“If Spelunky had been a slow-paced top-down exploration game, it’d be The Curious Expedition.” Adam (sob) mentioned that again once we declared it the best Roguelike of 2016, and I can see the place he’s coming from: they’re each games about weaving tales from procedurally generated calamities.
In the beta for Curious Expedition: Rivals, different gamers can wriggle their manner into these tales. I’ve been exploring new worlds in my browser although, and to this point their contribution has simply been ‘nuh nuh, we got to that shrine before you’.
You can play if for your self here.
You don’t really talk with different gamers – I’m simply imagining their vitriol. You do see them wandering about on the identical map as you, however there’s no method to work together instantly. Instead, you’re racing to uncover locations of curiosity. Be the primary to go to in every single place that’s notable in a area, and it’ll get named after you.
It performs in a lot the identical manner as the unique. You wander about, plotting routes in direction of websites which may include treasure, monsters or choices. Or the entire above. If you go for too lengthy with out feeding your get together some chocolate or whisky, they’ll begin misbehaving. Sometimes by consuming one another.
I began my first expedition by visiting a string of already desecrated shrines, which was as underwhelming because it sounds. Exploring is actually much less magical once you’re following in another person’s footsteps. I did discover some virgin territory additional afield although, which I promptly set fireplace to by nabbing an artefact from a booby-trapped shrine.
I misplaced one get together member to the flames, after which my donkey to a sinkhole. I in all probability may have saved that donkey if I’d saved the rope I began with, however I’d lengthy since traded it away for some mushrooms. Then my final dude acquired eaten by a tiger.
Somewhere alongside the way in which, I unlocked a crate. Those substitute the gear and get together choice system from the unique game, letting you combine and match your preliminary expeditionary power. My subsequent get together will set out with three cultists, a heap of chocolate and a wad of cocoa leaves which have an opportunity to show these cultists insane.
I’m in two minds about whether or not that get together will ever really see journey, although. I used to be encountering the identical occasions and conditions that I have already got within the single participant model, however and not using a compelling construction driving me ahead. I do like that there’s a flowery golden pyramid tucked away someplace, and the primary participant to find it’ll “go down in the ongoing history of Rivals and start the countdown to a completely new, procedural world.” It’s not going to be me although, is it? I’ll simply examine it as a substitute.
If you haven’t performed Curious Expedition, I’d say this might be a great way to see should you just like the style of journey before you purchase into it. Except, erm, there’s already an actual demo. Maybe Rivals can be price revisiting as soon as it’s spent just a little longer in beta.
The authentic Curious Expedition is accessible for £11/$15/€15 on Steam.
