Welcome to something new for most of us at DoaLG (except Mr Leaky of course): a Steam version of a board game. We'll not bore you with details of how we felt about the original game, but you can find our review of Fury of Dracula 4th edition board game here.
So what will this review focus on?
Primarily, it will be around how well Nomad Games have managed to port this epic board game into a digital version, and whether it lives up to the dead tree format original.
So, without further ado, let's talk about Fury of Dracula : Digital Edition!
I'll start off with a disclaimer that Nomad Games very graciously granted us two early access codes ahead of its release on 12th November so that we could review the game. Right, boring bit done, let's talk game...
I love this game in the original format, and think that the digital version is a very good digitisation. It has kept the same essence of the original game, so you should still expect a full playthrough of this game to take several hours.
Nomad have committed that there are updates planned to improve user experience
There have been a few bugs whilst playing our early access version of the game, but we have been assured by the development team at Nomad that these have been resolved in the release version, which is available on Steam from 12th November. There are some quality of life updates that would be beneficial from a user perspective, but Nomad have committed that there are updates planned to improve user experience, and they will be sharing details of these once the game has launched.
The game retains all the same great production values of the original, only further supported by the brilliant atmospheric soundtrack that really helps add that distinctive classic horror feel to the game.
Anyway, enough talking from me, you already know I love this game from my original review of the dead tree format. So time to hear from our 'Other' Founder.
Mr Leaky's Thoughts
Having never played this game before, I was very keen to get my mitts on this one, and it had been on my wish list before even getting the early access.
The presentation is excellent. The graphics and animations are all great. The music is fitting, and the atmosphere feels just right for the setting of brooding horror as Dracula spreads his fury through Europe.
The gameplay seems like a fun, but more complex variant of classic hidden movement games such as Whitechapel or Scotland Yard. There are a lot more factors to consider than some of those classics though: hunters have different abilities, individual inventories of items, and many many different events and encounters to deal with. As a result it's less newbie friendly.
The current in-game tutorials were useful, but a lot of the more complex features were a mystery to me and after two games, I'm still a bit confused on some aspects! For example, I did an action as Dracula that revealed my location to everyone. An in-game warning before I did this would have been useful for a new player such as myself perhaps. However, I'm sure someone familiar with the rules beforehand would have been able to avoid this trap.
Well he says that now, but having logged several dozen plays, this was still new to me too - George E Ohh
The game itself looks like it could be the main event of a pretty good games night. Especially if you manage to fill up all the playable roles with your friends. It is a longer game however, and even longer if the Dracula player knows what they are doing or just gets lucky by staying hidden!
While the game length may speed up with experienced players, I'd expect the average length to be 3-5 hours! For the digital version, I think it is very good. You can tell the developers have put a lot of effort into adapting this fairly complex game into the digital world.
In summary, I think Fury of Dracula is a good game, and this is a good digital adaptation. However, just be prepared for a late night as you fight the vampires!
The DoaLG Conclusion
Overall, this is a solid digital version and has seen some good love from the team. It's a faithful reproduction of the original and with some great support from Nomad Games, I'm sure that when it is released on 12th November it will only go from strength to strength as they work with the community to implement user experience updates.
Broadly speaking, the issues with this game are the same as the original and the play length will put some people off, so I really hope that one of those user experience updates is saving the multiplayer games.
It is a really a game to get your teeth stuck into, and get your Dracula fix... literally!
Mr Chris - the Founder
I think Fury of Dracula: Digital Edition is a good game and a good digital adaptation. However, be prepared for a late night fighting vampires!
Dan Leaky - the 'other' founder
A faithful reproduction of a personal favourite. I can't wait to play this more with the crew once it's released.
George E Ohh - The rules lawyer
So a very solid overall result and one we would recommend giving a try if you have the time to play it in full. Equally, if you've considered buying the board game this is certainly worth a purchase as a trial for the gameplay.
Your friendly DoaLG rules lawyer
George E Ohh