Warcrow from Corvus Belli

Warcrow

Warcrow is an adventure game from Corvus Belli- the team behind the skirmish tabletop game world of Infinity!

Starting on Kickstarter, Corvus Belli ran a very successful campaign to fund their latest IP- Warcrow. Known more for their futuristic world of Infinity, CB has turned their sights on a new world, one where dungeons and magic are more prevalent. Are you ready for the adventure? This is not their first dungeon crawler as well, through Kickstarter they had a similar game that was set in their Infinity IP- Defiance. While the style of game is the same, Warcrow is vastly different from it’s predecessor.

This game features a new turn based initiative system that can be modified throughout the game. Actions made can move a specific character higher in the initiative list and force others further down. Additionally it features an app that allows you to control and experience the narrative in a new way. Think of it like a tabletop Choose Your Own Adventure book where it all remains within the same world each time you play. The map style and model quality remains between both of their dungeon crawlers but THIS is the next stage in crawling evolution.

What I find odd with this game is the name choice. When first announced (knowing CB’s history of skirmish games) I assumed this would be a fantasy skirmish game, allowing them to compete directly with Games Workshop and their Warcry IP. Warcry against Warcrow. Felt intentional but when I learned that this was more of a dungeon crawler it left me confused. I couldn’t find anything regarding why they chose this name but I suspect it was more to capitalize on the competition using a similar name. Or maybe there is something in the lore I missed?

Speaking of lore, the game centers around a small town called Hawthorne Point and inspired by American Wild West and early Spanish explorers. Magical mist has covered much of the land but recently has receded in areas revealing ancient cities to plunder. Adventurers and Mercenaries are sent out to plunder treasure and information and bring it back to their respective cities. This mist affects the game like a fog of war would in RTS games and utilizing the app with it will reveal monsters and portions of the map as you continue the game.

From what I’ve seen there are many games out there that combine apps with the tabletop gameplay but this is the first we had the opportunity to play on. Utilizing the app alongside the models and map tiles it honestly felt more like playing a roleplaying game where the app itself is our Dungeon Master. Considering the amount of content you get in the box I’d say the 120€ price point seems reasonable for this game. Overall I would say this game is worth playing once it hits the official public releases but I would suggest picking up the game and expansion as soon as you are able because if this sells like Defiance did it won’t remain in the CB shop for long.

Infinity is back with a new edition in N4

Infinity

Corvus Belli returns with the fourth edition of their hit skirmish tabletop game Infinity, aptly named Infinity N4.

This is the first time I’ve ever been able to play Infinity, and I can’t believe I haven’t sooner as the I also learned that the rules and model stats are available on their website for FREE! This means you can try the game out and various models to figure out if the game is for you AND if you have the right army. Now, assuming you’ve played and are ready to purchase your first army, where do you start? Simple. You purchase a faction pack and a rulebook, unless of course you prefer a digital copy and then the free one will more than do the job but without all the lore.

Having never played the game itself before, I did play the spinoff Aristeia game a couple years ago, I didn’t know what to expect. The models have always been fantastic, both fun to paint and looking great on the table but no idea how the game played. I’m told this edition is very much streamlined compared to N3 but I couldn’t confirm this was the case during my playing of the game. I did find it fast paced and much more dynamic than most games. It was quite a bit of fun too but I just wish that the models had assembly guides to make their assembly much easier without having to track down multiple angles of pictures to ensure proper assembly.