Telling people what games we're excited for can be tricky: games change a lot during the design process, and the tariff situation means games we saw years ago have been shelved for a better time. However, after a week of scouting, we've got a whole article's worth of answers for y'all.
Hell of a Deal
Hell of a Deal looks GORGEOUS
Smirk and Dagger's multi-player co-op hold'em Balatroesque with Cuphead inspired art immediately reeled us in. Players will be wagering souls to improve their odds against rule-changing mini-bosses with the ultimate goal of defeating the devil himself.
The Kickstarter campaign launches in April
Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo
Gunsen: The Battle of Toshi
Yes, it's named like the most forgettable historical shonen, but the taste we got had the distinct flavor of fruit pressings (it's got juice). It's following in the footsteps of recent area control but not hits; sure, you’ll get points from fighting and holding spaces on the board, but there's plenty of other ways to grab a win. Tossing in the engine-building/action-draft mechanic and 7 (seven!) asymmetric factions, this Gen Con release is one to keep your eyes on.
String Theory
This game is wacky fun
We approached this 'Pepe Silvia' game with a healthy dose of skepticism; any game you've never heard of with this much table presence certainly runs the risk of being heavy gimmick, light substance. Our demo hit the sweet spot between real game and storytelling party game, and it's high time kids that grew up on X-Files reclaimed conspiracy theories from the Alex Joneses of the world. String Theory's campaign is launching soon, so go give it a look!
Class of '89
Class of '89 looks better every time we see it
This one looked like a spreadsheet when we first saw it back at Gen Con, but now that it's gotten a heavin' helpin' of art and a couple tweaks under the hood, this baby glistens and purrs like we've come to expect from Paverson. We can't wait to get our hands on Yearbook Club Simulator: The Board Game, and you may as well admit it, neither can you. This one is going straight to retail later this year.
Luminous
There’s a dark art behind creating a successful TCG, and we're definitely not going to wade into speculating about this one's future. What we do feel comfortable talking about is how much we love their approach. The game itself has a low barrier of entry; two sets giving you all the cards you need for two players to start deckbuilding freely is just about as generous as the landscape gets, with the option to buy fancy packs to get fancy cards. The gameplay itself splits the baby between Magic and more recent innovations in a way that can appeal to both.
You can preorder Luminous now.
