Hello, dear reader, I hope you’re having a good day. I’m not being paid to write this blog, and it contains information based on my opinions from playing Road to Legend on iOS (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/road-to-legend/id1098000926?mt=8). You need the Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition Board Game by Fantasy Flight Games to play (info at https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/104162/descent-journeys-dark-second-edition and it can be bought on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Fantasy-Flight-Games-FFDES01-Descent/dp/1616611898). The board game can cost up to $80 and the Road to Legend app is free. Think of Descent Road to Legend as an AI dungeon master who builds the quest as you play based on what materials you have. Descent Road to Legend isn’t online so you won’t need an internet connection to play. You will need the internet to download There are no in-app purchases, yet you can buy real world expansions to Descent which adds more possibilities to every game played with Descent Road to Legend. Descent Road to Legend is rated 12+ on the App Store for Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References. If you and your children can handle Dungeons and Dragons or a PG-13 Fantasy movie, this game should hold no problems. Think darker end of the PG-13 spectrum though. Flesh Moulders are creepy after all!
Review:
Descent’s Road to Legend app is a cooperative story campaign game available on Steam, iOS and Android. The board game includes its own campaign if you have a willing Overlord to run it (game master). The Road to Legend app takes care of being the Overlord, creates maps as you go, and provides programming for the monsters’ actions. This means it can include expansion content automatically into your game to create new maps, missions, and experiences every time you play. You may regret adding the Shadows of Nerekhall expansion once Road to Legend decides to set up Ironbound protectors for a unique boss monster! With or without Road to Legend, Descent is an objective based dungeon running game which tries to be faster than its first edition. The original Descent was more about killing monsters and gathering loot. This one is more like running for the end zone and trying to gather loot as monstrous linebackers strain to tear you limb from limb. Your brain and body will be exhausted at the end of each session. It’s great fun! The players can control a total of four heroes. It’s recommended to play with four, yet the game does balance itself down to two or three heroes as well by limiting monster group sizes.
Time: You can play Descent Road to Legend as much as you want. Expect at least an hour per scenario. Not including set up time. Because everyone knows construction time is never allocated into expected play time! So plan on two hours. I would say plan to play four hours just in case of rule arguments, new players, or a thirst to finish more than one scenario per session. Maybe take your whole day off? Just a thought.
Pros and Cons: Road to Legend has an end-game in sight. It’s very far away. Which is cool, but hard to reach. Kind of like a perilous peak which is constantly trying to throw you off the cliff into the mouths of the slavering wolves below. The investment is high. You do get cool RPG miniatures, a board game, and a free cooperative mode app when buying Descent and Road to Legend. The Road to Legend app tracks your loot, does the heavy lifting of map making, and takes the position of bad guy Overlord. It takes its Overlord job very seriously. I believe the game once had serious eyebrows at the top of the screen which the devs removed to make it look more friendly. You can climb all the way to the end of Road to Legend and still get crushed by the Peril system if you don’t run fast enough to the end. Descent doesn’t offer redo’s. Dying at the very end of the game to a total party wipe is the end. Only retries are allowed here in hard mode.
Overall Impression: If you love XCOM, ironman mode strategy games, or cooperative board games; then Descent’s Road to Legend is waiting for you to attempt the climb! Will you summit successfully or perish to the hideous designs of the robot Overlord? If you don’t enjoy board games, RPG’s, or strategy games, then Descent Road to Legend isn’t for you.
Tips:
I hope the review and tips help you out, dear reader! Ready to descend?
Links: The App Store link is above.
