Search and Rescue Reviews

Very slow gameplay, even with the skip function. Also not very easy to get into. It just sort of drops you in a very easy first round but with no instuctions which resulted in me wandering back and forth for too long. The difficulty increased very quickly at level 3 where the lessons youve sort of taught yourself in level one and two went pretty much out the window. Too bad.

Search and Rescue is a delightful indie title that offers a refreshing break from the graphical extravagance of modern gaming. It's a game that proves that simplicity can be just as captivating as complexity.

[i] My Experience [/i] I always try and pay attention to smaller indie co-op experiences that pop up on Steam, so I was excited to see a digital board game pop up among the new releases. Although the graphics are somewhat simplistic, when they were coupled with the snowy footstep sound effect I actually found the game to be pretty immersive. I liked the game's theme, and the way that tourist locations are only approximated initially. I felt a sense of exploration on the board, and I wanted to find the most efficient routes to rescue tourists and get them to safety. Lastly, I thought the card-drawing system was a compelling addition. When you move your rescuer around the board, you can choose to do all of your movement at once (multiple hexes) or choose to move one hex at a time. However, you pick a face-down card to draw from a set of three after each "move action" (I suppose we can call them move actions). Some cards are advantageous, while others are detrimental. For me this created a pressue to commit to a certain direction and use all my movement at once, even if I was unsure. I wanted to minimize the chances that I would draw a card that would cause me to slip or fall and hinder my movement. My co-op partner and I played two rounds of the board game on different maps using the standard settings. We found this to be pretty easy, but there were no standard difficulties in the game, like easy, normal, or hard - there are only variables, such as starting money, number of tourists to save, the time of day you begin, whether the game gives you more or less information about tourist locations, and whether or not tourists "panic." Although some players may like the option to adjust things in such a granular way, we found it kind of overwhelming. We tried to do a "scenario" next, thinking that it might be more intentionally geared to create a challenge, only to learn that scenarios are single-player only. Although I doubt we'll play more, we enjoyed the time that we put into [b]Search and Rescue[/b]. I would encourage developer NowakGames to create preset difficulty levels, and also to do away with the "daily missions" feature - not everything needs to be a "game as service."

I have only played a little bit but so far I enjoy it. My first play I rescued several people that were grouped together and when I went back, I had to hunt down some stragglers who wandered off. It took a little bit and nightfall hit. I almost didn't find them in time but luck was on my side and I was able to get them into a shelter. I look forward to playing more in the future!