The Solitaire Conspiracy

I nice little game you can pick up and put down. Beautiful artwork.

bithell game good

[h1][url=store.steampowered.com/app/1424980/The_Solitaire_Conspiracy/]The Solitaire Conspiracy[/url] raises the trademark Bithell Games excellence to an even higher level of polish with an original concept that could nevertheless have been elevated further.[/h1] This spy thriller starts off strongly with an incredibly well defined ambiance and presentation, a great soundtrack and promising narrative setup, one of the few games to make good use of FMV, well written and played, smoothly animated and entirely bug-free. However, its gameplay demands a bit of perseverance before it really converges. Some faction powers are not very intuitive on their own, with randomized effects that make it difficult to plan an exact strategy, or an outright negative impact that inadvertently makes their avoidance a primary objective. I had a hard time developing a valid approach around many of them early on, until more factions later became available and their combined powers began to make complete sense. Once enough complementary factions are at play, particular alliances feel like a stroke of design genius, and the game becomes fully enjoyable from then on. I simply wish there were more of those and less of the randomness and negative effects, especially early on. Campaign missions regularly pop on the world map. Though some opportunities disappear seemingly randomly, creating some level of FOMO, they eventually return if missed or failed. Each mission features a refined synopsis worthy of an espionage series that serves up a great mental image, accompanied by light contextual visuals. These scenarios are mostly about ambiance; in truth they only alter which factions will be at play. Face cards are spy field agents, dormant until enabled by placing their corresponding suit's Ace on the center target. Powered agents trigger their effects when moved to another pile. Each agent has a unique bio and appearance, but all agents from a singular faction deliver the same benefits. Sort and build all suits up to King to complete the mission. Every match plays nearly identically, except for number of suits in play, and their associated powers and teams. There is a single type of board arrangement throughout the entire game. The spy thriller was a perfect setup to organize stacks variably and instill some gameplay variation — a sorely missed opportunity. A few other modes unlocked after some time will also show up on the world map. Countdown against the clock is optional in separate non-campaign mode, along with a single daily challenge leaderboard, and a skirmish mode that lets the player create a custom game with any teams of their choice. These become the main points of interest once the campaign is done, but without the supporting narrative and limited options I did not feel compelled to keep playing. Campaign Plus also introduces turn limits for a more challenging experience. [h3]Positive[/h3] [list] [*] Very strong presentation extremely polished in every way [*] Great ambiance exudes a lot of personality [*] Entertaining international spy thriller narrative worthy of a good TV espionage series [*] Good use of FMV to tell the story for each chapter intro [*] Good writing for agent bios and mission synopses [*] Great character portraits and visual effects [*] No time limit for a more relaxing session [*] Classic and plus modes, the latter gives more XP but requires completing levels in a set number of moves [*] Direct connections to other Bithell titles, notably Volume [*] Music gains intensity when nearing completion [*] Unlock vibrant color themes that affect the whole interface [*] Combine faction powers for good effect [/list] [h3]Negative[/h3] [list] [*] Many factions don't work well on their own or have too many random effects to be of use [*] Early power limitations, randomness and negative effects nearly drove me to abandon the game [*] Predictable mid-game plot twist [*] Player actions have no impact on mission narratives [*] Can't move stacks of successive series in a same suit together [*] All cards are always revealed, leaving out discovery or potential alternate modes [*] Single type of board arrangement [*] Sometimes activate powers by accident while reordering packs [*] No undo [*] No autocomplete once all cards are free to stack home [/list]