This 5-minute insight is intended to deliver what the title suggests: a brief overview with our opinion in just under 5 minutes.
Dawn of Madness has been available in a second edition including various extensions and improvements for a few days now. gamefound affordable. Best of all, a German version is also available here. We were able to take a look at the first version and are quite impressed.
Dawn of Madness bills itself as a "horror experience like no other," and that's exactly what it is. It feels like a classic campaign game, but it's much more story-driven. And you have to be prepared for that. We have no real goal to pursue or specific quest to complete. We're just there. Basically, in the wrong place at the wrong time—along with an abomination that wants to get us and that we have to fight.
As if in an open game world, we do what we want to do, and with each action we experience one of four stories in the world of Dawn of Madness. Stories that tell the suffering of the four characters in the game. In short, we move through the world with our character, fighting monsters and the Abomination, and having various encounters. Each encounter offers exciting story tidbits in which we must make various decisions that change the entire course of the game for us. No two games are the same. If we survive all of this, we reach one of four different endings in the story we are currently playing.
At the end, we jump into the game's finale, where there is no victory or defeat. The story factor is important here. The story can end worse or better. We have influence over it. The finale can turn out completely different, even within a story, depending on how we perform.
When playing Dawn of Madness, you have to be aware of the strong story focus. You have to read a lot. A lot of reading. This can be annoying in large groups. Personally, I would recommend playing the game solo or, at most, with two players. Dawn of Madness is like a really good horror book. And reading books with other people isn't really fun either.
In general, the stories of Dawn of Madness alone draw you deeply into the world. The gameplay aspect of Dawn of Madness adds a certain spice. Resources are scarce, and you really feel your character's despair in this dark world. All of this takes time, though. A game can easily last 4-5 hours, if not longer. But it's worth it: If you want a truly good horror experience, you should check out the game—Dawn of Madness is a horror game. And it's a really good one.
As information: We received a review copy from Diemension Games, including the miniatures. The miniatures aren't included in the core version. However, the game can be played well without them—and especially at the beginning, it's much easier without them, as the standees at least provide some color-coded information to differentiate the game from other content.
Information about Dawn of Madness
| Number of players: 1 – 4 Age: from 16 years Playing time: 60 - 300 minutes Difficulty: Expert game Classification: Cooperative, Adventure Game Author: Roger Ho, Chauncey (play); Roger Ho, Cherry Li, Bryon Leavitt, Chauncey (stories) Illustrations: Christopher Shy, Pedro Sena, David Romero, Creation Studio, Jiuyuan Studio Publisher: Diemension Games Official Website: Link to the Gamefound campaign Year of publication: 2024 Language: German, English, French, Spanish Cost: from $89 (Core Game) |
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Fantasy Flight Games, Villas of Madness 2nd Edition,...* |
75,39 EUR |
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