Thanks to Insoluble for recommending this hold. It was a lot of fun!
Resert On did a good job with this one. The hold is short and to the point, with some fun horde rooms, and it even features a cute story. Best of all is definitely the artwork! It's simple yet effective. Helping a shipwrecked sailor endure the wilderness is nothing new in gaming -- but showing his struggles against the backdrop of, literally, the artwork showing his struggles? That's neat! That's art!
This might be DROD's core conceit: reframing life's problems as actual puzzles to overcome. Is that why DROD settings can be so clever? Sure, you can make a hold that's 100% literal, like a real smitemaster fighting real monsters in real puzzles, but you don't have to. You can manifest any struggle as a puzzle, whether that's two generals clashing on a battlefield, a lonely soul trying to stave off mental illness, or yes, a shipwrecked sailor trying to survive on a hostile island. DROD lends itself to all sorts of abstract struggles being turned into concrete puzzles. In this hold, you need to fend off night's chill in the form of spiders, stomach unclean water in the form of tar babies, and even fend off a sorcerer's wicked magic in the form of a horde of brained goblins. Say what you will about simple monster rooms, it's more fun than actually collecting firewood!
(Oh, a note for folks trying to master this hold: you don't need to smash your head against every room boundary tile. The secret is hidden quite cleverly!)
Philosophy aside, this is a relaxing little hold that shouldn't take you more than fifteen minutes to clear. If wading through monsters sounds like your jam, then see for yourself!
3 brains
7 fun
[Last edited by Kaelyn at 02-28-2019 09:13 PM]
