Deep vents is a multilaterally competitive game where the objective is to bankrupt the other players of their archaea. The players periodically launch attacks on each other while also attending to the growth of their own ecosystem economies. This leads to a slow and highly strategic player experience that rewards patience and long-term investment. The underlying structure of the game is the hex tiles and their unique traits and interactions. Hexes have the ability to enhance each other, generate resources (archaea, shell points) and launch attacks upon enemy players. The way that the player chooses which intended effect they want from each hex in each turn is the choice between aggressive hex triggering and more passive hex growing. A downside of the multilateral competition aspect of the game is that the meta-strategy of multiple players teaming up on a single player does not really have a counter and is basically a death sentence for the player on the receiving end. In conclusion, although I personally greatly disliked the game, Deep Vents made use of a relatively unique combination of game mechanics that create a unique player experience.
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Jackbox has remained a staple of me and my friend's time spent goofing off since before quarantine. Each party pack consists of a small assortment of casual party games designed to be easily accessible on first play through. The 5 new games introduced all brought unique elements to the table and here is a mini review for each from my least favorite to most favorite.
First but actually last we have The "Wheel of Enormous Proportions" this game is a multilateral trivia game reminiscent of an earlier Jackbox mini-game "trivia murder party". While this game has a unique visual aesthetic and might be the most complex out of all the mini-games in terms of variety of content. Where this game is found lacking is when compared to its predecessor. The introduction of a highly luck dependent "Wheel" round makes the game not feel as competitive or skillful as more traditional trivia games. In short, the game does not add anything that would differentiate from other trivia games for the better. Similarly, the mini-game I liked second least is "Drawful Animate". This mini-game feels lazy, just taking the already tried and true concept of a "pictionary-esque" gameplay loop while only adding the superfluous catch that instead of images, the players draw 2-frame animated GIFs. This mini-game also doesn't have a strong aesthetic or personality in its visuals or title. Despite these downsides, I still had lots of fun playing this and the game still has strong replay value despite its poor execution. In the middle of "pack" we have the most conceptually simple game, "Poll Mine". This game takes the simple concept of a group working together through voting to choose the best answer to user-polled questions in a style similar to "Family Feud". Despite being a simple concept, the visual execution was done quite well, with a dungeon crawler aesthetic and visually distinct characters assigned to each player. The teamwork aspect created a laid-back and fun feeling to the atmosphere of the game, and the simple rules mad it easy to understand. "Weapons Drawn" comes in at number 2. this game provides both a unique quirk and aesthetic to the pantheon of Jackbox mini-games. The game's premise is a murder mystery where each player is assigned a letter that they leave behind at the scene of the murders they commit, and the goal of the game is to disguise your letter from the other detectives by camouflaging them into pictures. This gameplay loop allows for both problem-solving and an evolving metagame for disguising your letters. This unique gameplay is complemented by a gorgeous art style that gives each player's character a vibrant and compelling design. This mini-game successfully carries on the mantel of other iconic mystery solving games like Clue with grace. My favorite mini-game out of this party pack was "Job Job". this game succeeded because of its replayability and the comedy made possible by it. The premise of the game is that players are given prompts to respond to and other players take individual words from other players and scramble them into their own responses. My friends and I have already played this game multiple times and the stupid stuff we can write never ceases to make us laugh. Additionally, the background characters at the office in "Job Job" are all call backs to previous Jackbox games, which I find pretty cool |
AuthorI am an eleventh grader who goes to DSA. My main interests are design and music. Archives
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