This collector’s bounty is packed to the brim with over 600 cards decked out in John Kovalic’s iconic art, not to mention the rad new gameboards, standees, and more surprises than you can shake a +1 Sword at!
Here’s the rundown:
- Playable with 3-6 Players
- Epic game time of 1-2 Hours
- Perfect for ages 14+
- BackerKit steal of $125
What you’re getting:
- A mind-blowing 650+ cards including all your faves and new exclusives
- A killer box that can hold over 2,000 cards and gear
- Swanky card separators and dual gameboards for ultimate play
- Six colorful dice, two Kill-O-Meters, and an updated rulebook to keep things spicy
- 12 Standies in various colors, standie bases, and a playable bookmark because why not?
- The cherry on top? A Limited Edition Spyke Enamel Pin and exclusive Munchkin decals!
Since its epic launch in 2001, Munchkin has been slaying at game nights worldwide. Now’s your chance to be part of the legend. Get ready to take a one-way ticket to Munchkin glory, and you need to do is click on to BackerKit and help this bad-boy come alive!
So, what are you waiting for? Summon your crew, back ’em on BackerKit, and let’s make the Munchkin Big Box a reality. Your adventure begins now – don’t miss out on the loot, the laughs, and the ultimate betrayal. Back it, unpack it, and start the munchkin madness cuz you KNOW HauntedMTL is up and ready to back!
Join the adventure on BackerKit and let’s slay this beast together! 🐉🗡️✨
Click here to back the Munchkin Big Box on BackerKit!
Don’t just play the game, BE the game. Let’s do this, Munchkinheads!
Continuing with video games I got to try out at PAX East, I was delighted to demo Let’s! Revolution! the debut game by developer and publisher BUCK. BUCK has historically been an animation and design studio, notably having worked on Into the Spiderverse and Love, Death, & Robots. Let’s! Revolution! marks their first foray into the world of video game development. I found this so interesting, I spoke to the Creative Director for Let’s! Revolution! on his career and how BUCK navigated that transition (find it here).
Let’s! Revolution! is a roguelike puzzle game inspired by the classic game Minesweeper. In it, you play as one of six heroes fighting their way along the dangerous roads to the capital city. Once there, you can defeat the tyrannical king and save the kingdom from his reign. Released in July of 2023, the game has been met with high praise. Unsurprisingly, this includes the game’s artistic and musical direction (by the team at Antfood), which is both stylistic and beautiful.
Watch the console reveal trailer here for a taste of the delightful animation and music:
I had the opportunity to play a 20 minute demo of Let’s! Revolution! on the PAX East show floor. I played alongside the Creative Director and other people who worked on the game. It’s important to note that this wasn’t long enough to get a feel for all the characters or the replayability of the game. But, it was definitely long enough to be enchanted by the game and the passion of the people who made it.
The core mechanics are inspired by Minesweeper. The player must use the power of deduction to uncover procedurally generated maze pathways to the exit. However, enemies are hidden along the way and can defeat the player before they reach their goal. Each character has their own special abilities that can help. Items and general abilities can also be bought or discovered to make your hero more powerful. All of these are limited in some way either by energy (your action currency) or limited uses per run.
From what I played, the gameplay is relatively simple with a mix of chance and strategy. I liked the cozy atmosphere, especially when combined with the ‘high stakes’ mechanics associated with Minesweeper. The UI was easy to understand and interact with while still being cohesive with the storytelling. And of course, the character design is exquisite and narratively driven, with many of the characters presenting as queer.
Having released on consoles earlier this month (April 2024), Let’s! Revolution! is even easier to access than ever. Let’s! Revolution! is a perfect game for those who love cozy roguelites and beautiful (queer) aesthetics. I definitely recommend it for fans of roguelites looking to try something fresh. Look for it anywhere you game!
(4.5 / 5)
Check out my other PAX posts here!
