Asmodee Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape MD015IT

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Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape is a new triumph in the world of dungeon crawlers. The asymmetric player powers (and their corresponding special components) left us wanting to re-play quests with different heroes, and the gameplay loop of leveling up in the middle of a quest and gaining loot is extremely satisfying (even if it doesn't carry over from session to session). Some of the campaigns include a final boss encounter and they are worth a special mention. They add another level to the game. The boss has its own tile for the battleground as well as a huge 'miniature'. The core game comes with two of these bosses and they are tough. The bosses give a real sense of purpose to the time spent levelling up and collecting gear. They are very powerful and if you are not prepared, you will soon find yourself defeated. The boss battles feel epic. To defeat them you need to plan and work together. You have to think strategically and adapt to the rolls of the dice. These boss battles are something special and help lift the game above similar dungeon crawlers. Components

I must confess that I have not played the original game. Massive Darkness 2 is my first experience in this world. The game is designed by Alex Olteanu and Marco Portugal. It builds upon the original work of Raphael Guiton, Jean-Baptiste Lullien and Nicolas Raoult. You may recognise them as the designers of the infamous Zombicide series. Published by CMON, there are similarities in components and mechanics to the zombie battler. However, MD2 feels very much like its own game.

What Are Our Final Thoughts On Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape?

As you can see from these descriptions, each of the six heroes has a unique playstyle, and brings their own specific expertise to each adventure. Finding fun synergies, and maximizing the specific abilities of your chosen hero, adds an incredible layer of depth to the game. What Are The Quests Like In Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape? Once set up, this game is easy to get into and easy to teach. The objectives usually involve moving to a particular space and/or interacting with a token. The choice of hero actions are straightforward and allow the game to move at a good pace. This combined with the cooperative nature of the game means that there is little downtime between turns. The one possible challenge to learning the game is understanding how your character works. Each hero has different abilities and feels unique. For example, the wizard casts spells, the paladin can put out tokens to support other players and the beserker uses rage to power up their actions. Once you get to grips with your character, you can soon work out how to get the most out of their abilities. The big bonus of this is that playing the same scenario with a new character gives a new experience. This all adds to the replayability of the game. Fight!

Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape is a dungeon-crawler through-and-through. Its foundations lie in CMON’s Zombicide series, just like the original Massive Darkness. There are tons of dice, tons of loot, and tons of baddies. The core game includes a tutorial and 10 scenarios for players to enjoy, 6 heroes, 62 bad guy miniatures, and a host of tokens and cards. In the sequel to Massive Darkness, players take on the role of Lightbringers fighting against Hell’s hordes. Massive Darkness 2 add light and dark tiles to the game, which can grant players specific bonuses, Content Guide There are not many spiritual themes to speak of beyond stereotypical use of demons. There is a scenario in which players have to fight the Archangel Michael, but it’s because he’s been in Hell for so long he fights everything he sees. Review The scenarios are varied and do a good job showing off the fun parts of Massive Darkness 2: enemies, bosses, items, and hero abilities. Some scenarios are shorter and some are longer, which is great because that allows players to choose a scenario that fits within their time constraints. While 10 may not seem like a lot, each scenario is different: some will see heroes wielding a cursed sword that hurts them more each turn, others will see heroes escorting a friendly summoner to the nearest portal.

I enjoyed this more as a 2-player game, but if you don’t mind some waiting, this could be a fun 5-6 player experience as well. Massive Darkness 2 scales well with the only downside of more players being a longer playtime. The difficulty felt balanced. Not so tough that it feels impossible, and not so easy that players never lose, although there were a few scenarios that felt particularly easy with the set of heroes we played with. If you're looking for a new dungeon crawler board game to play with friends, are intrigued by the game systems presented above, or enjoyed some of the core mechanics of the original Massive Darkness, then Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape is absolutely worth your time. Throughout the game, there are opportunities to gain new items. These can be more powerful weapons, armour or consumables such as health potions. Every time you defeat a lead monster or roaming monster, they drop loot. You can also gain loot from exploring rooms and treasure chests. Every time you gain a loot token, you reach inside the treasure bag to pull out a treasure token. This will determine whether you gain a common, rare or epic item. As the game progresses, more rare and epic tokens get added to the bag. This increases your chance of gaining those powerful items. At times, it can feel like you are drawing items that are not suited to your character or don’t add to your strength. However, you will find you will gain many items throughout the game. You can then use 'forge' points on the map to trade three items for one higher value item. You can also trade between players meaning there is more chance of you getting hold of that coveted epic weapon. This all adds to that feeling of character growth and gaining power. Like A Boss Players play as Lightbringers, fending off Hell’s invasion, eventually taking the battle to the demons in Hell. Demons and spirits abound, but beyond some mildly disturbing images (a character’s guts are held in by an iron cage), Massive Darkness 2 doesn’t feel as dark as the likes of Dark Souls or even Gloomhaven.