Armello

 PC
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 86 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 86
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 86
  3. Negative: 13 out of 86

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  1. SuperkenGaming
    Sep 5, 2015
    7
    Armello
    About as fun to play as watching paint dry
    Now don’t get me wrong, Armello is a great strategy board game with many layers to make this game potentially insanely addictive, but it’s problem is it’s pacing. There are 4 heroes on the board at a time, now not only are there 4 heroes, there is a king, 3 guards and sometimes multiple banes.. and you have to sit through all of the    Armello
    About as fun to play as watching paint dry
    Now don’t get me wrong, Armello is a great strategy board game with many layers to make this game potentially insanely addictive, but it’s problem is it’s pacing.
    There are 4 heroes on the board at a time, now not only are there 4 heroes, there is a king, 3 guards and sometimes multiple banes.. and you have to sit through all of the these characters turns and it becomes dreadfully boring quickly.
    To be fair, heroes can play cards on each other at any time and the king makes decrees but an optional fast forward button absolutely needs to be patched into this game at least in single player, with a force pause when a character plays a card that affects you, there really is no point in waiting for what feels like an eternity to go again, there is already a tab that allows you to check the current stats of the other 3 heroes you are competing against.
    Other than the dreadfully slow paced gameplay, Armello is a wonderful game.
    Every character has their own bonus perks and starts out each game with a mission that they can
    go towards for cards, companions, gold, and prestige to help further their odds of winning this chance based strategy game. After you’ve completed a mission, you’re then given a choice of the mission you want to go for next, but these missions are completely optional, there are tons of strategies that can be used to win the game.
    You can use your gold to activate combat and trickery cards, and can use your magic to activate magic cards.
    You are allowed to draw cards every turn assuming you have less than 4 cards available to play
    If you don’t want a certain card you can burn it in battle for a guaranteed attack or a guaranteed shield
    or really to just free your hand for hopefully a better draw.
    Combat cards will boost your combat skills,
    Trickery and magic cards can be used either on individual heroes or effect a section of the board.
    These hurdles can hinder the other heroes in their quest, which is a good thing because you can also gain gold and prestige by killing other heroes, by claiming villages on the board, by killing banes, or exploring ruins.
    By being the character with the highest prestige, you get to choose the decree the king makes, this decree can effect the entire board or just a few, which does include you
    If the king dies by the rot before a character can defeat him, you will also win the game.
    The rot can be a good or a bad thing depending on your strategy.
    You get the rot by playing cards or losing a battle against banes, if you get up to 5 bane your character becomes corrupted, and like the king, every dawn you lose 1 health, but by defeating other character you gain 1 health. And dying isn’t all too bad here in armello,
    if you die you aren’t out of the game, you just go back to your starting space.
    To win with the rot, you simply get your rot higher than the kings is, you attack the kingdom and defeat him in battle.
    You can also just straight up attack the king to win or collect all 4 spirit stone to cure him.
    I really love the game of armello, I want to pour hours and hours into this board game
    But I feel like it doesn’t respect my time enough and in the current state it’s in I just can’t
    For being a game, you do a lot more waiting than you do playing, and that’s a huge issue
    For what it is
    Strategy Boardgame:
    8.5/10

    Overall:
    6.5/10    … Expand
  2. Runatyr
    Nov 20, 2016
    9
    This game is great fun. And ultimately, that's why I play games. Granted, there's a huge luck factor... it's a board game, after all. But there is enough casual strategy to keep you interested. You unlock more options as you go along, and you can combine those options with characters better suited to capitalize on them, giving you a considerable higher chance of winning. But the underdogThis game is great fun. And ultimately, that's why I play games. Granted, there's a huge luck factor... it's a board game, after all. But there is enough casual strategy to keep you interested. You unlock more options as you go along, and you can combine those options with characters better suited to capitalize on them, giving you a considerable higher chance of winning. But the underdog can still win, and luck can still desert you... and that's part of the fun! The DLC gives you even greater character options and better aesthetics, but the base game is solid, and there are no real microtransactions that affect anything important. (You can buy cosmetic dice, but you certainly don't need to, for instance.) The graphics are great, the music is great, and the gameplay is solid. Single player is fun, but the real fun is in multiplayer, and the limited conversation options and recommendations system keeps it clean and fun for everyone. If anyone ever played the wonderful but short-lived Key Quest on Neopets, this game is like a brilliant step-child of that game, with board game elements, fantasy elements, plenty of luck, a little strategy, and a brooding but cute anthropomorphic cast of characters that somehow brings the brutal but adorable Watership Down to mind. But I digress. If you like the genre, the game is... well, at the top of its game. Highly recommended.… Expand
  3. AirXoniX
    Dec 20, 2018
    8
    Cozy game for cozy gamers. Various adventure but overpriced and that GOG scandal...
  4. upThere
    Sep 5, 2015
    5
    Feeling a bit cheated by this game. The character artwork, the world and story videos are truly amazing and got me invested, but after a few hours trying to get deep into this gameplay, the fun just isn't there. You spend ages waiting around for other players to do their thing - which is fine if there's real strategies to plan - but when stuff does finally happen the outcome seems all tooFeeling a bit cheated by this game. The character artwork, the world and story videos are truly amazing and got me invested, but after a few hours trying to get deep into this gameplay, the fun just isn't there. You spend ages waiting around for other players to do their thing - which is fine if there's real strategies to plan - but when stuff does finally happen the outcome seems all too random and incoherent. Disappointed in what could have been a very compelling game. The music is great though.… Expand
  5. tjohobbit
    Sep 4, 2015
    4
    Liked the concept and art but:

