Regicide Legacy - A Surprising Challenge
22nd December, 2023
Season’s greetings from the team here at Badgers From Mars! We thought it was about time we gave you an update on how things are tracking for our next game, Regicide Legacy. Scroll down to read more!
Difficult by Design
Last update we talked a bit about player count, game contents, mission structure and their rewards, and a bit about story also. Today we want to focus on the difficulty of Regicide Legacy.
Firstly, we're intentionally designing the game to be a challenge. If we do it right, there's a good chance you'll face defeat the first time you attempt each mission. This is because each new mission is a unique challenge, and the path to victory won't always be obvious until you've had a crack. It'll require players to pay attention to the reasons why they may have lost the mission, and adjust their strategies next time!
When done correctly, achieving victory will be an occasion to celebrate, and we feel those moments are some of the most memorable times in cooperative games.
Balance
Difficulty is really… difficult to get right. One person’s ‘impossible’ could be another person’s ‘walk in the park’ and finding the balance to that is key. One of the core identities of Regicide was that it was difficult. Like, really hard. However, most of the time, players could see a path to progress. Often making it to one more queen, or being able to see what could have been done differently.
It’s crucial that we don’t lose this pillar of what made Regicide great, and so, Regicide Legacy will be challenging. Players are going to have to solve the puzzle of each mission and often that will mean valuing cards differently, or abandoning established patterns of play - that’s a challenge in itself!
The other side of the coin though, is that while we were perfectly happy for you to take 40 losses before getting your first Regicide win, we’re less keen to see you play an individual mission in Regicide Legacy 40 times 🙂 With that in mind, I’d like to introduce you to someone:
This is Hella and she packs a punch. We’re not ready to show you the whole card but let’s just say that she’s unlucky for some. Hella is one of the mercenaries who will be willing and able to join your party after a crushing loss. In fact, each time you lose you’ll get to add a new mercenary to your party. So if you lose 4 in a row, you’ll be facing the 5th attempt with 4 additional heavy hitters in your squad. When you successfully complete the mission and move onto the next, the mercenaries disappear off to their normal lives secretly hoping you fall short on the next mission so they can rejoin the fight! These mercs will have fat stats and some cool flexibility.
One card can make the difference, without skewing the whole gaming experience. Our hope is that they will provide just enough of a power boost to encourage players forward, without removing the requirement to understand and solve each mission.
Progression
In answer to your next question… no. Players will not be moved forward automatically to the next mission after a certain number of losses. Regicide Legacy is not that game. To proceed to the next mission you must successfully complete the current one. If players agree to skip forward to the next mission without completing the mission they are currently on, the game will spontaneously combust in a giant fireball - you’ve been warned!
Game Progress Update
In terms of timelines, things are progressing nicely. We’re hard at work putting together art assets, building and testing prototypes and organising our crowdfunding campaign. Keep an eye out for a Kickstarter campaign in early 2024!
Blind playtesting is underway, which is of course proving invaluable. Blind playtesting involves watching a group of players set up the game and play it straight from the rulebook, without us explaining things to them. Rules are being revised and rewritten for clarity. Feedback has been encouraging, also! Even while trudging through our prototype version with missing stickers and unrefined rules, players have enjoyed the experience (despite many losses!) and have looked forward to playing through each successive mission.
Have a safe and fun holiday season. Merry Christmas from the Regicide Legacy team!
Paul, Luke, Andy and DJ.