Come out to Play-ay The Warriors

Listen up, boppers. We have a new cut from that cool crew called Prospero Hall. A slick hit for our friends in the mass market. It only takes a smooth 45, but we gonna play this one all night long. You hear me, babies? All night long.

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It’s still on. And we’re playing.

Now, everybody says Prospero Hall is the one and only. I think we better have a look for ourselves.

[SYNTH]DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN / DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN[/SYNTH]

This game is rad as hell. It has the look. Real swag for such an easy meal.

It captures the feel of those eight jappers from Coney. All the nods, all the gangs. Up to four of you fools workin’ together, rolling towards home and bopping skulls.

It’s a war of attrition. Fighting or running across the board as you pick up new cards and scoop up new weapons like chains, bats, and molotov cocktails.

And the shake is jivin’. Fights are quick, slamming together hand management and some light dice rolling.

You going wimp? There’s almost nothing here. And what is there fades quickly, I’m sick of playing!

Yeah, there’s some of that. It suffers from the ‘Prospero Curve’, enjoyment fading rapidly over time. The problem is this thing’s a co-op, and the play isn’t sophisticated like those Gramercy Riff bombers. It doesn’t have the above table play of Prospero’s bitchin’ take on Jaws.

But the hand management is slick and leaves a strong impression. All you Warriors will have to balance pushing fast towards Coney or taking time for a breather. This comes at the expense of permanently burning cards from the game. Got that slammin’ short rest Gloomhaven boogie. Pretty solid for a $30 joint.

It’s a weird one too. Not innovative, but strange. Part of the game is moving down a one-way track, no deviation or subtlety. The other part is the round-robin fighting.

Our friend plays best at a full four brothers. There’s more discussion and the twerps at the other end of the bat hit back harder. Even still, this record is a bit too easy, a bit too breezy. Who would have thought getting home would be so chill?

But that’s minor league. The real problem is this freak is a little too abstract. It’s too much a punk. Brawls are playing cards for dice and then using those dice to cover marks on the bogeys. It works and it’s interesting, but it’s not exactly the stone fox.

The distance leaves no story, no tale to tell besides the one we’ve already seen. The narrative is broad and mocks the freaky deaky big screen. That lack of distinction or emergent ownership means the water is shallow, ya dig?

Jive-talking is routine for this group. While they know how to cut the surface and spit flavor like a casanova, the bones in the bag don’t make it to the flip side.

Ajax goin’ AWOL and being cut from the game shows how they’re out to lunch. That rough tumbler is central to the theme of these Warriors. He serves as the dark reflection of Swan and playing a big ol’ role in the war chief’s transition to leader and then finally retirement. The themes at the heart of the feature aren’t here, instead it does its best to capture a sense of style and a sense of momentum. It manages those B-sides like a mother.

Prospero Hall does just enough to be authentic, to be cool. This ain’t going to shake the world, but it’s going to get the head bobbin’.

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Here’s the skinny, boppers. When it’s all said and done, it teeters on the edge of repetition. But it doesn’t cross that fine line. It doesn’t pull those punches at the last second.

Then it goes back on the shelf, maybe not scootin’ off for the next little while. Maybe not the next long while. But down the line – that day when you’re thinking about Ajax thumping those Furies? This ditty will come calling.

Can you dig it?

Can you dig it?

 

A review copy was provided by the publisher.

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