Current Events > Horizon Forbidden West has a game like Gwent

(+) Yeah! (+)

But it's not a card game, it's a board game. It's actually surprisingly fun.

Really? Imma go get me a PS5 like now lol

is it complicated

SSJGrimReaper posted...

is it complicated

It kind of... is? But also isn't. There are a lot of components to it but the gist of the game is super simple. You move your robot figurines around the board and attack. But there are different types of robots, different types of terrains, you can attack from different sides to get bonus damage against weak points etc.

The Kotaku review really goes into this:
https://kotaku.com/horizon-forbidden-west-the-kotaku-review-1848524470

Nothing in Horizon Forbidden West sunk its claws in me more than a mini-game. Im not sure when exactly this trend truly took offI blame The Witcher 3s Gwentbut every expansive open-world RPG these days apparently has to feature an in-universe board game of some sort. Horizon Forbidden Wests take is a turn-based tactics game called Machine Strike.

Matches of Machine Strike play out on a square grid-based board. You and an opponent each have a set number of pieces, all based on the machines you fight against in the real game. Your goal isnt to wipe out all of your opponents pieces. See, every piece is allotted a number of points. Taking an opponents piece out will award you that many points; similarly, if you lose a piece, your opponent will earn however many points it was worth. Your goal is to hit seven points before your opponent does.
Youre given 10 points to customize a set of pieces. Stronger pieces, which have higher attack and HP values, are typically worth more points. So it becomes a measure of risk-versus-reward. Do you stack your set with low-value, low-power pieces? Or do you choose just a couple of strong ones?
The board itself is a strategic landmine. Tiles can appear as one of six terrain types, which alter a pieces stats, sometimes providing bonus effects or debuffs. Plus, every piecejust like the machines theyre based onhas strengths and weaknesses. Attack one from the side and you may deal extra damage. Attack another from the same vantage, however, and you might hit armored sides, nullifying some of your damage.

I cannot possibly emphasize this enough: Machine Strike on its lonesome might already be my favorite game of the year. (Im a huge sucker for good tactics.) Were I not on a tight deadline to complete Horizon Forbidden West, Id have sought out every single Machine Strike player.

Oh, yes, Machine Strike isnt just something you access via menus. Most towns, cities, and settlements are home to an NPC who plays the game. Defeat them on three boards and theyll award you with a piece, which you can use to further customize your sets, helping you defeat tougher players in other towns. One afternoon, I found myself wholly ignoring my more pressing quest log and, instead, charted a course from Plainsong to Scalding Spear through Falls Edge and Thornmarshyes, the city names are amazingjust to seek out more Machine Strike players.

ngl, hearing about the board game was a selling point, for me.

I've only played a few minutes last night, though, so I haven't come across it yet.

Oh shit, a tactics game? Thats cool as fuck.

I kinda want to buy it. But I have a huge backlog and elden ring is any day now

Antifar posted...

The Kotaku review really goes into this:
https://kotaku.com/horizon-forbidden-west-the-kotaku-review-1848524470

Haha nice.

Hot tips for young players: terrain bonuses to your attack work when your piece moves FROM the terrain type as part of its attack. So even if it doesn't end on that terrain type, as long as its attack starts there you get the bonus. For example certain ram units get +2 attack from hills, so if you move to attack from a hill terrain, but the piece has to charge a few spaces before it hits an opponent's piece, try to do it from the hill instead of the grassland or whatever.

Also, you can knock back enemy units into other units for slightly extra damage.

Remember the card minigame from RAGE? That was pretty cool