    Waaaay to much luck
    AI always try to hinder me and not the AI that are close to winning
    To slow watching AI turns.

    Interesting to see *the thing that never happens* that professionals dont have any critics about what the game even though everyone else have the luck as a issue for example.
    Plz stop taking gifts and start to be proffesionals.
  6. Kl0kwurk
    Sep 4, 2015
    1
    Great artwork but a disappointing board game.

    Armello has some similarities to Talisman, in that a way to win is in the middle of the board, but you need to improve your character's stats and gather useful equipment before you have any chance at it. However, killing or curing the king hardly ever happens as you have to be incredibly lucky for either to be feasible, so pretty much    Great artwork but a disappointing board game.

    Armello has some similarities to Talisman, in that a way to win is in the middle of the board, but you need to improve your character's stats and gather useful equipment before you have any chance at it.

    However, killing or curing the king hardly ever happens as you have to be incredibly lucky for either to be feasible, so pretty much every time the game will run out of turns and the player who happens to have the highest prestige wins.

    Winning or losing is almost entirely based on luck. Meaningful decisions don't really come up, each player will tend to do their own thing, clicking on the next 'quest' and hoping to randomly have the most prestige when the game ends.

    Quests and encounters consist of a random die roll. Most of your time is spent waiting for the other players to take their turns, more so even than most other board games thanks to all of the neutral units taking their turns.

    In general it is just rather shallow, dull and repetitive.

    I love board games but there are many other board games, both physical and digital, that are better and cheaper than this one.

    However the 2D artwork is gorgeous and the in-game graphics and animations are nice.    … Expand
  7. Shoki
    Sep 3, 2015
    6
    I was hoping that this would be so much better. It's pretty flat. So much is based on luck that there really isn't much strategy to be had. The sound design is pretty weak and the levels are all over the place. Maybe they will improve it as time goes on. I think you are better off with something else for the time being.
  8. Kamamura
    Aug 29, 2016
    4
    Another promising game based on an interesting premise, spoiled by the Ameritrash design approach, in other words, every event in the game must involve tons of dice rolls - one dice does not suffice here, you have to roll dozens of them at once, apparently. The slick interface and nice art is marred by mandatory blur and bloom that gives the impression you are losing your eyesight toAnother promising game based on an interesting premise, spoiled by the Ameritrash design approach, in other words, every event in the game must involve tons of dice rolls - one dice does not suffice here, you have to roll dozens of them at once, apparently. The slick interface and nice art is marred by mandatory blur and bloom that gives the impression you are losing your eyesight to glaucoma. After a few hours of unfocused trodding on a map at the mercy of the RNG, you will shelve the game, never to return.

    Think Talisman, with better lore and graphics, blurred and bloomed to hell, with more directions to go.

    So much beautiful art, totally wasted.    … Expand
  9. Skejven
    Feb 5, 2016
    9
    I don't really understand the hate game gets because of it's luck aspect. Yea, i would also want it to be a strategic game, i love strategies, but it was intended to be BOARD GAME. As far as i played, most of board game are based on throwing dice, and it's mostly how you play them.
    For a game, it looks great, it sounds great, gameplay is nice. Unfortunetly there is no story.
  10. blubberguts
    Sep 4, 2015
    8
    A beautiful game with great music and sound effects.

