Destinies called upon you once more…
Long ago, a pact was made with the Dwellers of the Wood. By the rules of this agreement, men must keep to their villages and paths, and what lies beyond belongs to other, older masters – creatures of ancient magics who look unkindly upon trespassers. Welcome to Witchwood
Witchwood is the latest expansion from the universe of Destinies; an immersive campaign experience where players actions evolve the story and change how events unfold!
With 4 new scenarios to explore, a larger campaign will unfold as you venture deeper into Witchwood and unveil the next steps of a larger plot. Ready for the adventure of your life? Let’s enter Witchwood and see what lies within…
When Destinies hit tables it created a big stir with its rich story telling and explorative campaign mechanics that evolved depending on your choices, interactions and exploration. Destinies was innovative, immersive and fresh – creating a well deserved buzz and giving neigh sayers of Hybrid Gaming something to chew on!
Swiftly two more expansions delivered to keep fans hunger at bay, a variety of new campaigns and characters that expanded the universe – and then it went quiet – a little too quiet.
Now in 2022 from the darkness emerges the latest addition to the franchise and we’re the unfortunate souls who are invited by Lucky Duck Games to enter the eery, haunting world of Witchwood.
Upfront this is a preview and as always things can change, especially in a campaign from Lucky Duck who pour every treat from their bag of tricks and drop surprises day after day. So remember this is a prototype and only the first campaign so there won’t be any major spoilers, but you are definitely in for a great surprise!
For those unfamiliar with the Destinies franchise as a quick overview this is a hybrid tabletop experience where an app is an essential part of the game play as you make decisions across the table.
The story will evolve and unravel as you make decisions and encounters differ based on who and how you interact with your environment; the deeper you delve into the story the greater the experience as your world begins to open around you as a fog of war lifts to reveal new terrain and adversary’s.
So what does Witchwood bring to the table?
To begin with we have 4 new interwoven campaigns and while we’ve experienced just the first it was deeply atmospheric, well-paced and eased players into the system with the story leaving us thirsty for the next chapter.
This new outing is far more character driven with a wealth of NPCs to encounter, some of whom may cross your path and perhaps even become playable characters (shh!)
But it’s here that Destinies has really defined Witchwood as a unique expansion in the franchise as Character Traits and Adversity modules add layers of complexity and intrigue which has been a missing component from previous gameplay.
Additional mechanics include Travelling Merchants, random Encounters and a unique travelling system which relates the immense labyrinth of trees and danger behind every corner of Witchwood – as a series of mazes you’ll explore and navigate deeper into the story.
Mazes quickly became a favoured feature within the party as the veering paths added variety and excitement with each turn of a corner offering the chance of fortune and glory!
If you’ve experienced Destinies before then this is still a game of quick turns and ever changing encounters, the story is rich and the only negative (at this stage of development) is it can become slightly confused but it’s still engaging and likely to be refined in time.
Final Thoughts…
After the rapid release of the previous expansions it feels like Lucky Duck Games have taken this time to absorb all the positive aspects of the system they’ve carved, and now we’re benefiting from a refined and deeper system with an evolving road ahead!
In a game where destiny is in the title you want to engage and empathise with your characters and this time out there’s a huge focus in creating rich characters with intrigue and ambition behind them.
If you’re yet to expand upon the base game then this is the one to go for – ambitious story telling is embedded into Destinies DNA but third time is the charm as the wealth of character arc and navigating mechanics makes Witchwood the pick of the crop.
While this is just a review prototype, and we’re yet to experience the other stories and surprises that lay ahead during the campaign, Lucky Duck Games are proven in quality that we have no concerns this will be an epic production and the taster campaign means there’s plenty to sink your teeth into.
Coming to Gamefound in October take a walk on the wild side and give Witchwood a try – if you dare!
Witchwood available on Gamefound – click here