Disclaimer: I’m not being paid by Fantasy Flight Games or anyone else to write these tips. The only money I could make would be through advertising on this site or on YouTube at this point in time. I don't take responsibility for the content on sites linked to from this article.
by Brian Petrilli AKA Jalinon
Review:
Descent’s Road to Legend app is a cooperative story campaign game available on Steam, iOS and Android. The board game includes its own campaign if you have a willing Overlord to run it (game master). The Road to Legend app takes care of being the Overlord, creates maps as you go, and provides programming for the monsters’ actions. This means it can include expansion content automatically into your game to create new maps, missions, and experiences every time you play. You may regret adding the Shadows of Nerekhall expansion once Road to Legend decides to set up Ironbound protectors for a unique boss monster! With or without Road to Legend, Descent is an objective based dungeon running game which tries to be faster than its first edition. The original Descent was more about killing monsters and gathering loot. This one is more like running for the end zone and trying to gather loot as monstrous linebackers strain to tear you limb from limb. Your brain and body will be exhausted at the end of each session. It’s great fun! The players can control a total of four heroes. It’s recommended to play with four, yet the game does balance itself down to two or three heroes as well by limiting monster group sizes.
Time: You can play Descent Road to Legend as much as you want. Expect at least an hour per scenario. Not including set up time. Because everyone knows construction time is never allocated into expected play time! So plan on two hours. I would say plan to play four hours just in case of rule arguments, new players, or a thirst to finish more than one scenario per session. Maybe take your whole day off? Just a thought.
Pros and Cons: Road to Legend has an end-game in sight. It’s very far away. Which is cool, but hard to reach. Kind of like a perilous peak which is constantly trying to throw you off the cliff into the mouths of the slavering wolves below. The investment is high. You do get cool RPG miniatures, a board game, and a free cooperative mode app when buying Descent and Road to Legend. The Road to Legend app tracks your loot, does the heavy lifting of map making, and takes the position of bad guy Overlord. It takes its Overlord job very seriously. I believe the game once had serious eyebrows at the top of the screen which the devs removed to make it look more friendly. You can climb all the way to the end of Road to Legend and still get crushed by the Peril system if you don’t run fast enough to the end. Descent doesn’t offer redo’s. Dying at the very end of the game to a total party wipe is the end. Only retries are allowed here in hard mode.
Overall Impression: If you love XCOM, ironman mode strategy games, or cooperative board games; then Descent’s Road to Legend is waiting for you to attempt the climb! Will you summit successfully or perish to the hideous designs of the robot Overlord? If you don’t enjoy board games, RPG’s, or strategy games, then Descent Road to Legend isn’t for you.
Tips:
- Play with four heroes for a balanced game - The best balancing of the game occurs when the players control four heroes. Less than that can make it easier (3) or harder (2). Four heroes gives you more play options and helps your overachiever find stuff to do while everyone takes too long thinking through their next turn.
- Push forward as quick as you dare – So my entire party died on the last level in the tutorial campaign thanks to us forgetting how hard core the peril mechanic can get. It straight up killed us for taking too long to reach the end. Of course, we were doing our best to ensure a strategically favorable defensive formation while killing every enemy which respawned behind us. We were one room away from the end! Sometimes you’ll have to let your heroes ‘fall’ in order to move forward.
- Don’t revive any heroes right before a monster group’s turn – You can literally revive a player to only 2 health if you’re unlucky rolling your 2 red die. Road to Legend starts monster turns between player turns. This means that player at 2 health will get killed by the unique Ettin boss if you forget and revive him early. Yes, I’ve personally learned this lesson. Road to Legend makes this death worse because of the morale system also putting a death timer on the game.
- My favorite four classes – The Berserker, Disciple, Necromancer and Thief classes are my favorites from the core game. The Berserker adds much needed damage and can clear monsters well. The Disciple is a consistent healer. The Necromancer is easily the best because you get a Reanimate which acts like a fifth hero! The Reanimate can also be upgraded within the first Act to have the power of an Act II weapon. The Thief has a good mix of useful abilities and extra attacks. I highly recommend this party composition to new players.
- Have fun with the journey – This is a cliché but utterly necessary for enjoying Descent. Enjoy the journey. You’ll probably die horribly at the end to dragon fire or goblin arrows. Until then, laugh with your friends and seek to be the best adventurers ever!
I hope the review and tips help you out, dear reader! Ready to descend?
Links: The App Store link is above.
Disclaimer: I’m not being paid by Fantasy Flight Games or anyone else to write these tips. The only money I could make would be through advertising on this site or on YouTube at this point in time. I don't take responsibility for the content on sites linked to from this article.
by Brian Petrilli AKA Jalinon