Siberian Dawn Reviews

I like everything about the game except the game itself

I'm always on the lookout for new card games and this is not it. It's not awful but its not something that I'd recommend to pretty much anyone. This game does have some unique twists on the classic Deck Builder format. - You build two decks Resource (Units + Currencies) and Tactics (Special effects + Actions for units) - Glory and Investment are ways to bank your currencies for future turns. It's an especially nice addition to the traditional deck-building format. - Randomization uses a chit draw system with 4 piles of modifiers such as the Arkham LCG. If you learn whats in each pile and watch what is drawn out, you can boost your chances of success. - It's asymmetric and objective driven. The enemy uses a different set of a rules and usually a specific challenge every time you play. It's a moderately-complicated ruleset, but I didn't find it nearly as hard to learn as many of these reviews. I don't dislike the core gameplay and I don't think that it fails in any way either. But the UI is particulaly bad and it makes it really hard to learn and play the game. - The buttons you need to interact with are scattered around the whole screen and rarely look like buttons compared to the space around them. - The tutorial and battle details are told in large blocks of text and numbers on a screen shared with the chit draw. - Playing a card generally takes between 3 and 5 clicks and this feel unnatural, confusing and slow. - Important details (Such as the contents of each fate deck) tend to be buried in the UI rather than visible and helping you to make decisions. This UI is clunky enough that it made learning the game especially difficult and after almost 2 hours I still find myself clicking back and forth trying to get the right order. It's not unplayable but its very much unintuitive and makes the game feel more complex than it is. The secondary reason I can't recommend is the content just doesn't justify the price tag yet. The base game only contains 4 card types (2 Currencies of varied payout, and 2 characters), the tutorial (4 guided missions), and 4 training missions. There's 2 additional DLC packs so far that are about the same price as the base game. The main menu shows alot of modes (Skirmish, Ark, Etc.) but they aren't in the game yet. It leaves a bit of an odd impression when the only buttons that work are "Tutorial" and "DLC Shop". I just feel like it needed more time in the oven before being released onto a storefront. If development continues on the game, I'll continue to keep an eye on it. There's an interesting enough core here and it could evolve into something great. I just can't recommend it as is.

This is a very interesting and unusual game. Yes it's a deckbuilder but don't expect something as banal as the old Dominion or Ascension as SD has you building two distinct but interacting decks. One contains your resources and fighting units while the other develops the tactics that these units will use. A wargame yes, but with emphasis on crafting your forces before jumping in. As many others have noted the interface is a bit clunky but it's serviceable and atmospheric once you grok it. Mind you I was much happier when I realised it's possible to turn off the pulsing text. The tutorials are dense, especially the last one before the training missions. Don't be afraid to move on and go for Training Mission 1, particularly as this is when you realise how extensive the help system is. Art style, well always a subjective area but I like it, reminds me of Mutant Year Zero, Dungeon Degenerates from Sean Aaberg and even those old Soviet era posters. I love learning curves and once over the initial hump this looks to be quite a long and interesting one. It has that 'just one more go' feel about it and a sense of achievement when the pennies start dropping. You can also set the difficulty level which I always appreciate. Definitely a unique labour of love here and one that I feel is well worth the small entry fee.