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I must start by declaring; I LOVE Disney. So the minute I got my hands on Disney: Chronicles of Light – Darkness Falls, it went straight to the table. Literally, that night. The husband moaned and said it was a kids game, and my friend wasn’t all that impressed either. Honestly, I’m surprised I got away with this one, if it’s Disney it normally has to involve Star Wars or Marvel – definitely not Disney Princesses. I was living my best life singing How Far I’ll Go, You’re Welcome and Tale As Old As Time ALL NIGHT LONG.
How iconic is iconic?
Disney: Chronicles of Light – Darkness Falls is a cooperative strategy game, designed for 1-4 players aged 8 and up. Players unite as iconic Disney heroines (Belle, Moana, Violet and Maid Marian) to combat encroaching darkness threatening to take over the land! Ok, so I definitely would have liked to have seen some more core Disney Princesses in the line-up as Violet and Maid Marian are a bit rogue and I would argue the “iconic” line there – but we’ll go with it.
We’re all in this together…
Together, you embark on quests, harness your special abilities, heal each other and confront the shadowy villains threatening the Realm of Light! The game is structured around days (rounds), during which players collectively decide on six actions to perform (two each). Moana can navigate water spaces efficiently (well, duh), while Belle excels in defeating Gascon – I mean, shadows. Each character has their own four unique quests, and you pick one to have active per game. These quests involve tasks like retrieving items or defeating specific villains – they all require coordination among players to make sure all objectives are achieved! Completing these quests unlocks additional powerful actions – so it’s worthwhile for the whole group to help.
Evil Vortex Spawn!
There are lots of enemy ‘shadow’ tokens to pick from when setting up this game – we had a great time picking our favourites (and trying to work out who all the others were – turns out my Disney knowledge isn’t as 100% as I thought). They spawn from a central Vortex that moves around the map! This can get really quite frustrating. Defeating these shadows involves rolling dice to meet or exceed a shadow’s strength – and you can team up with other players to enhance your chance of success. Managing your health is crucial as failure to defeat a shadow can deplete your health, and no health = game over. You’re also battling against the ‘Darkness Deck’ of cards, acting as a timer. You’ve got to accomplish all quests and vanquish the Vortex before the deck is exhausted. And they said this game was for 8 years and up?! (Side note: we lost.)
Admittedly, this game took us quite a while to set up. The map comes in tiles, which you match up to create a route. Water must link to water, land to land. Sounds easy in concept and I’m not sure if it was just our tired post-work brains, but it took us forever to find a layout that worked! However, the rules were easy enough to understand, and the gameplay was engaging (despite my singing throughout the evening, husband and friend thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were fully invested in gameplay). The overall challenge and action management kept us working together and on track for success – but ultimately, we failed. As a Disney lover, this game was a winner, but as a cooperative gaming experience with a bit of strategy – it’s great. Perfect for families, although a shame you can only play with 4!
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