Here Be Dragons

First let me say that the game's concept is good. The idea of assigning dice to actions and to improve attributes is a good one, and initially the game is a lot of fun. That fun quickly turns to frustration for a few reasons: 1) There is no progression. Ships can improve within a chapter but then reset at the end of the chapter meaning none of the improvements carry over to the next one. 2) Each chapter introduces a new enemy with one or more annoying attacks (poison, bleeding, seduction), as well as an environmental effect that works against the player. Coupled with the lack of progression above leads to battles quickly becoming frustrating rather than fun. It really feels like all of the game's systems are working against the player and it often feels unfair and I restarted battles many times until the RNG worked in my favour. There isn't much of a story, and what little there is is nonsensical at best. The various characters spout gibberish most of the time and there is no coherent narrative. It wouldn't have taken much to weave things together to make a somewhat cohesive plot. Sadly, that wasn't done. The games art style gets a thumbs up. It's pretty and fits the theme. Unfortunately, the sounds leave a lot to be desired, in particular the cherub which sounds like tires squealing. Finally, the game is short. I finished it around the 6 hour mark and have no desire to go back and revisit it. Ultimately, if the concept is appealing it might be worth picking up in a deep sale but be ready for a frustrating experience. I think the best way to sum this up is the comment I made to wife when she asked how it was going. I said, "It's a lot of fun when it's not frustrating the heck out of me."

Decent idea, but ZERO replayability. More systems needed. If this game had some progression (a la Darkest Dungeon) and replayability, it would have been great. As it stands, it's a bit meh. It needs more upgrading, more RPG elements...It just needs more. Too light for my tastes. Refunded.

Here be Dragons is a tactical turn based game where you throw dices and decide what to do with them. I would say its more like a puzzle game. Pros: - The graphics were really nice and the music is really calming, it created a nice and cozy atmosphere. - Tactical thinking - If you take your time and read all the story bubbles you will find a nice, but not too complex story. - Every battle was unique on its own way. - Ship and enemy abilities were really creative and well thought out. Sometimes the guys before bossfight put up a tougher fight than the boss itself. - I liked the initiation system. Cons: - I experienced some minor dice glitches (not game greaking, just small ones. ) - The game is really short. This is the main weakness. In my case I just casually played and managed to beat it in 7 hours. - A sometimes RNG can ruin all your progress and you have to restasrt the battle. Overall: Enjoyable, and entertaining experience, but time sure flies by and its over. Its way too short, for this price. I would recommend waiting for a sale to get it, because sadly its not worth its original price unless they decide to expand the game.

Very funny game with Monty Python humor story and original graphic style. Don't get frustrated in 3rd scenario - just use combo - exploding dices with modification bottles - even unexpected Pirate Expedition can be conquered. Good job! - please add Undo button :)

GRADE: F+. It feels like a super long tutorial. and what little strategy there is is completely destroyed by the RNG elements. In fact the best strategy is to restart until you get a starting Dice roll that lets you take your turn, and hurts the enemy and stops them from taking their turn. "Here There Be Dragons" lures you in with adorable dragons and pixelated charm, but prepare for a quick journey that only leads to disappointment. Where strategy takes a backseat to pure luck. Each battle feels like the same repetitive dance. Even at a discounted price, the lack of depth and reliance on RNG make this a Hard Pass. You're better off steering clear of this underwhelming adventure. Spend your money and your time elsewhere,

Little turn-based strategy featuring satirical humor and graphics that kind of resemble maps of old. The only available game mode covers 13 campaigns, each consisting of 3-4 missions while each mission is one battle where your ship(s) fight enemy ships or monsters. It will probably take you around 10h to get through, give it or take it. Battles are short, so I would suggest playing 2-3 campaigns a day at the beginning and later 1 a day for an experience where you don't get bored and have a constant daily progress. The story is a satire of how Columbus discovered America featuring beliefs of that period as well as throwing pop culture references into a tasty stew. Humor is ok, not hilarious but far from forced or misdelivered either. Music fits nicely in the background and sound effects are satisfying. It's a very tactical game and quite challenging. The missions are made in a way to constantly force you to adjust your approach instead of developing a single tactic to grind through the entire game. Your ships' stats can progress between missions of a single campaign but don't transfer to next one. It's actually logical, as you are leading various characters in different campaigns. There are stats and actions available for you and the other side and what will be used is decided by allocating dice at the begging of each turn. RNG is a factor, but it seems to me it's done right, as it has helped and hindered me in pretty much equal amount. There are also bottles that are kind of like "fate points" that you collect each turn or when you defeat one enemy and can be used for various actions meant to help you turn things to your favor. Even though it can be labeled as a modern indie game, it has that "just right" feeling that games from the golden period of gaming had. I, for one, would really like to play a bigger/better/longer Here Be Dragons 2 in the future. So, fingers crossed the devs have such plans. Bought it at -70% and I'm super happy with the value I got. Since the base price is not high, I would argue that for tactical gamers and those who prefer indie games, this one is a good buy even at full price.

Recommended for fans of casual turn-based battles and a light history-meets-mythology atmosphere. +Art style, wackiness +Turn-based ship battles +Unique shared dice mechanics for stats/abilities +Ship upgrade choices +Good number of missions/content +Enemy and ability variety -No voiced dialogue -Barebones options, even more limited at start -Awkward UI at times -No story cohesion -Upgrades only last a couple battles -Repetitive -Missed opportunity to weave in some actual history

Весьма глубокая настолка с костями, которая заставляет держать в голове немало нюансов и мыслить нестандартно. Претензии о рэндоме в негативных обзорах следует воспринимать не иначе, как непонимание механик игры. Выглядит шикарно, фанатам мэппорна обязательна к покупке. За менее, чем полтора доллара - отлично! UPD игра проходится полностью за 7(+-1) часов в зависимотсти от сложности, потому за полную стоимость её брать не стоит. За одно прохождение получите все достижения, то есть реиграбельность отсутствует.

I didn't think I was going to like this game once I learned that you have very little choice in how your characters are built. In fact, the game is very linear and chooses exactly what ships and abilities you will get, as well as what baddies and abilities are on the other side. Every single fight is different in *some* way. Be that a new type of bad guy, a stronger version of a bad guy, or some other effect on the board that changes the way you can fight. The game starts of relatively easy (I played on the "challenge" difficulty). I think I might have got through the first 7 or 8 chapters of the game without losing a single battle. At some point the game gets quite a bit harder, but as previously discussed, the developer has pre-determined both sides of the battlefield. Given that there are plenty of people who have beat the whole game (15% according to the achievement stats) you can be sure that while the battlefield may look stacked against you -- there is certainly a path to victory. The thing I liked most about being put into canned scenarios is that you're forced to use different tactics depending on the fight. It's actually an improvement over most games like this in my opinion where you can just build a really good deck and stomp the CPU via your preferred method. Overall 8/10. The game is a little too long imo and also there's SO much dialogue that's basically pop culture references shrouded in pirate jokes it's a lot to read.

Well even on easy I'm stuck, while still in the tutorial phase (Introduction to Ink bottles), and can't move on. Honestly that's just stupid and should get fixed.