Here Be Dragons (2019)

To conclude, I want to reiterate my enjoyment with ‘Here Be Dragons’, despite the flaws noted above. Red Zero Games should receive mountains of praise for a funny, rich and beautiful game, which for me was one I found myself repeatedly drawn to. Yes, there are minor issues that cannot be overlooked, but these may or may not be problematic depending on the player. Some polish to the gameplay design would have served ‘Here Be Dragons’ greatly, as a focus on a more streamlined story and gameplay loop likely would have provided the icing on the cake. However, I can appreciate the attempt by Red Zero Games to create a deep, and ultimately enjoyable, experience for its players. I will keep my eye out for future releases from the developers, but until then, I’ll grab me rum, and set sail again with me mateys on adventures new.

Apart from the humor, the well done mechanics, the unique presentation, the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh-water system, and public health, what have Here Be Dragons or the Romans ever done for us? My only real criticism is that while there is little to fault on that first go, the game does struggle to offer real replayability. It's an excellent strategy game. So play it once through for that good trip and let that be enough.

Here Be Dragons is actually a well thought out and detailed game, but the lacklustre characters and plot leave a lot to be desired. Mechanically the game is wonderful, the incredible enemies and art style working fantastically, yet Here Be Dragons falls short where it matters.

While I have a couple of niggles as I stated above with Here Be Dragons, I do like what the game developers are trying to do. Though I think the game could do with some sort of sandbox mode, where you could tinker around and build up your ship’s skills. When you get deeper into Here Be Dragons, it does offer an enjoyable slice of strategy, and fans of the board-game genre would probably find Here Be Dragons to be entertaining.

Here Be Dragons delivers a differentiated strategy title in the realm of aesthetics and gameplay, with a system that closely resembles what could be seen in a board game. Perhaps its significant support in the dice and chance drives away players who like to have control over what will happen, but it is impossible to deny that this proposal is part of the charm of the game and generates good times. If you are a fan of the genre and theme, and are looking to try something new, here is a highly recommended title.