[quote]A review copy was provided by the developer.[/quote]
[quote]Follow my Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41363546-Fruit-N-Doggie-Reviews/]Fruit N Doggie Reviews,[/url] so you can be updated whenever I post a new review.[/quote]
[h1]Overall Rating - Mediocre ★★★☆☆[/h1]
[h1]First Impressions[/h1]
Since my friend was visiting for the weekend, and the amount of games I have available for us has slowly decreased over time, I wanted to snag some more choices. Duel on Board (DB) isn't typically the kind of game we go for, but I'd rather try it than returning to games neither of us are largely fond of. It also has a single-player mode, so if it goes too poorly, I can see if playing against the AI is any better.
[h1]Gameplay[/h1]
When playing with another person you have access to five game modes; Death Match, Penalties, Sword Fight, Ping Pong, and Cannon Dance. If you play against the AI, all the same modes are available, except there's no Cannon Dance. Death Match is the definitive mode, with two pirates facing off against each other on the deck of a ship. Firing pistols at one another, they'll attempt to knock the other off the ship, or reach the center of it first. You can reflect bullets, advance forward, and jump over projectiles. If the match lasts long enough, different events will take place, such as thunderstorms or ghosts disrupting the fight. The default rules has you select a team of three, and all the events are able to spawn. With custom rules, you can alter the number of rounds to win the match and turn off any events you'd rather avoid.
Penalties is based around the idea of penalty kicks in soccer. You'll take turns firing at the other's goal, using unlimited jumps to try and slip the ball past them. Sword Fight is the most direct mode, as it's about who can input the right button presses fastest. Ping Pong focuses on continually reflecting bullets back and forth, as whoever misses first will immediately lose. Finally, Cannon Dance is a cooperative game. Spots on the deck will be marked with signs showing where cannonballs will land, and both players have to position themselves so that they don't get hit. Although you can move forward freely, in order to go backwards, the other person has to shoot you, so it's much trickier than it initially sounds.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980952523
[h1]Controls[/h1]
I wouldn't say there's anything wrong with the controls, and for the most part, they're shared across the different game types. They change the gameplay mechanics and rules, but generally not how the game handles. The problem will be getting used to the inputs along with all the variables that you need to keep track of. My biggest struggle with the Death Match is trying to move forward while remembering to fire and paying attention to incoming bullets. Although I think the mechanics come together intelligently, it's hard to split your focus amongst so many factors.
[h1]Story[/h1]
As this is basically a collection of five mini-games, there's no plot or story elements here.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980286131
[h1]Visuals[/h1]
Much of what drew my interest was DB's visuals. For an indie game, I thought the pixelated look was done well. To be fair, all of the action takes place on a stationary pirate ship, with scrolling backgrounds for different events, so there wasn't much they had to account for. After playing for a while, something that seemed to help was focusing my attention on the opponent moreso than myself. You'll want to peek to see if your bullets filled back up and you can advance forward, but otherwise it's useful to know when the enemy is firing with enough foresight to avoid it.
[h1]Sound Design[/h1]
If I'm not mistaken, I think there's only about two songs in DB. One for the title screen, and the same tune across all of the game modes. Out of all of them, I would have expected a different tune for the soccer one, but they didn't bother composing another track. To me this is a minor matter, but if you were theoretically going to put in a few hours of gameplay, I'd have hoped the developers could put in a few different songs to shake things up.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980948468
[h1]Pros[/h1]
🌟 The transitions and loading times could be a bit faster, but when you select a rematch, it creates a new duel with the same settings reasonably quickly.
🌟 There wouldn't be enough reason to get DB if you don't have someone else to play with, but having a bot to play against could fill out more time.
🌟 Even though it's simple, I think that works to the game's advantage.
[h1]Cons[/h1]
❌ It'd take some time to get proficient at the death matches with so many factors to keep track of. I think the developers played the game so much in testing that they became very accustomed to it and are overestimating the skill new players will have.
❌ I'm not positive all the achievements work. I survived an entire thunderstorm without being shocked, but even after beating my opponent, the achievement didn't activate.
❌ My friend and I tried each mode a few times, but none of them were all that exciting for us.
[h1]Tips[/h1]
🔍 For an easy victory against the hard AI in a death match, set the custom rules to one round with instant death turned on. You should stand near the center, only needing to move one space forward. Spam the reflect button to parry bullets until they're knocked back, then advance for the instant win. If you get knocked back, pause and do a rematch.
🔍 Practicing other game modes will help you adjust to the gameplay overall, so you can put all the pieces together in death matches.
🔍 Depending on your opponent, it can be easier to get to the center of the ship than knock them off the edge.
[h1]Final Thoughts[/h1]
Although the handful of people who have reviewed DB played and enjoyed it for a few hours, I think what may be happening is a circular matter. What I mean is that those who were first enticed by how the game looked bought and enjoyed it, while most other people aren't making the purchase and avoiding a game that wouldn't hold their interest that long. After all, $8 is steep for a small handful of mini-games. Each would cost more than $1 at full price, as there's 5 of them. Unless you find the trailer very compelling, I don't think you'd get much entertainment from DB. At most, you could hope for a few hours worth, and at that exchange rate, I'd rather watch a movie instead. It's a reasonable starting point, it's just not enough game for its asking price.
[quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow our curator page: [b]IndieGems[/b] if you like and want to see more reviews like this one.[/url][/quote]
[table]
[tr]
[th]PC Specs[/th]
[th]Performance[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ryzen 2700
RTX 2070
16GB RAM
ADATA SSD
1920x1080
[/td]
[td]The game ran without incident on default settings.
💖 - DB is healthy
[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
