Destinies Game Review

 I thought for a long time whether to write this review because Destinies is a popular new game, praised by almost all reviewers. And I do not understand at all what is happening and whether these commentators went through the campaign to the end. Reviews of games with a campaign mode are always difficult. If I were to write a review after the first or maybe second scenario, I would probably call Destinies the best new tabletop game. However, after a full run, many flaws were revealed, so my opinion changed a lot.

 We played the base campaign and Sea of Sands together, so I can't comment on how it's played in three or solo.

 Let's start with the pros and cons.

PROS OF THE GAME

 Quality of components.

 Some of the highest quality components for this price range. Two-layer player boards, dozens of minions, thick tokens, heavy dice, a great cardboard organizer and very high quality cards. You couldn't wish for anything better.

 It's very easy to learn.

 Anyone can be taught to play in a matter of minutes. A significant plus.

 Skills test

 An unusual method of testing skills for the genre - and, in my opinion, one of the most interesting. There are elements of push your luck when you decide how many dice to use. There are interesting decisions about which skills to improve when pumping: which is better to have 1 almost guaranteed success, or 2-3 increased chances of success? However, the results of the rolls vary greatly, so it is advisable to level up to 2-3 successes, as 1 is rarely enough. Because of this, the pumping is not as flexible as it seems, but still the mechanics are excellent.

 Application of items.

 All items have their own abilities, as well as various uses. For example, lighting a room with a lamp. Or autosuccess when digging if you have a shovel. Most items are useful in more than one situation, not just one. Some can also find interesting uses if you read the dialogue carefully or ask a certain NPC about their functions. Very conducive to the atmosphere of adventure.

 Fan

 While I have my fair share of criticisms of the game, overall exploring and trying to solve puzzles and problems in the most efficient way possible is really fun.

 The mechanics of Destinies are probably the best games for storytelling.

 In my opinion, the authors managed to create the best basis for storytelling of all existing decks. Based on these mechanics, you can create any plot, and at the same time it will be very easy to learn and play.

CONS OF THE GAME

 Plot

 I expected from a story-oriented game interesting stories and characters... which Destinies, unfortunately, cannot boast of. There aren't any developed characters here; your alter egos are not even nameless heroes, but simply the embodiment of a certain concept or profession. NPCs are a bit better - they all have 3-4 interactions/dialogue and that's usually it. The campaign plot is very weak, and the scenarios are usually uninteresting and chaotic. We often asked what was going on. In addition, the stories told are usually dark and full of hopelessness due to the setting chosen by the authors, in most scenarios there is a theme of fanaticism/religion/witchcraft, which does not fit well with the cardboard world.

 There are, however, a few pleasant surprises: yes, the first scenario of the base managed to surprise me. The last two scenarios of the Sea of Sands expansion are very well developed.

 Poorly developed competitive aspect.

 As you probably know, this is not a cooperative game, but a competitive one. Which in itself isn't a problem... However, after the second game we made sure we understood how each scenario worked - and we weren't wrong.

WARNING!! SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST FEW SCENARIOS

 There are exactly 3 objectives in each scenario. Each player is given 2, so that everyone has overlapping goals (in a three-way game, one intersects with the player on the left, the other with the player on the right).

 After realizing this fact, intense competition largely disappears. Usually after the first round, when the competitors ask questions about their fate, you will know what your general quest is, so you can just go ahead and do another one. I understand why the authors did this, but because of this, all scenarios become the same in terms of gameplay. The Sea of Sands has the same scheme, but at least there are more fan goals in some scenarios.

END OF SPOILERS

 Final tasks.

 Authors are very bad with final assignments. The bottom line is that after completing all of your objectives, you can begin the final task. That is, to do something epic or to put into action prepared cunning plans. Sounds great in theory, but in practice... All final challenges are the same: while others play as usual, you are presented with a series of skill tests. With successful rolls, you can perform 2-3 pieces per round. If not, it will be slower, but that is not the point; you grimly pass test after test while others enjoy a full game. Except for the fact that others realize they most likely won't make it in time to complete their goals and win, so everyone's unhappy. Sometimes you can choose between a test of strength or wisdom, but the choice is obvious: see what your character is stronger in. In "Sea of Sands" some of the final tasks are better developed, but most of them are the same. It would have been much better if the final challenge placed some new objectives on the map.

 Bad balance (at least in a party of two).

