Armello

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 51
  3. Negative: 10 out of 51
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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. cypherhalo
    Sep 5, 2015
    7
    The game is a lot of fun. There's a lot of tactics to be had and I love how it combines board/card/video game into one. Adjusting strategies to deal with the various perils that are thrown out or figuring out who to target is great. Aesthetically it's cutesy but don't let that fool you, it's a serious and pretty tough game.

    That said, the RNG is a bit too strong with this one. Cards you    The game is a lot of fun. There's a lot of tactics to be had and I love how it combines board/card/video game into one. Adjusting strategies to deal with the various perils that are thrown out or figuring out who to target is great. Aesthetically it's cutesy but don't let that fool you, it's a serious and pretty tough game.

    That said, the RNG is a bit too strong with this one. Cards you want just never seem to be there when you need them (where are all my +2 health cards, where?) and if you get bad cards in your hand you cannot discard them. You can burn them in combat and that can help but even then if it's something like a rot card, it will probably just be a total waste (you'll understand when you play the game). Oftentimes, the winner seems determined by about turn 7 or so and the last turn too often feels like a formality. Mainly because the whole game is on a timer waiting for the king to die.

    Now, that is not a totally bad thing as it keeps games from spiraling out of control in the length department (say average game is about 30 minutes) and adds urgency to the whole experience. However, given that quests often spawn on opposite edges of the map and that someone can gain a ridiculous prestige lead, it's a mixed bag which is why I'm giving this a mixed review. Ultimately, I wish I could propose fixes for the issues I have with the game, it's tough and I can't. Beyond saying I strongly feel there should be a way a limited way to discard cards, you get the good and the bad with this one but it is mostly good. If you're a fan of any kind of tactical video game and/or board game, Fire Emblem, Risk, Axis and Alllies, etc then I'd say you should really check this out. You'll have fun more often than not but there will be moments of serious frustration.    … Expand
  3. sefrabu
    Apr 11, 2016
    7
    I got pleasantly surprised by this game, as I came across it by pure chance, since it doesn't get much publicity. Which again, makes me think how many good games are out there that we even't don't know they exist. I'm taking one point out of the score for introducting a game mechanic that disallows playing a local multiplayer. Other than that, it's a pleasant breather from all thoseI got pleasantly surprised by this game, as I came across it by pure chance, since it doesn't get much publicity. Which again, makes me think how many good games are out there that we even't don't know they exist. I'm taking one point out of the score for introducting a game mechanic that disallows playing a local multiplayer. Other than that, it's a pleasant breather from all those "great" tripple A games.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

97
#97 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 15
  3. Negative: 1 out of 15
  1. 4P.de
    Sep 3, 2016
    82
    A clever digital board game in which the various elements connect quite well.
    Read full review
  2. DarkStation
    Oct 23, 2015
    40
    Armello has a lot of potential but the interesting bits never come to the forefront in any meaningful way, leading to a rather bland experience.
    Read full review
  3. Brash Games
    Sep 29, 2015
    80
    For those who are board game fans, this is a game you should add to your collection. For anyone else, Armello offers something different to what is currently available on the Playstation 4. It is a beautiful looking gem and certainly worth a king’s ransom.
    Read full review
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