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In an alternative universe, in the distant future radiation has ravaged the Earth. Video obsessed mutants battle it out to gain control of the wasteland. Video vortex is a deck building game where 2-4 players must pick their mutant and rent videos from the post-apocalyptic video rental store (Blockbuster seems to have a more robust business model in this universe) and combine them with their mutant’s unique powers to destroy their opponents and rule the wastes.
Bought in the midst of Lockdown 2, Video Vortex was my first foray into slightly heavier games. To set “heavy” in context before that my experience was party games, such as Codenames and Articulate, and lightweight two player games, such as Jaipur (all highly recommended by the way).
At first glance, the comparatively complex rules and new mechanisms such as progressive turn order and variable player powers were quite daunting, but after a couple of turns, the rules just clicked. Moreover, a lot of the functions are explained on the cards, so it is easy to pick up as you play. Now I’ve played more games of it and have more experience playing “heavier” (still not that heavy) games- I find the complexity a benefit as it allows for different tactics thus increasing replayability.
Gameplay
There are twelve characters in Video Vortex, each with different bios, skills and health and at the beginning of the game, each player chooses their character. The game recommends reading through what the character stands for, however I have always chosen based on their powers and maximum health. Once characters have been chosen and the game setup, play begins.
Each turn begins with all players picking a Sun Sphere, which provides an additional action for that turn, with the current first player choosing first. Players then take turns to carry out as many actions as they want- including renting cards to build up their deck, spending energy to play cards, spending a charge to use their mutant’s special abilities and using their sun sphere.
Assuming they have the energy and/or money to do them, players can take as many actions as they want and in any order. After everyone has finished their turn, the first player passes the first player token to the player to their left. The game is won when one player is left. Players are eliminated by having their health “fast forward” to their maximum health score three times.
Review
2 of the things that are most important to me when playing a game are the look and feel (call me shallow, but a beautiful game can distract from slightly clunky gameplay) and whether you get that “just one more go” feeling after playing it. I found that Video Vortex succeeds in both of these.
Aesthetics
First the look and feel. Video Vortex has a strong visual theme- it has a dark, steampunk-esque aesthetic that really helps to build the world you’re playing in. Moreover, the components look amazing and feel high quality. The design on the cards and the central board looks really cool and keeps with the overall vibe.
Character’s health is shown on an individual VHS tape and is increased and decreased by turning the reels- ie fast forwarding and rewinding. Each player also has their own player board, which is reminiscent of the Fallout Pipboy- also keeping with the radioactive post-apocalyptic theme.
The design of this board is excellent, with perfectly shaped slots for everything to go in. Putting the delicious-looking coloured clear plastic energy and charge cubes (they’re definitely not sweets, don’t eat them!) into their designated spots is particularly satisfying. Not only does this board look great but it’s a really useful way of ensuring all information players need is instantly accessible.
The video store theme of this game looks brilliant and invokes a lot of nostalgia- going to the local video shop to choose a film for the weekend, the clunk of inserting and ejecting videos from the VHS player, and that agonizing wait while the film rewinds or fast forwards (and the soul destroying chewing noise as the tape gets caught in the machine). However, my one (albeit minor) criticism of the theme is that it doesn’t extend to the gameplay. Once you get going it feels like a fairly standard, deck builder, with similar mechanics and gameplay to many others.
Replayability
Nonetheless, if you enjoy deck builders, I wouldn’t let that put you off, it’s still a good game. One thing that you’ll notice when playing is how quickly your power escalates- in a few turns you can go from playing a few fairly inconsequential cards, to dealing enough damage to fast forward your opponent’s health to the max. This makes for an exciting game, and I find definitely plays into that “just one more game” feeling you get at the end, as you’re chasing that adrenaline rush of beating your opponent to a pulp.
However, due to the variable turn order, it can also mean a lot of waiting time. In a two player game, this is possibly exacerbated, as you have to sit and wait for your opponent to take two turns while they beat the living daylights out of you. Obviously, once it’s your turn again you get to return the favour, but those go never seem to last as long.
Having only played this as a two player, I can’t comment on whether having additional players would make this worse as potentially you have multiple people having multiple turns where they pummell you, or if it improves on it as surely at least one opponent is going to target someone else- suspect it depends on who you play with.
Conclusion
In summary, I’d say the Video Vortex is a really strong deck builder, with a fun theme and fantastic aesthetic. I wouldn’t say it’s going to change the world of hobby gaming, nor that it would be topping many “best games of all time” list. Nevertheless, I would say once it clicks, you’ll have a fun couple of hours playing a few games and you’ll start wanting to try out different characters and different tactics to see what brings you victory. It’s definitely a game I’d recommend adding to a collection, especially if you’re wanting to begin branching out into slightly heavier games when you’re used to the more casual or party game genres.
