Descent: Legends of the Dark Announced
Fantasy Flight Games has a new entry into the Descent Universe. Time to gather your party and adventure forth into the Legends of the Dark!
When FFG hosted their In-Flight Report, they had a certain teaser at the end. Folks have been wondering for months what was up with that MASSIVE Descent box. Well, now we know. It’s Descent: Legends of the Dark and it’s just as big as that box led you to believe.
For years, your journeys have taken you across the fantasy realm of Terrinoth, venturing into dark forests, shadowy cities, ancient crypts, and misty swamps… but your true legend is about to begin.
Forge your own legend together with your friends as you adventure across the vibrant fantasy realm of Terrinoth in Descent: Legends of the Dark, the definitive cooperative dungeon-crawling board game for one to four players! Powered by its fully integrated free companion app, Descent: Legends of the Dark puts you in the role of a budding hero with their own playstyle and abilities. Together with your unlikely companions, you’ll begin an unexpected adventure—an adventure told across the sixteen quests of the Blood and Flame campaign. Throughout your campaign, you’ll face undead lurking in the mists, demonic barbarians stalking the wilds, and even more terrifying threats. With 46 pieces of 3D terrain and 40 stunning hero and monster miniatures to draw you into the game, your greatest adventure is yet before you!
What is Descent: Legends of the Dark?
Let’s start off with the BIG question – is this the third edition of Descent: Journeys in the Dark? And the answer is NO. This is NOT the third edition – it’s a new game set in the same universe. It’s also a dungeon-crawling board game and it’s taking the game in an adjacent direction. While it still has the tile system that is similar to Decent: Journeys, this game is going for more of a co-operative experience. You’ll no longer need one of your players to be the Overlord of the dungeon – now, you’ll have an app for that.
“Although Journeys in the Dark featured the Road to Legend companion app, that game was always designed as a competitive experience, pitting one to four hero players against a single overlord player. Legends of the Dark harnesses its integrated companion app to deliver a cooperative game from the very beginning, freeing you and your friends to fully focus on becoming the heroes of Terrinoth.”
And it’s not just the player roles that have shifted. It’s also some of the core gameplay mechanics.
“Core gameplay mechanics such as combat, fatigue, skills, items, and more have received completely new interpretations with Legends of the Dark, while a new approach to scenario layout and 3D terrain creates striking multi-level scenarios.”
Yep. You read that right. We’re going full 3D chess on this one. I’m VERY curious to see how FFG is handling that aspect. They do tease out some of the mechanical interactions like being able to search bookcases for tomes you might need. Those 3D items aren’t just there for show and that sounds pretty neat.
The new Descent also takes you out of the dungeon for even more interaction with the world.
“The app also brings new changes to gameplay, introducing enemies with adaptable strategies, complex status effects and triggers fully managed by the app, and the ability to develop your heroes based on the choices you make in scenarios. You’ll also uncover a wealth of activity between scenarios, such as crafting, shopping in the city, upgrading equipment, and more.”
The Miniatures
Let’s hit the pause button on the mechanical changes for moment and take a look at something a bit more tangible: The Miniatures.
The Heroes
The Villains
Yeah…I can get behind these! The Decent sculpts from previous editions were already pretty solid and these look like they have stepped up their game even more. I want to get my hands on these for sure!
There’s a lot more to cover about this new game from FFG and you can read up on even more of the mechanics and game play directly from FFG. Descent: Legends of the Dark is already up for Pre-Order at your local retailer and is slated for a Q2 release in 2021 – so there is plenty of time to budget for this fantastic looking game.
Descent: Legends of the Dark $174.95
Note: If you’re curious about my thoughts about FFG’s Hybrid gaming, I’d suggest you check out an article that covers that very thing.
