Cave Evil is raw and brutal. It features exceptional black and white artwork fused with mechanics that bury the player in the dripping blood and ichor of theme. It’s the only game that has a trailer and an online radio stream dedicated to setting the atmosphere. It’s weird, obtuse, and unforgettable. It’s the type of game <PERSON> could have designed if he didn’t spend his entire day planning his next escape from his maximum security Norwegian prison.
Right off the bat the unique and awe-inspiring tone is set when you get your dirty claws on the box. The large and eerie Black Metal-esque cover grabs your attention. When you tear the shrink and fondle the components you will quickly realize this is a labor of love, manufactured 100% in the United States with unparalleled attention to detail. The quality of the components is not on par with FFG, but they are solid and functional and overcome their minor deficiencies with unique presentation. Every single piece of artwork (including 300+ cards all bearing unique illustrations) morph into this whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s really something and you must experience this game in person, as descriptions and images don’t do it justice.
In Cave Evil you will play a Necromancer, able to summon vile and hideous creations to send down the dark corridors of eternal darkness and root out your enemies. You collect resources of Metals, Gore, and Shadowflame so that you may invoke creatures, spells, or items from your hand of cards. These legions of hell form squads of several combatants which allow you to maneuver the tunnels and expand your dominance. Each squad is granted a single action in addition to moving each turn, and is typically utilized to either press the attack or excavate the cave system forming the board. 728
Squads will dig and carve out the malicious earth, opening new passageways which boast wandering monsters and abundant resources. They will bribe or fight the neutral beasts and gather these resources to return to the <PERSON> to feed the machine and fuel the process of bolstering your horde.
The game comes with a paper map, displaying the hex-grid which forms the foundation for the tunnel tiles to be placed. A wide array of tunnel shapes and sizes is featured, and you will never quite be able to predict what will appear when your <PERSON> and Bloated Worm tear down the wall and reveal a new discovery. It’s exciting and visceral as you draw an Excavation Card which will tell you the tile to place and often prod you to make a spawn roll – which often results in Metal/Gore/Shadowflame being placed but will occasionally provide for a draw of one of the four Conjuration Decks which could mean a wandering monster or even an ancient artifact is discovered. It is immensely satisfying to tear through the corrupt earth and come across a Demon Prince that you beat to the ground and force to join your war-band.
The game is bloated with these awesome, unpredictable moments and peppers you with a constant stream of surprises like a giddy child ripping through a stream of presents on Christmas morning. You are repeatedly presented with situations that bring back memories of that feeling of excitement laced with tension in your gut when you open a booster pack to your favorite CCG. Akin to that Glory To Rome quality of game-breaking combos, you will see new and wondrous creatures nearly every time you play, and you will work hard to pump out a wall of corpse eating machines to wreak havoc on your enemies. You will have games where you build a bomb and throw your Necromonk into your enemy’s defenses so that you can blow a hole and charge through with your Insanity Demon. You will see <PERSON> teleport his squad adjacent to <PERSON> in a suicide run of mass proportions. You will be charged by an Undead Dragon and then activate the Ice Dead Sorceress’ power to take control of the beast and force him to join your side. The narrative is consistently strong and is built upon this framework that pushes out memorable outcomes like a hen excreting golden eggs.
One of my favorite elements of Cave Evil is the Awakened Evil. As you summon creatures and eat through turns, the Blood Eye marker will move around the map, following a linear track. When it reaches the end of the track, the Awakened Evil will appear and your ferocious <PERSON> will be hurled to the wolves as one of several abominations of epic proportion tear up the cave system. The Awakened Evil is drawn from a deck of cards and consists of such glorious creations as the Darkest Evil Bitch which hunts down the weakest players first, the Eternal Evil Emperor who boasts stats twice as good as the best rare creatures in the game, and several more horrifying creations which will have you clenching your sphincter in anticipation for your oncoming downfall. 728