Descent: Legends of the Dark Details Announcement by Fantasy Flight Games

Way back at GenCon (that feels so long ago!), Fantasy Flight Games offered us a tiny glimpse at a game box at the end of a stream. The game, of course, was Descent, and since then it's existed in this 'we know it's out there' reality, but with little details to flesh it out. 

With Spiel Digital beginning today, and a glimpse once again of that artwork within its line up teaser, we finally have confirmation of Descent, and a few more details too. 

This is not the third edition, but a brand new game. The former is at its heart, a one versus many experiences. This new game is a fully cooperative, narrative-driven, character-driven, and app-driven, so whilst it uses the same DNA, it's a differently focussed game. Naming it Legends of the Dark demonstrates it as a whole new experience, but set within the same world of Descent.

You will need the app in order to play this game, and there's been a focus on this from the beginning of development. Developers had worked on other app driven games, and the previous Descent (Journeys in the Dark) games, allowing for the game to work really closely, hand in hand, with the new game.

As Fantasy Flight Games discussed the many areas of the game itself, the app really shines as a way to keep on top of differing rules and abilities without feeling overwhelmed. The app will help you from everything to recording damage, to exploring the world, to identifying specifics with enemies - including their own special abilities!

Unlike many others, the app was developed alongside the game itself, which means there are no attempts to make it fit to a different app model, plus it gained the knowledge from previous Fantasy Flight Games to use within this one. It was a popular option that the new app will include an Undo button, for all of those accidental button presses!

It was also raised that an early priority that the characters were strong, believable, and enjoyable. Heros have been set apart with differing stats and rolls, and created anew for this game. 

Miniatures are included, unpainted, but in different colours for types (Enemies are tan, for example). Though the art has been finalised, the materials are still being decided, so there may be some changes from those seen today to those you'll find in your original game. There are a ton included, made of a hard plastic that allows for an intricate level of detail. 

Gameplay is described as 'a game night' for a mission - a measurement we can certainly get behind! The approximation for a mission is anywhere between 2-4 hours, and for the full campaign (there are 16 quests and side quests), it's estimated at least 50+ hours to complete the whole campaign. 

Interestingly, you're not limited to a single hero, but you can change these at different campaigns to try out new tactics. Plus, if you need to change the player count at campaigns, you can do that too! 

Other answered aspects include that solo mode will still require you to play two characters. Attack cards are also provided with sleeves, but as you'll be flipping the cards over, these will be clear so to see both on both sides. The board will be revealed as you play. And you'll have a ton of customisation options, including weapons!

The game will be released in Q2 2021.