Fair warning about this publisher

[Helyx]

Twin Sails Interactive is the studio previously known as Asmodee Digital.

 

They butchered the Munchkin game a few years ago so badly they had to change their name in hopes we wouldn't remember.

 

I have nothing against the people on the Gloomhaven team, but my conscience compels me to make sure people know the truth behind the publisher before throwing their money at them.

 

Find my thoughts on Asmodee and Munchkin here:

 

[yowzagabowza]

Thanks for the heads up. 

This kind of post is what makes sites like PSNP so good 

[SmurfRockRune]

I've played a lot of Gloomhaven digital and it's a very faithful remake of the board game. At most I've encountered very minor bugs where abilities don't trigger correctly in incredibly niche situations. I guess we'll see about the trophies and if they're glitchy, but I don't think they've had problems on Steam prior to the console launch so hopefully it's all good.

[MidnightDragon]

Damn shame. Was thinking of getting it. Thanks for the warning.

[SupergiantStarr]

This won't stop me from buying what seems to be a very lovingly crafted game. It's a completely different quality of product and it seems like they have a good incentive to support it properly. If this turns out to be a broken mess too, then sure, I'll avoid it. From the outside looking in though, this just seems like a weird axe to grind over a game hardly anyone bought, but you do you.

[NewDust]

Publisher≠developer

 

Developer of the game is Flaming Fowl Studios

[Helyx]

15 minutes ago, NewDust said:

Publisher≠developer

 

Developer of the game is Flaming Fowl Studios

 

The title of this thread clearly states publisher; not sure what point you're trying to make.

 

At Munchkin's release, Lucky Hammers was bankrupt and no longer the developer (they didn't even get to finish the game). Asmodee took over as the defacto developer as well as publisher before release. Twin Sails is the current publisher (aka Asmodee) and all updates/patches go through them (not the developer).

[ptr362]

1 hour ago, Helyx said:

 

The title of this thread clearly states publisher; not sure what point you're trying to make.

 

At Munchkin's release, Lucky Hammers was bankrupt and no longer the developer (they didn't even get to finish the game). Asmodee took over as the defacto developer as well as publisher before release. Twin Sails is the current publisher (aka Asmodee) and all updates/patches go through them (not the developer).

 

Publishers can't do updates and patches, they're not developers. They delisted a broken game instead of leaving it up for sale, and you seem overly bitter about that.

[StilRh]

I'm really happy to see more digital board games come to the platform

 

Trophies not live yet but I've popped a few locally - will let you know if I hit any bugs (this year every new release I've backed has had bugged trophies, I hope this breaks the trend). Truthfully, I hated my first 15 minutes with this..... but when I began to understand mechanics like initiative, card actions, short/long rests, exhaustion etc, I began to enjoy the game more. I've spent about 6 hours mucking around with tutorials, and the early segments of campaign and the guildmaster mode. I'm officially hooked now  I would say to more casual gamers - watch some gameplay footage online before buying this as it does not play like most tabletops/tactics games.

[Helyx]

18 hours ago, ptr362 said:

Publishers can't do updates and patches, they're not developers. They delisted a broken game instead of leaving it up for sale, and you seem overly bitter about that.

 

Exactly who do you think brings the game (install and updates) to platforms? Hint, it's the publisher. 

 

On the topic of Munchkin being delisted, that was the proper (and only) course of action at that point. The ship sailed on fixing the broken mess two years prior.

 

Am I upset at the outcome? - Yes.

Should consumers be aware of the potential quality of this and future releases? - Absolutely 

 

Why is this relevant? The COO of Asmodee Digital (Nicolas Godement) is the current managing director of Twin Sails. 

 

I'm completely biased, of course, but these things don't sit well with me. I'd rather be seen as a crackpot with an axe to grind instead of being complacent and potentially seeing future consumers duped by a licensed product that fails to deliver and not get proper support after launch.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Helyx

[ArmoredSnowman]

5 hours ago, Helyx said:

Twin Sails Interactive is the studio previously known as Asmodee Digital.

 

They butchered the Munchkin game a few years ago so badly they had to change their name in hopes we wouldn't remember.

 

I have nothing against the people on the Gloomhaven team, but my conscience compels me to make sure people know the truth behind the publisher before throwing their money at them.

 

Find my thoughts on Asmodee and Munchkin here:

 

ngl, I wish I could try out Munchkin, but it being delisted means permarip to that. 

[X_Blood_Curse_X]

I'm still bitter about Owlcat games and their botched Pathfinder release 😅 I think it's worth keeping an eye on publishers who have screwed up in the past. Hopefully this game is a decent port though, looks fun.

[LifeInTheFactory]

14 hours ago, ArmoredSnowman said:

ngl, I wish I could try out Munchkin, but it being delisted means permarip to that. 

This is not on Playstation, but Dire Wolf Digital, a company that did very, very good digital adaptations of the board games Root, Everdell and Sagrada (they're all on mobile and PC, I think) also recently did Munchkin for mobile and PC. I haven't played that one, so I can't say how good it is. But I would pay good money for Root on PS5.

[Burritoprime]

........ Helyx was only warning that he had a bad experience with a publisher and for people to be aware, just that, some people are acting like it's twisting their arms and telling them not to buy which was never mentioned, wish more posts like this existed.

[SupergiantStarr]

3 hours ago, Sunnyburrito said:

........ Helyx was only warning that he had a bad experience with a publisher and for people to be aware, just that, some people are acting like it's twisting their arms and telling them not to buy which was never mentioned, wish more posts like this existed.

Let's not get it twisted. In their original post about Munchkin that they provided, Helyx stated: "Don't support Asmodee Digital, and if you have a spine, you wont support their table-top parent company Asmodee." Clearly, not only was it mentioned not to buy, it's suggested that if I head over to my local Games N Such to buy a new copy of Catan, I'd be spineless.

 

I absolutely don't mind a heads-up about a publisher bungling something up. It's 2023, it must be a day ending in Y. Nor do I mind that OP has an axe to grind because they got burned. But they clearly stated NOT to support Asmodee because of some bungled, mediocre title that isn't even available for sale anymore. I think everything's gonna be okay.

[ZitMeatloaf]

On 9/18/2023 at 1:03 PM, SmurfRockRune said:

I don't think they've had problems on Steam prior to the console launch so hopefully it's all good.

There's been a few persistent problems with the Steam version, namely soft locks and connectivity issues. The most recent (big) update they pushed out to coincide with the console launches and cross-platform play completely broke online connections with Mac players.

 

The good news is the game gets regular patches and fixes, and the developer encourages players reporting problems. They'll keep working to iron out problems.

Edited February 7 by ZitMeatloaf
Typo

[TakemetoNarnia4]

Same with Arkham Horror, they never cared about the game. Changing name doesn't mean people forget.