Review Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood

INTRODUCTION

 I've been playing board games for about 5 years now, and before that I was really into miniatures wargames. I'm most drawn to kickstarter games with lots of miniatures and elaborate plot/lore. I prefer atmospheric decks that have a bit of depth, over-engineered but dry mechanics. I also play tabletop RPGs like Pathfinder 2nd Edition, mostly as a Game Master. I don't have a permanently active desktop cell, but I occasionally play in the company of friends and relatives. Most often, I play solo in the evenings, having sent the monster (baby) to bed.

 My favorite genre is dungeon crawlers. Now I have and regularly play the following:

• Middara;
• Gloomhaven;
• Etherfields;
• Swords and Sorcery: Ancient Chronicles;
• Altarquest.

 Listed in order from most favorite to least favorite.

 I don't have boss battlers like KDM, so I don't have anything to compare it to, although I've seen a few KDM letplays online. So the comparisons will only be with the above games, not KDM.

EXPECTATIONS AND COMPONENTS

 To be honest, I expected a lot from Oathsworn (around 9/10) based on the known information, art and lore. On top of that, Shadowborne Games ran an exemplary Kickstarter campaign, which further raised my expectations.

 And when the game arrived, it turned out that it even exceeded my expectations.

 Before moving on to the rules and gameplay, I want to draw your attention to the components. I'm pretty picky about it because I buy the deluxe versions of the kickstarters for three times the price of the standard kit, complete with an organizer and other premium components.

 However, Oathsworn's components are the best of the Kickstarter games I've invested in.

 Let's start with the fact that the art and drawing style here are great; on cards, on the box and even organizers. Even the playing field is a detailed work of art that makes you want to use it in an RPG. The only games I've played that come close to Oathsworn in terms of art quality are Etherfields and to a lesser extent Middara (there's stunning artwork, but not on every component), but neither is as polished and epic looking as Oathsworn . Art Oathsworn should rather be compared with AAA computer games; the local eerie landscapes would look great in the Elden Ring. In a word, the local maps are simply masterpieces.

 As for the miniatures, they are great too. As a former wargamer, I'm very familiar with GW who, for all their faults, produce models of excellent quality. Compared to them, most board games are mediocre at best or just plain lousy. And the Oathsworn miniatures look on par with the best GW miniatures. They are large, beautiful and pleasant to the touch. Better than the Etherfields miniatures, which is a compliment in itself. In addition, due to the large scale of the models, they look more atmospheric and epic on the table.

 The quality of the cards and cardboard ranges from good to excellent. Actually, the Oathsworn box is so heavy because of the many decks of thick, quality cards inside. Let them be inferior to MTG, but they are more than decent quality and do not need protectors. The cardboard is solid and, in my opinion, will last a long time. Yes, the cardboard card holders look very sturdy, and none of the character tablets have bent or crumpled. In short, all components look durable. The only thing of mediocre quality is the rather gloomy-looking cubes, which do not impress against the background of other components. However, they are pleasant to the touch and perform their function.

 Considering the price of Oathsworn, the level of components is simply amazing. For me, it has become a new standard against which I will compare all other boards.

 Compared to Middara, Oathsworn's playfield doesn't look as epic as Middara's luxury tiles, and the storybook/journal isn't as impressive as Middara's thick tome, but otherwise the art and components are comparable or superior. The closest to Oathsworn are the components of Etherfields, but there are much thinner cards.

 Gloomy Harbor doesn't look bad to say the least, but against Oathsworn it just seems like a badass. No Harbor components were lying around with Oathsworn components. Just heaven and earth.

 In terms of component functionality, Oathsworn is also a champion. The box comes with card holders, a token tray and a plastic organizer to keep everything neatly organized. A very well-thought-out design. As a result, this monster decomposes quite quickly, unlike its counterparts in scale. And to worry about the purchase of an organizer, it is not necessary to say that it does not happen often. Yes, for those who are interested in "Grey Haven", a special organizer is essential if you want the game to unfold in an acceptable time frame, because there are so many components that an organizer is indispensable.

 It is even rarer to find games in which miniatures are also competently packaged: they do not break and do not take up a lot of space. It's such a well-thought-out system that I'm not going to change anything in it. Each enemy lies in a plastic housing and box only slightly larger than the model itself, so the space is used extremely efficiently. How often have you had to find in the box practically useless mannequin tabs, turning the layout and storage of the game into a real hemorrhoid, which you had to throw away and replace with normal ones? How often in CMON game add-ons was 80% of the space occupied by the insert, 18% by the miniature, and 2% by the card?

 They say that the novelty arouses the most interest immediately after its arrival, but during the first game some uncomfortable moments appear that noticeably overshadow the overall impression - whether it is a poorly compiled rule book (about it below), a tedious layout, a useless organizer or lousy components.