    The problem is, there's just too much luck. This is like playing a slot machine. I played my heart out for 8 turns and got nowhere. Then I picked up a lucky card that grants you 1 prestige per turn for 3 turns...and 4 turns later I won the game. It's a shame, because there's so much to like. The idea is unique (to me, anyway)    A beautiful game with great music and sound effects.

    The problem is, there's just too much luck. This is like playing a slot machine. I played my heart out for 8 turns and got nowhere. Then I picked up a lucky card that grants you 1 prestige per turn for 3 turns...and 4 turns later I won the game.

    It's a shame, because there's so much to like. The idea is unique (to me, anyway) playing different characters is fun, the sound is great, the game is enjoyable to look at.

    But the thing about strategy games is...they have to be about using your mind to win, and this isn't. There's no doubt strategising helps *a little*, but it's overwhelmed by luck.

    If they could make the game less dependent on luck, I'd be willing to give it 9 or 9.5 (The game area itself is very small too in terms of hexes and quickly feels cramped, you see everything in a few turns.)

    I found this game very fun to play at first, but quickly lost interest. They need a bigger game board, a longer game and more things on the board (currently bare terrain, a settlement, or a stone ring....not much variety.)

    If they can make a few changes, they'd have a real winner on their hands. As it is, it just isn't a strategy game. Giving it and eight anyway because it's fun for a while.    … Expand
  11. TtheWriter
    Oct 4, 2015
    5
    The art style is gorgeous, the game itself intricate. You are CERTAINLY at the mercy of dice and deck here, which is what too many other reviewers are complaining about. Its. a. BOARD. GAME. And a hobby board game at that. I think it's amazing and worth playing. However, the lack of an in-game chat system makes this board game feel very isolating and lonely. If you wanna have fun here,The art style is gorgeous, the game itself intricate. You are CERTAINLY at the mercy of dice and deck here, which is what too many other reviewers are complaining about. Its. a. BOARD. GAME. And a hobby board game at that. I think it's amazing and worth playing. However, the lack of an in-game chat system makes this board game feel very isolating and lonely. If you wanna have fun here, bring friends and bring Skype.… Expand
  12. seabeeblue
    Oct 10, 2016
    10
    This game is to me what the clock is to civilization. Absolutely divine.

    Suck in your quick opinions. Anyone in the gaming industry should study this game. Do not approach it to critique, but to learn. The balance is perfect, and anyone who would differ is just wrong.
  13. Dagfinn
    Sep 2, 2015
    0
    A mediocre board game disguised by pretty videos and art.

    This game is incredibly random, there is no depth and no story, everything is determined by random dice rolls, there are no strategic choices to be made. There are supposed to be various ways to win, but unless someone has a lot of blind luck, the game time will run out and whoever happens to have the highest Prestige value    A mediocre board game disguised by pretty videos and art.

    This game is incredibly random, there is no depth and no story, everything is determined by random dice rolls, there are no strategic choices to be made.

    There are supposed to be various ways to win, but unless someone has a lot of blind luck, the game time will run out and whoever happens to have the highest Prestige value wins.

    You constantly have to wait for all your opponents and NPCs to take their turns and that takes a very long time.

    The supposed RPG elements are non-existent.

    The videos and artwork are very pretty but they don't make a good board game alone.    … Expand
  14. jaluk
    Nov 19, 2016
    0
    Microtransaction,Microtransaction,Microtransaction,Microtransaction,Microtransaction,Microtransaction,Microtransaction,Microtransaction,Microtransaction,Microtransaction,Microtransaction,Microtransaction,Microtransaction,Microtransaction,Microtransaction
  15. Sjalka
    Sep 12, 2015
    7
    In a way - this is how a computer game of a board game should be like. It still is a board game - but the computer adds its strength in terms of design and game mechanics.

    For me personally - i respect the game as it is programmed on PC. I see that it seems to be very well done. I just do not care for the actual "game". Its like getting a near perfect PC version of Monopoly where you    In a way - this is how a computer game of a board game should be like. It still is a board game - but the computer adds its strength in terms of design and game mechanics.

    For me personally - i respect the game as it is programmed on PC. I see that it seems to be very well done. I just do not care for the actual "game". Its like getting a near perfect PC version of Monopoly where you can safely say "yes - that is how it should look and feel like on PC!" - but simply not liking Monopoly.

