My, what a peculiar game this is.
I wondered whether I really need to write yet another review of 7th Continent, taking into account the fact that:
a) there are already a ton of those
b) the game is technically not available for purchase anymore
But since I played this game in recent months more then all other games in my collection in the last year, I thought a review is in order.
Still, I will avoid giving out detailed basic info about the game. At this point in time, if you're reading this, you are well aware about what this game is about, what you get in the box, and you probably know at least in broad strokes how the game works.
Or.. you think you know.
I mean, since this game costs a pretty penny to get nowadays I researched it a LOT before making a decision to buy it, I watched playthroughs, I read reviews ... and still I realize that my idea what the game is was a lot different to how it actually works. And how the game works might actually be quite polarizing - I am not surprised that there are some very negative opinions about 7th Continent and that some people very soon give up on it completely or decide to play a house ruled version which is more or less the game on God mode, going and seeing all the content while not really playing the game.
But I'm running ahead of myself.
7th Continent is basically two games in one. The first game is what you see on the surface - a game where you explore and solve puzzles and discover many interesting and surprising things. It's a relatively light game which more often then not boils down to a boardgame version of a choose-your-own-adventure book - you get some options, you pick one, something happens, sometimes good, sometimes bad. The fun is in anticipation and excitement, you really never know what you're gonna get.
But the second game...the second game is a nasty surprise for a lot of people.
Some people now expect that I will say that the second game is "survival". And this is somewhat true. You cannot simply explore, you need to keep your "Action deck" fat because once it runs out, it's sudden death mode. Your "Discard pile" effectively becomes your Action deck, but with one huge difference - the Curse cards which were up until now a mild nuisance are now literal gamestoppers. You reveal one, it's game over. So you need to keep yourself alive by refreshing your Action deck, which is done through eating, which is done through hunting... which in itself is a VERY limited resource.
So? You balance exploring and hunting and you're fine. Craft some items, be methodical, don't take unnecessary risks, and as long as you're paying attention and are solving the puzzles you'll soon finish the game. Right?
Well, no. Now get ready for some serious boardgame nerdery.
The REAL second game, the game hidden "beneath" the surface ... 885
is actually a relatively abstract medium-weight action compression / card stacking optimization puzzle.
THIS is what gets people.
You see, this game has no tutorial mode. You will learn how to play the game... but you will not learn what is important to be GOOD at the game. The first - and suggested - scenario is rather involved. And lengthy. You will not finish it on the first try. You will most probably not finish it even on your fifth try. (*) Then the frustration sets in. I want to explore! I want to solve puzzles! I DON'T WANT TO BE BACK ON THE BLOODY STARTER ISLAND AGAIN!
At that moment people say screw this, mentally enter a cheat code and then continue playing, ignoring the fact they have died. Or, like those nice folks from No Pun Included, they simply give up on the game completely and just start reading the cards to see what happens.
This is the core reason why I'm writing this review. Because, and this is my real, honest opinion, all those people completely missed the point of this game.
You see, the second, hidden game IS the game. For the most part, this is not an exploration game, or a puzzle-solving game. This is an optimization puzzle with rather convoluted rules but which wants you to learn how the system works, and as a reward provides you with that first game of exploration and discovery. Run around willy-nilly disregarding the optimization puzzle and you will die. Get frustrated and start ignoring the surviving aspect, arbitrarily refreshing the Action deck whenever you feel like it and... you will get an unsatisfying experience. Why? Because when the exploration is not a reward but rather offered directly, the game is much, MUCH less satisfying. 884