Let’s not hold it against it, but The Witcher Adventure Game
isn’t an adventure game at all, at least not the type normally
associated with video games. In fact, this mildly entertaining Witcher
universe offshoot is a faithful translation of the tabletop board game
of the same name by Fantasy Flight Games;
it’s all dice-rolling and card-flipping instead of sword fighting and puzzle-solving. Designed for board-game purists, it’s a no-frills, repetitive experience that offers just a brief diversion during the wait for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
There’s not a lot of variety to gameplay, though. At the start of a
match, each player selects their main quest from two randomly selected
quest cards. (The winner is whoever is first to complete either one,
three, or five main quests, depending on the setting selected.) Though
there’s some story flavor text outlining the main quest, and the
optional support and side-quests, completing a main quest always comes
down to having a set number of red, blue, or purple points and traveling
to a particular city. These simplistic main quests tend to be
interchangeable; all that differs is the city and the number and color
of points.
Strategy lies in choosing how to accumulate points, whether by selecting to Investigate (drawing an investigation card may assign tasks, traits, combat scenarios, or bonuses/setbacks) or Develop (drawing a development card usually gives a card to augment your dice throws in combat). It feels more like you’re playing alongside the other characters rather than truly against them, though. Most cards only negatively affect other players (and usually you as well) by luck of the draw rather than conscious effort, so winning a match becomes little more than a race to clear quests as quickly as possible. Admittedly, that could describe a bajillion other board games on the planet, but I’d hoped that the competition in The Witcher Adventure Game would be as brutal as its namesake.
The digital version of The Witcher Adventure Game is strikingly faithful to the tabletop experience, which is admirable in a purist sort of way, but I was a bit disappointed that it doesn’t leverage the medium to make the presentation more exciting. For example, when confronted by a monster at the end of a turn, the only monster you see is the one that appears as a drawing on the card, and there is no graphic depiction of your triumph or defeat at its claws. Click on the card and all that happens is a handful of dice drop across the screen, revealing your fate. The board itself does offer a few nice visual animations that you won’t see in the tabletop version, though, like rain and snow effects, smoking chimneys, and rustling leaves.
RATING: 6.5
it’s all dice-rolling and card-flipping instead of sword fighting and puzzle-solving. Designed for board-game purists, it’s a no-frills, repetitive experience that offers just a brief diversion during the wait for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Strategy lies in choosing how to accumulate points, whether by selecting to Investigate (drawing an investigation card may assign tasks, traits, combat scenarios, or bonuses/setbacks) or Develop (drawing a development card usually gives a card to augment your dice throws in combat). It feels more like you’re playing alongside the other characters rather than truly against them, though. Most cards only negatively affect other players (and usually you as well) by luck of the draw rather than conscious effort, so winning a match becomes little more than a race to clear quests as quickly as possible. Admittedly, that could describe a bajillion other board games on the planet, but I’d hoped that the competition in The Witcher Adventure Game would be as brutal as its namesake.
The digital version of The Witcher Adventure Game is strikingly faithful to the tabletop experience, which is admirable in a purist sort of way, but I was a bit disappointed that it doesn’t leverage the medium to make the presentation more exciting. For example, when confronted by a monster at the end of a turn, the only monster you see is the one that appears as a drawing on the card, and there is no graphic depiction of your triumph or defeat at its claws. Click on the card and all that happens is a handful of dice drop across the screen, revealing your fate. The board itself does offer a few nice visual animations that you won’t see in the tabletop version, though, like rain and snow effects, smoking chimneys, and rustling leaves.
RATING: 6.5
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