    A game session is nice and short (however - too long for just a very quick casual burst) - the AI ... well.... does not seem to play impartial but tends to team up against the player (at least in solo player mode)
    It does sometimes feel like the AI either has a ton of luck on rolls and encounters - or simply cheats a little.

    In terms of design - i would have liked a much much longer experience to get to know the hero one is playing - as well as the other players heroes. I have played it a few times - and caught myself simply not caring for the lore, the background in general - or whats actually going on at all. - In short - i am not immersed in the game and the game does not make an effort to immerse me.    … Expand
  16. Cryos
    Sep 10, 2018
    4
    Gorgeous art, setting and animations with a nice smattering of lore.

    Absolutely awful everything else. Even for a board game, luck plays an absolutely enormous role - there's an abundance of player targeting cards, turn ending cards making most games a trade off between a war of attrition and an outright slug-fest. The games turns pass incredibly slow for various reasons with    Gorgeous art, setting and animations with a nice smattering of lore.

    Absolutely awful everything else.

    Even for a board game, luck plays an absolutely enormous role - there's an abundance of player targeting cards, turn ending cards making most games a trade off between a war of attrition and an outright slug-fest. The games turns pass incredibly slow for various reasons with decisions such as making dice rolls take an extremely long time because of the game slowly tallying all the character's bonuses and equipment on screen. The average game is an hour to two hours and you may spend most of that knowing your presence has been rendered moot.

    The UI is extremely poor, making it very hard to quickly find information about cards, players, equipment and quests when you need it and sometimes leading to misclicks, wasted turns or premature dice rolls.

    The quest system in particular is one of the worst mechanics in a game - the quest will always spawn opposite your board position, encouraging you to delay accepting a quest until you can manipulate where it will appear. The quests hint at the type of tile they will be on without outright stating it - they might as well just state it - why make yet another part of the game down to chance?

    The game is also quite buggy, with frequent disconnects and no feature to reconnect - if a player is disconnected, he or she is replaced with a bot and she or he may NOT reconnect by any means, even in a private game with friends.

    Most of your strategy will center around mitigating luck, but you will quickly find there is so much luck to mitigate (and you require luck in your favor to mitigate it to begin with) making the amount of strategy in the game questionable at best.

    The game might make an okay social game if you have 3 friends and a 3rd party voice program, but I'm baffled who would want to play it under any other circumstance for more than 3 games at most.

    The original 8 characters are also (with a few exceptions) notably less powerful than the DLC cast, which may explain why the game is often on sale but the DLC never is.

    I can't recommend this, unless you want to support the artists behind it, because at the very least, THEY did a very good job.    … Expand
  17. nabbone
    Dec 27, 2015
    7
    Fun and simple, graphically attractive. The right balance between luck and strategy. For each clan strategies completely change the way you play. Online mode very well done.
  18. Rob_Silvermyst
    Sep 3, 2016
    8
    Armello is a pretty fun and simple game. The art style is very well done, the music is beautiful, and there's a real, meaty amount of strategy that's blended in with the RNG system. Four victory conditions gives players plenty of wiggle room as to how they want to approach.
    Playing solo campaigns, I tend to ensure that Quick AI is turned on to help speed things up. In multiplayer    Armello is a pretty fun and simple game. The art style is very well done, the music is beautiful, and there's a real, meaty amount of strategy that's blended in with the RNG system. Four victory conditions gives players plenty of wiggle room as to how they want to approach.
    Playing solo campaigns, I tend to ensure that Quick AI is turned on to help speed things up. In multiplayer sessions, you do have to wait on your opponents, but that's standard fair of any multi-player turn-based game.
    One of the things that takes this down a few notches is the lack of couch co-op. It would be really nice to play a game with my friends while they're at my house and not have to be on separate systems.
    For the price they are asking, it is well worth the purchase for those who want to enjoy something that can be played in bite-sized sessions.    … Expand
  19. tobivv
    Apr 24, 2020
    6
    Decent RPG board-video game, with very nice artstyle. The game is very RNG-heavy, and not only in battles, so you don't really feel the losses or wins are deserved.
  20. CasualGames
    Dec 20, 2019
    8
    I had the opportunity to try this game out on a free weekend "try before you buy" situation. I think that helped give me the chance to really explore this game and see if it was my cup of tea. And indeed, it was. This is like playing Settlers of Catan, Risk, and Dungeons & Dragons all rolled into one. Throw in a Game of Thrones/Redwall storyline, and you've got me hooked.

