In this video, Daniel from Dungeon Dive reviews the prototype of Story of Many, a dark fantasy, open-world, sandbox game heading to Kickstarter. The game draws inspiration from beloved genres such as Fighting Fantasy, Arkham Horror 2nd Edition, Hero Quest, Dungeons and Dragons, Elden Ring, Dark Souls, and more. The design emphasizes organic exploration, character progression, and world discovery, allowing players to explore 50 regions and experience evolving narratives based on their character’s growth from tier 1 to tier 5.
One key feature is that backers can choose between a miniatures-free base version or a deluxe edition filled with hundreds of miniatures. The game offers diverse playstyles, from epic campaign arcs to short one-off adventures, making it accessible for various gaming sessions. Players can enjoy an open world, upgrading their characters while collecting rumors and exploring detailed regions marked by persistent stickers. With dynamic combat, gear upgrades, and hundreds of unique monsters, the game promises replayability and depth.
Daniel also highlights the game’s unique skill system, which lets players create their own character trees similar to games like Titan Quest and Grim Dawn. He also praises the extensive bestiary and variety in gameplay but expresses concerns about potential over expansion during crowdfunding, the need for tight editing and rulebook clarity, and managing the game’s large table footprint. Despite these reservations, Daniel is excited and backing the game.
I just got done making an episode on The Story of Many, a game hitting Gamefound 09/24/24. I’m really excited for this one. Seems to do a lot of super interesting things.
Fascinating… never heard of it. Looks like it already has 16,000 followers so what do i know
Another mega-project? The bigger something is these days the less enthusiastic I seem to be. I have a lot of unfinished adventures building up in the collection
Really enjoyed your video. Don’t think I’ll need to back this one personally as a friend (Coincidently, another Daniel) is planning on doing so, but I’m pretty excited for what they’re doing. We were chatting about the game and looking at the page when you published the video and my eyebrows shot to the ceiling when I read the video’s title of “Why I am backing the Story of Many” Talk about a commendation!
I have such a hard time navigating this space of games:
Notably expensive even with the standees,
Seemingly very thoughtful world that purports to rival Skyrim or The Witcher in its scope and depth,
With combat rules and/or bookkeeping that seem crunchy enough to prevent mainstream hype
BIG sandbox-ish/massive-campaign adventure offering dozens if not hundreds of hours of gameplay that almost makes it a practical necessity to play it solo
From a team I’ve never heard of before (not that I’ve heard of much).
This one, The Isofarian Guard, Tainted Grail, and others I’m sure I’ve forgotten. It’s just such a tough niche to get into. I’d consider picking up a used copy, but even with a pretty respectable discount it would be the same cost as multiple other games.
Not sure if there is an idea for a suitable Dungeon Dive video here or not, but this video for Story of Many just reminded me how tough it is for a relatively new solo player to get into this area of the hobby by making the jump on a game like this one, sight unseen. I wonder what could be a “soft entry” to a game like this – or maybe I just have it wrong, and there’s really no difference in kind between this and games I know, there’s just “more ?” /rant
Yeah, games this big are really tough because you could be super into it from all the reviews you see, but after shelling out all that money and waiting months to years for it to arrive, you might find after an adventure or two that you’re really just not meshing with the game, even if it’s not poorly executed.
Actually getting a chance to play it yourself in person would be ideal, but you make a great point about, given the niche these games appeal to, it’s 100% impossible for me personally that a friend would have bought this and I could play with them and try it out.
Talk about a commendation! 