Steamforged Games is charging ahead with its plan to make another classic video game into a board game. Its Kickstarter campaign for Resident Evil 3: The Board Game kicks off on April 28, and the team says it’s listening to feedback from consumers upset with the quality of Resident Evil 2: The Board Game, which shipped in early 2019.
Resident Evil 3: The Board Game will use the same gameplay system as Resident Evil 2, which relies on dice-based combat and a modular game board. But fans complained that the game board itself was too dark, making details hard to see. Steamforged says it has taken that criticism to heart.
“It’s clear, now, that whilst the philosophy of creating darker artwork is fine,” Steamforged said Wednesday on its official blog, “the effect that worked so well on-screen didn’t translate to the tabletop in quite the same way — nor was it a visual effect board gamers were used to.”
As a result, they’ve significantly brightened the artwork for the modular tiles. Early prototypes show much more dynamic lighting, with brighter areas and more crisp details throughout.
Much of the allure of the Resident Evil board games, just like Steamforged’s Dark Souls: The Board Game that came before it, hinges on the game’s miniatures. The Kickstarter campaign will include several exclusive sculpts, among them a version of S.T.A.R.S. Jill Valentine. We’ve included an exclusive first look at an early render of the miniature below.
Steamforged tells Polygon that the mini will come only with the S.T.A.R.S. version of the game, which will include exclusive box art and all unlocked stretch goals. That implies that a version of the game will be available at a lower price that does not include stretch goals. No price point or delivery date has been announced.
In our review of both the Resident Evil 2: The Board Game and Dark Souls: The Board Game, we noted several imperfections with the miniatures. It was nothing that a little work with a hobby knife, some glue, and some scalding hot water couldn’t sort out. But, for the price point — around $100 dollars — both were a bit of a disappointment. Here’s hoping that Steamforged addresses those issues in a future blog post as well.
You can follow the campaign on Kickstater, and get an email when it goes live.
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