    Among the    I had the opportunity to try this game out on a free weekend "try before you buy" situation. I think that helped give me the chance to really explore this game and see if it was my cup of tea. And indeed, it was. This is like playing Settlers of Catan, Risk, and Dungeons & Dragons all rolled into one. Throw in a Game of Thrones/Redwall storyline, and you've got me hooked.

    Among the highlights of this game are the artwork, the mission-based gameplay, and of course, the characters. Each character breaths life into this game, and they each have their very clear personalities. Thus far, some of the expansion packs have really brought in some wonderfully designed characters that compliment the existing cast. I find myself always wanting to try new strategies and challenges with new characters.

    However, there are a few drawbacks. Some characters are clearly better than others with abilities that make them a little overpowered (looking at you, River). Multiplayer can also be a bit of a hassel as you wait endlessly for others to be on, or hoping nobody loses their internet connection, plunging everyone into a frozen limbo. These are some small, but still inconvenient hiccups to be found.

    Overall, I find the game a refreshing take on the board game as PC game genre and it provides a healthy dose of adventure and replayability. I keep going back to this game whenever I want something to do just for fun.    … Expand
  21. demka13
    May 25, 2022
    9
    Замечательная игра. Очень жалею, что проигнорировал её в своё время. Рекомендации Steam предлагали её мне несколько лет, но вместо этого я скрыл игру. Наконец, познакомившись с ней спустя 5 лет, я смотрю, как она постепенно умирает. Постоянные баги с заполнением лобби и т.п. портят впечатления. Но все же, 100часов в игре за 2 месяца! Эта игра очень увлекательная.Замечательная игра. Очень жалею, что проигнорировал её в своё время. Рекомендации Steam предлагали её мне несколько лет, но вместо этого я скрыл игру. Наконец, познакомившись с ней спустя 5 лет, я смотрю, как она постепенно умирает. Постоянные баги с заполнением лобби и т.п. портят впечатления. Но все же, 100часов в игре за 2 месяца! Эта игра очень увлекательная.
  22. klaaz
    Jan 26, 2023
    7
    The game is simple and fun but becomes repetitive with the passing of the games making them predictable and losing interest in them.
  23. NightVisions
    Jan 31, 2023
    9
    The game is a unique free for all strategy game where every player can destroy themselves and take you with them. Mix in some random elements that spice up the strategies that you must employ to win and you have yourself a fun strategy game.

    The game's stability in terms of connection issues isn't the best in the world but I believe some may be over exaggerating how poorly this game    The game is a unique free for all strategy game where every player can destroy themselves and take you with them. Mix in some random elements that spice up the strategies that you must employ to win and you have yourself a fun strategy game.

    The game's stability in terms of connection issues isn't the best in the world but I believe some may be over exaggerating how poorly this game handles connection.

    The game's RNG isn't ruining the experience.
    No you're not suppose to fight anyone without shield equipment and expect to live. Stop blaming your lack of strategy on RNG. I will concede and say that the map generation can be pretty bad sometimes.

    The game shouldn't take an hour. Just hurry up and try to succeed the palace perils when you are strong enough to win. There's a reason that the card that lowers peril difficulty is the most common card in the game. I've been able to win against 3 real opponents in turn 5 which took me about 20 minutes. Games where I'm playing against competent opponents rarely last for longer than 40 minutes. I will say that if there was a way to speed up some of the animations I would do so in a heart beat.

    I promise you that your patience will be rewarded if you stick with this game and don't get discouraged.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 26
  3. Negative: 2 out of 26
  1. PLAY! Zine
    Sep 7, 2016
    85
    Armello is so gorgeous, it kept reminding us that there is no an actual physical board game like this even though it really deserves to be. The game successfully mixes several elements from other genres, telling story and making our imagination run wild.
    Read full review
  2. GameSpew
    Apr 9, 2016
    80
    I’d highly recommend Armello to fans of Hearthstone, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, D&D, or anyone wanting to branch out from traditional board games. The graphics, though not the most exceptional in terms of quality, are beautiful; the combination of 3D effects with almost anime-esque cu scenes gives the game a unique and striking look. It’s interesting, the music has a calming effect, and it gives so much for a relatively unknown game, for not much money.
    Read full review
  3. Pelit (Finland)
    Jan 4, 2016
    85
    Game of Thrones with fantasy animals. Light tactical game is great fun as multiplayer. [Dec 2015]
See all critic reviews »