The Batman Who Laughs Rising (2020)
Published by: The Op
Players: 1-4
Age: 15+
Play Time: 60-90 minutes
Overview:
Using the "Rising" mechanics, take control of DC heroes, form a team, and take out The Batman Who Laughs before before he unleashes Dark Knights on Gotham and the world. Based on the Dark Night Metal comic series, this is a fun dice rolling game with a dark Batman theme.
Main Mechanics:
Dice Rolling
Dice Allocation
Cooperative
Components Review: As with most games, the first thing you notice is the art. If you are a fan of Batman or comics you will enjoy the art of the game. It has a dark, gritty theme, which I personally enjoy. Like the other Rising games, this one includes a figure of The Batman Who Laughs, which is great quality, and which my wife would describe as creepy. Again, like the other Rising games, this one includes custom dice which are quality and easy to read. The villain track is okay (very functional), though I would have really preferred it to be dual layered, something all the Rising games could use. Overall, I am impressed with the components that the Rising games include. They aren't top notch, but aren't bad by any means, and this one is no exception.
Gameplay Review:
The Batman Who Laughs Rising uses the same mechanics system as the other Rising games. Each turn, players take four basic actions: 1. Place team token at a location, 2. Roll and resolve the Dark Knight die and the Batman Who Laughs die 3. Roll and assign dice, and 4. Resolve dice. Placing the team token is quick. Players decide rather to send their team to one of three locations (aptly labeled 1, 2, and 3). Once there, villain dice are rolled. This will determine how much progress is made on the Dark Knight track, and what location The Batman Who Laughs will move to. Where he moves will effect players and their team. If you are at the same location as The Batman Who Laughs, every member of your team receives damage. Once they have a certain amount of damage they must be discarded. Next players roll and assign dice. During this phase players are trying to match symbols to the cards or villains in play. Lastly, dice are resolved, either recruiting a new member or damaging a villain. The game continues in this way until players successfully defeat The Batman Who Laughs (win), lose 10 heroes (lose), or a players entire team is knocked out (lose).
The Batman Who Laughs is a fun, easy to learn dice game and boy is it difficult. Having played Plankton Rising previously, this one is a huge step up in difficulty. The main difference from Plankton Rising is how the main villain is defeated. In Plankton Rising you defeat the villain by serving customers as food cards are revealed, which tends to be steady over the game. In this one, you cannot attack The Batman Who Laughs until a certain point in the game, which has its pros and cons. The pros are that you have time to focus on building a team and defeating smaller villains, which is SUPER important, because as the game goes on, The Batman Who Laughs unlocks different negative events. In our first play, a few bad turns at the start of the game put us at a real disadvantage, which of course can happen with dice games, but it also really made me want to play again and redeem myself!
Final Thoughts:
I really love Batman! However, like other Rising games, because they have similar mechanics, I would suggest you go with the IP that you prefer. Though all of the games have variable difficulty, the initial difficulty of The Batman Who Laughs Rising was welcomed and made for a more fun and stress-filled play. Can't wait to play it again! These are my honest thoughts, but BIG thank you to The Op for sending me a copy for this review.
Purchase The Batman Who Laughs Rising: https://amzn.to/3801yUK
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