 Oathsworn is not your typical Kickstarter; not only has it exceeded my expectations, but it also values the player's time by not wasting it fighting components.

 There are no perfect components, but Oathsworn is as close to ideal as possible for the price.

RULES

 It's probably not fair to judge the rules after only three games, so keep it short. As far as I can tell, the rules are generally well laid out and clear. There are two rule books, an encounter book, and rule summary cards; combined, it provides all the information you need in a convenient way. The only thing that bugs me is the decision to split the rules into two books. Separately, they are read quite normally. There is an alphabetical index, but most often it refers to a page in another rulebook and vice versa, which can be confusing. On the other hand, there is a very clear reminder in the back of both rulebooks, and two reminders are better than one. In general, dividing them into two seems to be a conscious decision of the authors, and I will not consider it a drawback.

 It should also be noted that there is a great series of tutorial videos on Youtube that make learning the game a lot easier. There are links to them in the Oathsworn app.

 Rating of the rules - 8/10.

 The rules are clear and generally well structured. There is nothing to complain about.

STORY MODE

 Story Mode is exactly what you thought it would be: a "choose your own adventure" in the spirit of a game book with periodic quizzes and challenges. The mode is interactive, but all you are required to do is decide where to go/what to do and take tests when needed.

 What is it practically?

 An awesome mod if you're even remotely interested in the game's lore, plot, or atmosphere. The plot is very elaborate, better than all plots of board games I have played. Not surprising, considering that Oathsworn was worked on by the bestselling author of the grimdark genre. The voice acting is also amazing, done at the highest level. Maps of the area are very beautiful and atmospheric. A high-quality plot, beautiful maps and the voice of James Cosmo together create an exciting adventure in the spirit of a book-game that does not let go until the very end. I even felt frustrated when the story cut off and I had to switch to another mode. Never before have I encountered such an interesting lore and atmosphere among the tables.

 As for the duration, it is within reasonable limits. The story adventure does not take too long - and you do not get the feeling that there is too much text or that it interferes with enjoying the battles, unlike the same Middara, where reading many paragraphs of text can take a long time. In short, there was a good balance between the plot and the battles. It is also worth noting that all chapters (so far) are interesting individually and at the same time are part of the overall storyline, making you want to know what will happen next.

 I'm not sure if the story will continue on the same level, but so far it's very interesting.

 How does it compare to other mobs? Honestly, there is nothing to compare it to. The quality of Oathsworn's narrative and voice acting take the game to an unsurpassed level. Perhaps the closest to it is Middara in that it pays a lot of attention not only to battles, but also to the plot. However, the plot of Oathsworn is better developed and noticeably more interesting. Also, the story mode is a bit similar to "Crime Scene" and "Sherlock Holmes". Detective-consultant" in the sense that you follow the storyline, trying to achieve maximum efficiency - only here there is less mechanics, and the visual part is better.

 Rating of narrative mode - 10/10.

 As you may have noticed, I did not compare this narrative masterpiece with the plot of "Grey Harbor", because "Grey Harbor" has almost no plot. "Havana" is played for the sake of battles, not a cardboard plot.

BRIGHT MODE

 Oathsworn avoids the trap of tiring players out of monotonous regular monster fights in a very simple way: jumping right into the boss fight.

 As far as I can tell, the games play out very similarly to Bleak Harbor except for the missing terrain exploration element. Because in both games you play cards as actions and modify them with other cards. In both games, the rules are quite simple, and the depth comes from the management of the map and the interaction of the players with each other and with the environment. Oathsworn is probably easier in general. After 1-2 games, most players will remember almost all the key rules, and there is no need to read the rule book anymore. Diversity is not achieved through complex rules, but through new skills and items acquired by characters, and special rules unique to each battle.

 What is the difference?

 Oathsworn characters have energy pools that regenerate at the start of their turn, which can be used to activate abilities (ie play action cards that are usually not free). In Bleak Harbor, you simply pick two action cards from the available ones and make a combo.

 There are more possible combinations in "Gloomy Harbor", since you can combine the lower and upper halves (each half has its own effect) of any cards, but not all of them are equally useful. Thinking about combinations can lead to analysis paralysis in inexperienced players. This slows down the party, and is why Havana is more often played with a small lineup; parties with a maximum number of participants and beginners can drag on for a long time. In Oathsworn, there are situational abilities among the action cards, but on average they are more versatile and cause much less analysis paralysis. This makes the game much faster to play solo (and not solo, apparently, too).

 In Oathsworn, cards are played individually, but often have alternate uses (listed at the bottom of the card — almost like one specific play). If there is enough energy, the hero can play several cards per turn.

 In Gloomy Haven, after using a card, you can only return it to your hand with a rest action, and you discard one card until the end of the scenario. This way, you have fewer and fewer cards in your hand throughout the scenario. When there are less than 2 of them, you run out of energy and are out of the game. And since you have to play two cards each turn, exhaustion is inevitable, and you have to race ahead of time. Because of this, the parties in "Havana" are tense and thoughtful; if you don't manage your hand optimally, your characters may run out of power before completing the mission, or you may run out of cards.

