Armello Reviews
Playing is both a joy and infuriating, depending on your back stabbing/stabbed ratio. In either case, I found myself wanting to go back for more.
If you enjoyed playing board games or card games when you were younger (or are still young), Armello will captivate you. The game is beautiful to look at, fun to play, and challenging enough to keep you coming back for more. Even if you've never played a game like this before, it's enjoyable just learning to play and finally getting a satisfying victory.
Despite limited game modes, it is easy to learn while at the same time offers a deep, strategic, and satisfying experience.
Matches take a long time to complete - sometimes upwards of an hour and, for that reason, are best played against human competitors, where one's cruelty and wisdom takes on sharper significance. That said, the AI in the single-player game is able, and for players worried about entering games via Steam matchmaking, with all the attendant risk of having a human competitor who drifts away from their keyboard half an hour in, the single-player portion provides useful on-going training grounds.
Mixing a unique setting with classic strategic and board game elements, Armello is easy to recommend.
[L]et me say it as plainly as possible: Armello is perhaps the most detailed and well-designed entry in [digital board games] that I've ever played, and you should probably stop reading and buy it right now.
Despite being a bit abstruse at times, Armello is excellent at maintaining your interest and offers plenty of guidance to improve your playing technique. Overall, this is a remarkable digital board game that combines an engaging lore with likeable scenarios and fascinating mechanics.
Armello shows a lot of promise and its mechanics work well in a virtual environment while still keeping their tabletop feel. However, the lengthy AI turns, not to mention the sometimes-unfair RNG and erratic AI behavior, weigh it down.
The only major things that hold Armello back are things that either can be fixed or are purely subjective. Personally I feel the random element is a little too on the nose, but like all good board games, there are going to be those who really dig that particular feature. Armello's a fantastic example of a gateway board game and also a great way to spend an hour or two with friends who may not be able to get around a table.
League of Geeks has crafted a fascinating world within its board game Armello, making it a unique and difficult quest that fans of both video games and tabletops will enjoy.
Armello makes a great first impression, but it has a bad habit of making you feel like you're playing alone.
Being digitized has been the enabling factor for Armello. In reality this would be a boring stat-checking and constant dice rolling experience, but the PS4 takes all the slack, doing the math and dice-rolling for you, allowing you to just enjoy the show. This makes the heavy rule book seem more palatable while you enjoy the rich and engaging lore. It's a well-balanced and good-looking experience that shows originality is still possible in a format that's centuries old.
Armello doesn't completely replicate the feeling of tabletop games, but it's a nice alternative to play with friends who may be long distance. The spirit of tabletop gaming is there, even if all of the designs aren't.
Armello really does a very good job of blending board game mechanics with video game technology to create a fun experience that should appeal to fans of both. The AI could certainly use some tweaking, and this is a problem that is more pronounced at the moment due to the somewhat limited player base that is currently out there. Still, this is yet another great example of the wonderful indie games that help to make the PlayStation 4 so much more than a machine for blockbusters.
Armello is a fun and addicting mesh of genres that never quite reaches greatness due to some quirky balance issues and multiplayer dilemmas, but what's on offer here should please anyone looking to spend some quality time on a modern-day board game.
In the end, Armello does not strive for anything more than being a polished and well-rounded experience, and despite some lingering complaints on its lack of communication and interactivity, it is a worthwhile purchase for any board game fan.
Armello is a beautifully crafted strategic videogame inspired by old school board games you can usually play with friends around a table in the same room. Grab a pad and test yourself and your friends online at the game of the Lion's throne or challenge the CPU to crown the new king of Armello.
Review in Italian | Read full review
it's a quite fun online board game
Armello is a game with some deeply complex but very rewarding mechanics. If you like board games, or want to take your first step into the genre, Armello is one of the best options currently.