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Massive Chalice

Developed by: Double Fine Productions, Inc.

Published by: Double Fine Productions, Inc.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Xbox One

Rated: PG



BAJO

Thanks Dave! Double Fine productions, who recently brought us Broken Age, is a developer of delightful games. Its latest crowdfunded project is called Massive Chalice. And as the name suggests, there really is a massive chalice.



HEX

Massive Chalice is a turn based strategy game, set over a very long war. You are a god of sorts, and guided by two voices that speak from a giant chalice. They inform you that creatures known as Cadence are encroaching on the kingdom and it's up to you to guide the development of its people and their civilization, as well as their battles.



BAJO

And this really is a long war - it's hundreds and hundreds of years until the chalice is powerful enough to cleanse the land, and that equates to well over 10 hours of actual gameplay. We'll get to the combat in a bit, but first, let's talk about the timeline and ancestry mechanics of this game. You can't name your characters, but they don't live long enough for that to be an issue. Characters you level up and use to fight, will just simply die of old age.



HEX

I was so upset the first time that happened Bajo!



BAJO

Yeah, me too! And initially they die at such a low level, it's hard to imagine you will ever unlock their entire skill tree! But you do find ways to speed that up and get them leveling a bit quicker.



HEX

The timeline works like this. You start some research, fast forward time until an event happens, whether it's a fight, a birth or a death. And every now and then you get a tricky choice/consequence type decision, that will directly affect your heroes and kingdom.



BAJO

Days fly by, and once you've got your first keep, you'll need to appoint a king and queen and hope that they are fertile enough to produce offspring. These offspring are your future heroes.



HEX

There is a lot to get your head around and keep an eye on, but this busywork is also strangely compelling.



BAJO

Yeah. I also like you can have two leaders of the same sex, who can then adopt a baby, and apparently this was added thanks to backer feedback!



HEX

These appointments to your palace and other structures also come from your pool of heroes - the guys you fight with. So it can be a real tough decision later on in the game, if you start getting low on heroes, often heading into fights with less than you'd like. But if breeding is successful, not only will you get more heroes, but they'll also pass down traits and even heirlooms. These help in battle and gain power the more they pass down the line.



BAJO

It's quite a deep ancestry system isn't it?



HEX

Yeah, and it can all fall apart. The Cadence often attack multiple places at once, so you end up making tough choices about where to defend and what to let go. Especially at the end of the game, where things really get down to the wire.



BAJO

I love that the game forces you to make so many decisions, all the time, outside of combat. Before each battle, you pick your heroes. There's 3 main classes, but they all have variations as you start recruiting and breeding new heroes. The Hunter is your scout and sniper. Naturally they're quite weak, so stealth is your friend. I found their attacks quite satisfying Hex. Especially if you upgrade to the bone barb bow, which shoots through multiple enemies at once.



HEX

Yeah, although friendly fire can be a problem. The Caberjack is armed with a giant battering ram which makes for some truly satisfying hits and knock-backs. And the Boomstriker is all about grenades. I like that along with the class variations, your gear is upgraded based on researching your enemies. So suddenly, you can be armed with unique and powerful armour that activates with one hit, or underpants that stop you from getting old! Where can I get me a pair of those?!



BAJO

Most of your strategy out in the field is based on line of sight, avoiding enemy knock-backs, creating knocking and stunning enemies where appropriate. You'll be hiding, backtracking, ambushing, and focus firing to get the best outcome.



HEX

The interface is nice and snappy. Although, there aren't any options to speed up combat, which is a shame. It's not that big a deal though as enemy turns move along at a decent enough pace.



BAJO

I lost myself to this game for a good couple of days, Hex. This combat is just so interesting. And even all the stuff outside of combat fun. I enjoyed the micro-management and I think it's mostly because that interface is just so delightful to navigate!



HEX

Yeah, the UI is really great, and so is the music. My one major criticism is that this game is that it just needs more variety in its locations, both in the look and design. I wish there was a little more within the environment to interact with too, besides a few destructible objects. They all just end up feeling familiar too quickly, like the same map with a different colour filter on it or something.



BAJO

Yeah, I agree, but I just let that go because of that great drip-feed of new enemy types. They were so interesting to engage. And that's because each new enemy has a very specific attack pattern, and unique way to defeat them. And when you start getting combinations of different enemy types, you always have to think of new ways to approach a fight.



HEX

And the AI doesn't muck about either, it's smart and brutal. Some enemies even hack xp off your heroes, lowering their level or delaying your abilities. This can kill them in just two hits, especially if they're already getting on in years. Then there're the teleporters. Argh, how I hate the teleporters Bajo! There is nothing worse than getting ambushed by these guys, and having your heroes thrown into the firing line before you're ready. There is always more strategy to uncover in every fight.



BAJO

Yeah, I lost count of how many the number of times I yelled at my monitor as I made a stupid mistake. NO! What are you doing?! Or those moments where a whole bunch of nasty enemies are revealed in the fog of war suddenly and you know it's going to go badly.



HEX

I just love that you can fail this campaign Bajo - it's so rare that 16 hours into a game, you can totally lose! Especially if you playing on hard-core difficulty settings.



BAJO

And you can't even load an old save file, it doesn't help towards the end of the game. It's so bittersweet when you fail too. This was the perfect game to tie me over until the next Fire Emblem or XCOM. I'm giving it 4.5 stars



HEX

I really enjoyed it too, but I think I felt the grind of it a little bit more than you Bajo. So I'm giving it 3 and a half.



PC, Mac, XONE

7.5 out of 10 Stars