 In Oathsworn, you never get rid of cards, but each card has a cooldown; until it passes, it cannot be reapplied. Cooldown time can be reduced using battle flow. The character is disabled only if it loses all HP. There is no concept of exhaustion, so until the end of the battle, the heroes retain their initial combat effectiveness. If the hero is unconscious, the player can take one of the heroes' allies instead, so that no one has to sit and be bored waiting for the end. The characters do not weaken during the course of the scenario, but the monster becomes stronger and more dangerous as it takes damage, which also adds tension in its own way.

 Bleak Harbor has more cards, combos, and character classes; in general, the game is larger. Mechanics are more polished; by feeling you solve the puzzle ahead of time. In Oathsworn, you don't need to optimize your moves as much (since there's no such thing as exhaustion), and things get more and more epic as the fight progresses.

 Oathsworn has a risk-versus-reward mechanic: you can increase your loss, but you also increase the chance of a miss. There are no analogues in "Gloomy Harbour". This allows for an epic win or an epic fail, but the level of randomness of the game is controlled by the players.

 In Bleak Haven, you don't know how the enemy will behave until you choose action cards for the current turn. In Oathsworn, you know the enemy's behavior in advance, which affects the decisions you make. Thanks to this, there is less analysis paralysis in Oathsworn, as you don't have to guess at possible enemy actions.

 In Oathsworn, items play a bigger role and characters feel more powerful. Oathsworn also has more tools to control randomness, as the game generously distributes tokens that provide temporary buffs; For example, roll the dice or its card counterpart.

 Gloomy Harbor has more diverse opponents, each with their own II deck. II decks do not change. Oathsworn has individual bosses (sometimes in the company of minions) with complex AI that changes during the battle and becomes more dangerous. I should note that so far the enemies of Oathsworn have been very different, and so have the parties. Battles in "Gloomy Harbor" often feel monotonous and sometimes tiresome, especially if you have to replay the scenarios. Oathsworn has had no such problems so far.

 Oathsworn feels easier (probably because the characters don't weaken during the scenario), although the difficulty can be increased if desired.

 Character classes in Oathsworn are leveled in a manner similar to that of Bleak Harbor. The only thing is that they have access to more powerful equipment.

 Bleak Harbor has more characters and twice as many missions (even though many of them are similar).

 After three chapters, I personally prefer Oathsworn's Harbor and get more fanfare from it. Oathsworn is sometimes more random, but the game has many tools to control randomness; Whether to risk for profit depends on the player. In my opinion, the analysis paralysis characteristic of Gloomy Harbor, caused by the need to optimize moves or risk losing, significantly slows down the game. Oathsworn is dynamic and does not suffer from analysis paralysis. I suspect a 4 player Oathsworn party will take less time than a 2 player Havana party. In addition, defeat by the paw of a boss enraged by wounds feels much more epic than defeat due to the fact that all the characters lost their cards and expired.

 In a word, Oathsworn feels like a lighter and more dynamic version of "Grey Haven", where all the rooms and monsters have been replaced with one big room with one super-cool enemy, and the risk of exhaustion and the need to optimize moves have been replaced with "try your luck" mechanics and strengthening the enemy. Die-hard Harbor fans will probably not like the try-your-luck mechanics and less polished design, but in my opinion, Oathsworn is perfect for those who are interested in Bleak Harbor but not ready to dive into it.

 Compared to the other games in my collection, Oathsworn takes a place at the top because of its addictive gameplay - deep, challenging. And quite deep customization of characters (although it is clearly inferior to customization in Middara).

 Rating of skirmish mode - 9/10.

 Refined, exciting and varied battles. Good and interesting leveling of characters (although not super, unlike Middara). With simple, intuitive mechanics, the game is much friendlier than most of its counterparts.

DISADVANTAGES

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

 Oathsworn is not planned for retail, so finding it at flea markets at a reasonable price won't be easy.

DIMENSIONS

 All-in weighs 25 kg and takes up a lot of space: four times more than "Grey Harbor". Be prepared for a lack of free space.

CONCLUSION

 Overall rating is 9/10, which will probably turn into 10/10 soon.

 Oathsworn combines the most fun choose-your-own-adventure of any deck I know of with fan combat similar to Grim Harbor, only simpler and riskier, with cool components.

 Personally, the biggest downside to the game for me is that I won't be touching Dark Haven again while I have Oathsworn. Unlike Middara, which is quite different from Oathsworn, the games in Haven feel like you're playing a less interesting counterpart to Oathsworn. It looks like the long-awaited Grim Harbor killer has finally arrived…

 It remains to be seen whether Frost Harbor will surpass its predecessor or lose to Oathsworn as well.