From developer Ghost Fish Games comes a real-time strategy game called Tabletop Gods. Lead your troops to battle in this tabletop-inspired strategy game. Set traps before each round to help defend your towers (strongholds) and bolster your defenses. Use your units and magic effectively, for each move made needs to be met with precision and speed. Fight as either the Humans or the Undead, with each unit having their own unique skills to use in battle.
Before battle you must first prepare for war, which is simply laying down defenses, such as traps. What you will use to place your defense is called mana, which is also used to summon troops and use spells. The object of the game is to destroy as many of the enemy player’s towers as possible within the allotted rounds. The more damage you deal to the player’s towers, the better. Even the damage to towers is calculated for the final victory. You will also be able to drop troops in areas either you occupy or those where the stronghold fell. Don’t forget to use your traps wisely before each battle either! Those are points you will never get back.
While this is an early-access game, take care to note that this isn’t a terrible game. In fact, it was very enjoyable. There are just many things that a game like this feels it lacks in. Care to find out what our thoughts are on the subject? Well, let’s dive right into Tabletop Gods.
Tabletop Gods is not at all what was expected. That’s not a bad thing either, and actually had become what I enjoyed most. Some might think, “oh, it’s cards,” or “oh, it’s dice.” This game is much more than that, and far more complex than a simple dice or card game. People who are a fan of those kind of games, or even Dungeons & Dragons games will have fun here. Even if you’re a casual gamer, this is still something that should at least be checked out.
When you go through the tutorial, you find out very quickly whether or not you will enjoy Tabletop Gods. You might not find out during the tutorial, but immediate afterwards we’ve managed to find where we lean. It can be a hit or miss with most players, as it can be this simple toss-up in the beginning of the fight. Once you get going, it can help you open your mind a bit. What that means is that you will have to micro-manage a majority of the time just to survive. You zoom out on the map, there might be people attacking one of your towers.
All is not lost either, because when one of your strongholds go down, you gain some extra mana points to use in battle. It’s a small boost, but if you’re losing troops pretty heavily then you might find yourself having to forfeit. With Tabletop Gods, it was surprisingly difficult to do. This is a person who doesn’t know when to give up the fight.
What’s it like on the inside? Let’s look at the guts!
With Tabletop Gods, the graphics really do look good. As far as there has been talk within the gaming community, many recommend it for VR. Who can blame them? It looks a little impressive. The graphics aren’t mind-blowing, but there has always been this cartoon-style look that I’m always drawn to. Needless to say, it helped me visually. The colors were very pleasing to the eye.
The gameplay is not as complex as most other games that I have viewed, from an indie standpoint. Pretty much all the strategy involved in Tabletop Gods is *click to add troops.* If your stronghold is being attacked, or a cannon you placed at your defenses, then there is nothing to really do except click and pray. Then pull back some and wait for your mana to recharge before going into the fight again. If you’re outnumbered by even a small number, when you send off your troops, things could go very badly really quickly.
As far as I can tell, there are only two maps at the moment, Castle Grounds, and Nether Realm. My personal favorite is Castle Ground, but the main difference is literally night and day. There are also only two factions, Undead and Human. For a very early-access title, it doesn’t affect my feelings on the game itself too much.
The sound with Tabletop Gods is a bit underwhelming too, because it’s all pretty generic. That doesn’t lose any points from me, because it’s to be expected from a smaller game.
Conclusion: Is Tabletop Gods really worth picking up?
Does Tabletop Gods work as a game? Actually, yes! It works very well, in fact. Is it worth the $20 price tag? In its current form, no. It’s a decent strategy game, but it’s really not giving you much for the price point. There is Arena and Quick Match for multiplayer, and Trials and Practice for single-player. As fun as I have had with the modes, they just fell flat after playing the game for only a few hours. Luckily, very early on in the review process I managed to find the one other player even playing online. He almost cleared the board during the first round, but my comeback kept him on his toes throughout. It was a good match, but he won in the end.
A match like that can stay with you. So, if there were more players, far more game modes, more maps, and just a little more of everything, I could see myself playing again. I really do see myself revisiting Tabletop Gods in the future. It was a fun ride, but the lack of game modes in current form made even single-player feel very repetitious. What this game lacks with content, it makes it up with charm. This is one game that I feel has a lot of potential.
See also: Cartoon Shows adapted into anime.
Check out Tabletop Gods’ Official Website if you’re interested in the game!
THE GOOD
Easy to get into.
Colors look visually pleasing.
THE BAD
Lacks content/depth.
Lacks player support. Too pricey in current form.
Summary
As a whole, it is very difficult to rate Tabletop Gods. I enjoyed it, but at the same time it grew stale fast and had become somewhat boring. Not to say this game can’t be fun, because it was. It’s one of those games you pick up and play for a bit, put it down, and then play again later. At the current stage, I’m glad I got to play it. However, at the price you have to compare it to other indie titles on the same scale. Must revisit this game at a later date though, once it’s given a full and official release.
