If Legends Untold was an aftershave, it would be a classic cologne from the late eighties, smelling slightly of cork and sandalwood. There's an unafraid aroma of nostalgia, because when you get down to brass tacks, this is a role playing game that is unapologetic in its approach and lives in its own vast world and its own little bubble, regardless of the changes and evolution that has occurred around it.
On first appearances you would be mistaken to think that you're getting into some kind of dungeon crawler type game. You have character cards and equipment and modular maps that are explored. Once you start playing the game, it is actually more like a physical fleshed out RPG with all the various skill tests that come with the territory. You'll explore from card to card, but travel as an entire party, with guards and scouts who have differing jobs. Each area sits as individual little adventure. With a checklist of challenges that need to be overcome or dealt with depending on their nature.
The tests start as soon as you as you move from one card to another, deciding whether to enter the next area in dull or bright light, and if you are rushing in or sneaking to stay quiet. Both will have an effect on how you will deal with enemies and obstacles and even time itself. Rushing into a lit room might allow you to see all the traps you'll need to avoid and give you the element of surprise, however it makes you an easier target for enemies. While taking the unlit route will turn you into a stealth assassin, but possibly cause you to stumble into a pit trap and injure you. Most of the tests involve you rolling with modifiers and trying to beat a predetermined value in order to succeed, and this is when you can decide to utilise some of the skills of each of your individual characters. Health is dealt with in an innovative way by being based around the number of skills you have that haven't been completely drained and can't be used again. Drain all your skills and you drop out exhausted, with the party wipe occurring if everyone ends up with that status. There are opportunities for campfire resting to reinvigorate the party and keep you fighting for another day. It's a system that is clearly designed to push discretion over rampant heroics and for the most part works extremely well.
Legends Untold offers a banquet in statistics and skill checks, and with that kind of territory it might seem that you are often spending more time working out advantage and number crunch than actually exploring. It can occasionally fall foul to losing track of what modifiers you have, but again for those used to playing with heavier roleplaying rule sets, this is probably just going to feel like second nature. Unlike its stable mates, Legends Untold has the unique advantage of being able to be broken down into much smaller servings, thanks to how the entire exploration card structure works. It is entirely possible, though maybe not practical for you to take on a location one at a time over a set number of days, without feeling that you are creating unnatural breaks within the adventure. Due to its structure it works extremely well as a solo enterprise and once you have your set up created for a quest, the set up and tear down is quick and easy to manage.
If the base games of Legends Untold sets the world building in place, then the Illumination of Deepsorrow and the Potions and Preparations expansion is there to build on the possibilities and introduce a fuller campaign narrative into the game. Along side the ability to craft and create additional equipment to use in the adventure, Potions introduces two more occupations, additional equipment and the tools and ingredients to bring them into the Legends world. The main Illumination expansion is here to build a story with a quest book that contains a substantial thickness of tales and adventure. It is no pamphlet and there's clearly been a huge amount of work that has been put into crafting the tale. Deepsorrow sets up scenarios involving specific locations, cards and equipment and it is a obvious evolution for what the base game originally offered. The illustration work and depth that has gone into creating the story is to be admired, and the eleven scenarios are likely to keep you busy for some time to come. There is a huge amount of content that comes in the box which can seem daunting at first but once organised is relatively easy to manage.
Legends Untold isn't the game I would put down in front of someone who is looking for their next casual dungeon crawl experience. There is a lot of stat management involved and for those who want more action over dice rolling it may seem like an exercise in odds and statistics over grabbing treasure and smashing skulls. For those who want a game that is clearly sharing DNA with Role Playing, then this is going to feel very familiar, almost like spending some time in a holiday home, with great Wi-Fi and a luxury kitchen. However, the included beginners guide, action flow charts and amount of effort that has gone into making Legends Untold accessible means that those looking to get into something a bit more chunkier, rich and new won't be disappointed when they open the box. these are Legends worth telling.
You can find out more about the game by going to https://www.inspiringgames.com/
This review is based on a version of the game provided to us by the designer and publisher. We were not paid monetary compensation for this review. We give a general overview of the gameplay and so not all of the mechanical aspects of the game may be mentioned.
The majority of the games that we are play are going to take a reasonable number of sessions and playthroughs to fully understand every possibility that they offer. We hope this write up gives you an idea of whether or not this game is something that you will consider playing or even add to your collection.
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