 Both campaigns featured highly unbalanced scenarios. I think the problem is how the objectives are distributed among the players. Some are very easy to complete, but if such an objective falls to both players, then both will be engaged in the same objective, and the game will noticeably slow down. If an easy goal fell to one of the players, and the other got a difficult one, then the winner is predictable.

 A couple of examples:

ATTENTION SPOILERS FOR THE LAST MISSION OF THE CAMPAIGN

 My goal was to kill three monsters. My wife got two other goals. On the first turn, she went west, where she found an NPC and a rat swarm. I moved on the first turn and killed the rats, getting a bloody trophy. On my next turn, new monsters appeared on new unexplored tiles, so I went to the northeast tile where the blacksmith and the second monster were. I talked to the blacksmith and for just 2 successes - helping the blacksmith in his work - I got an epic sword to kill the boss. The next turn I attacked a monster that was vulnerable just to the sword I had just received. Total minus 2 monsters. I then moved one tile to the west where the third monster was waiting. He was vulnerable to my bloody fang, so I killed the 3 placed monsters and proceeded to the final challenge with a weapon in stock to kill the boss before the wife could complete even 1 of her 3 objectives.

END OF SPOILERS

 Game breaking bug.

 Fortunately, we encountered only one such bug. During the second Sea of Sand scenario, the wife completed her objective, after which the game indicated that she could start the final task, but when she reached the right point, nothing happened. We tried another way (a tunnel also leads there), but without success. And when we tried to ask someone about her fate, the program crashed every time. I understand that apps often have bugs, but when you buy a game for 30 euros with 3 disposable scenarios, not being able to complete even one of them is a big downside.

 Miniatures.

 They are really mini: the scale of most is about 1 cm. Not sure if they are needed here. They raise the price, on the field they look just like pieces of gray plastic, which you can't distinguish by appearance. I'm aware that the game was originally intended as a spinoff to Joan of Arc - hence the tiny miniatures, and then it was too late to give up the minions. But still tokens would be better. In addition, it is inconvenient that sometimes the application marks NPCs with location tokens (for example, a city scribe), and sometimes vice versa (a church is marked with a priest miniature).

 Is this a board game at all?

 Yes, I know, all games with applications raise such questions, but...

 Pay attention to the playing card: as the game progresses, it will usually be filled with identical miniatures and identical purple tokens. Where is the NPC you are looking for? Which of these 6 matching tokens represents the tavern? You will not understand this from a physical map, you will have to turn to the program, where there are text signatures for everything. Actually, the application displays all objects, except for your character and the belonging of the goods (to which seller they belong). If in other games with applications at least part of the important information remains on the field (for example, enemies), then here almost everything is in the application, which is much more informative.

 There is also the problem of the media: what to run the program on. You can, of course, display the program on a phone or tablet, but in this case, either someone reads everything out loud, which slows down the game and is not very fan-like, or everyone constantly bends over to look at the screen.

 It is better to output to a laptop or TV by running steam. We preferred this method; so the information and the map are clearly visible to everyone. And the last couple of scenarios were played without a physical map at all, limited to the one displayed on the TV. It's much more convenient there: you don't have to look for the right tiny miniature or tile number 43. This made most of the components irrelevant - enough player tablets, cards and some tokens. Everything else just adds to the fuss. To me, Destinies is practically a computer game on the table. The following minus follows from this:

 Redundancy of components.

 The game could have been essentially a deck of cards and tokens in a small box, which would have brought the price down significantly. The app does the rest.

CONCLUSIONS

 I'm sure most of the game's problems stem from the fact that it was originally developed as a spinoff to Joan of Arc. Miniatures are inconvenient and unnecessary, but they bring players into the project in Joan of Arc—suffice it to say that they can be used in this game. The not particularly popular setting and gloomy plot is also a consequence of this. I suspect any other theme would be more appealing to most players.

 Even though I listed a lot of flaws, I still had a (mostly) good time with Destinies. The authors have come up with mechanics that are ideal for storytelling. Hopefully in the future they will implement them in a new game with more interesting content, maybe co-op instead of competitive. And more compact.

 Should I keep Destinies after completing or sell them? In my opinion, definitely the second; this is not a game that will be interesting the second time around. Better let someone advise. True, in this case I will have to keep the base, as it will be necessary for future additions. In this regard, I like the approach of the new Chronicles of Crime much more: separate full-fledged bases - choose any you want. And here it would be possible to do the same... if it weren't for these annoying minnows)