Review: BLOOD RAGE: DIGITAL EDITION Has Incredible Gameplay, With Some Lackluster Visuals
Board games have a very specific feel and energy to them, any translation to a digital format can be different to some degree. Blood Rage: Digital Edition does the job, allowing people to play against pretty smart computers and other players online. However, it does suffer from bugs, odd UI choices, lack of local multiplayer, poor tutorial and somewhat dull visuals.
The game works just fine and it is really nice to have the computer taking care of all the math. All the 3D characters look pretty good and the 3D environment is good. When areas of the map are usable, it is really cool to have fire rain from the sky, wiping out that section and leaving it a smoldering landscape. Along with the fun visuals, Blood Rage is a really great game on it’s own. The strategy, important drafting, nervous combat and epic turnarounds all pay off very well, just like the physical edition. If this is the only way you can experience the game (because the physical edition is very expensive and requires actual people to play), then it is a great way to play.
As much as I don’t want to say it, there are a lot more negatives to this digital iteration of the game. One of the biggest problems is the poor tutorial. For new players it is very slow, doesn’t feel super helpful and honestly missed a few small things. The visuals are nice with some movement and other flair and effects through gameplay, but compared to the detailed miniatures of the real game, it feels like a step down. The UI for gameplay also could have used a little more cleaning up, I felt like selecting areas to place characters, canceling moves and other things got a little jumbled. Also higher definition cards/art, but the visuals overall are fine, just a little cluttered. Lastly, there were some bugs with my screen being stuck in the corner, certain characters not appearing on the board and a few other things. It never broke the game, but that all happened in just my first game. They fixed themselves after a few minutes, but it threw off my game experience a little bit.
Like mentioned before, Blood Rage is a super fantastic game, honestly one of the best board games. This is a totally viable digital alternative or in case you wanted to play alone or with people over the internet. I think the game could have used some more time baking in the oven, but it is a good way to play the game, just not the best.
