Armello
Overview -
'Armello' is the freshman project by Australian indie company League of Geeks. It was Kickstartered in 2014 and released on PC last year. It is now available for Xbox One and PS4, with a tablet version in the works as well.
Video Review
'Armello' has a fanciful anthropomorphic theme with rats, rabbits, bears, wolves, and more fighting for the glory of the kingdom. The board itself sports somewhat modest visuals, but the art design on the whole is gorgeous. There is a lovely hand-drawn opening cinematic that calls out for more, and the animated card art is beautiful. Controls have been translated to the Xbox controller reasonably well.
Audio Review
'Armello' has a great high fantasy score with a cinematic feel, giving the cartoony visuals a distinctly tongue-in-cheek quality. There is a quick-cutting dynamic mix to the music, fading in and out in accordance with the action on the board. Sound effects are quite good and voice acting is at a minimum.
Final Thoughts
It has probably been a decade or more since I played a real board game. It's just not a medium that appeals to me. However, the unique brand of magic that League of Geeks has distilled in 'Armello' is intoxicating, and the Xbox One version has lost very little in the transition. What a wonderful and fun experience.
