Critique-al Hit: Age of Angra
Do you love fighting games like Soul Calibur and Mortal Kombat? How about card games like Pokemon or Magic the Gathering? If you love both genres there’s a new card based board game that might be perfect for you, Age of Angra!
Age of Angra is the first offering from HBY NRD Studios, the new game development company from Monument Hobbies. Monument Hobbies has been a long established company in tabletop gaming as one of the premier makers of paint specific to miniatures. They are avid gamers and hobbyists and decided with their years of experience in the industry to branch out to creating their own game.
Age of Angra is a mythical tag-team fighting card game for two people each playing as magical human Shepherds. The Shepherds each enlist two Asura, magical creatures who can invoke powerful meteorological phenomena to alter the world around them, to create the magical charges needed to win the game.
The game is designed to feel like you’re playing overpowered video game fighting characters without needing the dexterity, speed, and memory required to execute robust and complex combos on a controller. It also eliminates the instant reaction time needed to counter an opponent and the need to know everything your opponent is capable of.
As a card game, everything is laid out on the table. You know from the start of the game which Asura each player has and which of those Asura’s skills are available to play. Each Asura has six skills to pick from and you choose four for a single game. This allows for a ton of flexibility in how each person can choose to play.
The game allows for a good bit of randomness too. Some abilities for certain Asura require a dice roll and there are also optional Talismans you can play with to buff them. There are different Combat Scenarios you can pick from and the Battlefield State will change during each round of play as well. All of these options can make the game feel very different for every round, as well as every playthrough.
I had the opportunity to play through a game with Jason (SlowFuse), the owner of Monument Hobbies, at the NOVA Open a few weeks ago. To teach the game, he recommended we pick Asura and Shepherd Classes for the game based on what looked most interesting to me. I picked based on the art and my favorite colors for both of us. What I didn’t realize at the time is I’d picked two Asura combined with a Shepherd Class that worked incredibly well together and ended up being very powerful.
The game took close to two hours for us to play through as I had a few questions as we went and it was the first time we’d had more than just a few minutes to chat in person. For regular game play times, you can expect a game to last 30-60 minutes depending on how well each player knows the game. I was in the lead right up until the final round when Jason took me out with a power move he’d been holding onto for the majority of the game. It’s a game where even if you are behind, a shift in initiative or the Battlefield State can change everything. You always have a chance at winning.
The fun part of the game is that no matter what combination of Asura and Shepherd Class you chose, everything will feel powerful. The game is designed so that every combination can work well together allowing players to find their own favorite combinations and play styles.
You can pick Age of Angra up directly from Monument Hobbies online for $35.99 USD or at any local game store that carries their products. It’s recommended for players ages 14+. There is a quick start video available on the HBY NRD Studio’s YouTube as well as a full playthrough you can watch over on The Dice Tower’s channel. They do ship internationally but also have vendors on every continent with the exception of Antarctica.
Bonus content will also be a part of the game. There are plans in the works for models of the Asura that the mini painters can pick up. There is also an expansion for the game in progress to keep an eye out for.
Overall, Age of Angra is an incredibly fun game that is very simple to learn. And while it is so simple to pick up the basics, much like chess is for many people, it can become very complex in mastering it. It allows both casual players and hardcore min-maxers a game that can be made as simple or complicated as possible. I highly recommend giving Age of Angra a try.
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