Etherfields | Rahdo's Final Thoughts 

I’m SOO glad to finally see a reviewer having the same experience I am with this game. I’m at the Campaign 1 finale and in my opinion, it only gets better. Awaken Realms put on a game design clinic with this one. This isn’t just a bunch of cardboard and mechanics wrapped in a “Dream” theme, it’s a carefully, painstakingly and lovingly crafted experience designed from top to bottom to BE dream-like. They had to think so far outside the box to craft this experience, I just wish more people were like Rahdo; willing to think outside the box to give it the chance it deserves.

we wake up every 1-2 dreams, when you dont have keys after a dream we run to the nearest shop buy cards and reset, maybe it needed to be given more importance in the rulebook? I think players that did play 7th continent have a big advantage of understading most concepts the game wants to give you like really look on every card, think before you push a button, knowing when to split and stay together and so on. its a gem that some rewiers that hurry to much just put down and people run with every word...

A really important review / insight, which could be vital to plenty of people's enjoyment if they are prepared to listen to what you've experienced.

Completely agree with your assessment and enthusiasm. The game wants to take players into an unusual headspace and rhythm. If players embrace that, it is a fantastic experience unlike any other

I absolutely love this game. This is a gaming experience I've never experienced before. My girlfriend and I have played around 6 sessions, with an average playtime of 4 hours (yes we play slowly). The variety is stunning, the creativity is mindblowing. Even the slumbers are great, as there are new slumbers being added, and some of them are even helpfull. The slumbers do give you opportunities to prepare for the dream. Especially when playing with the Specialist (using a lot of progress cards) this is very important. This game is unlike anything I've ever played before. It's on my topshelf together with Nemesis (another Awaken Realms game, no coïncidence).

Thats our favorite way to play, with a soft pass, so one memeber can do their load of a task then see what we unlock

Regarding saving the game, I just take a photo on my phone to show how I am set up, and then pack away the components in use into one space for ease or resetting up.

I watched this straight after the Shut and Seat down review, what a contrast! I loved it, thanks for your enthusiastic reviews!

October 2023 just got this game 😂 and I agree with all that you said 😅 we love this game! we've also watched a bunch of videos before we bought this and right now we don't understand the hate for this game.

We played wave 1 content with my wife and had sooo much fun. Glad Rahdo explains purpose of slumbers, we also really enjoyed them.

What an amazing review! It's great that you covered BOTH prototype version and final product and I think you are the first reviewer who really got the concept of Etherfields - "The emotional intelligence". I really liked the comparison with most adventure games: you don't need to push every button, open every single chest and kill all enemies/mobs/entities.

AR are great at making an "experience" in a box. I only played Nemesis and it was an "experience" like no other. Are there way to make the game less fun? Yes. But if you go in trying to have a fun "Experience" it will provide in spades and give you amazing stories to tell (meaningful enough to remember). I played many games many times and I hardly can tell anything special that happened that was so exciting it really marked me. Yet I had stories about Nemesis of all kind and I suspect this is the same idea. They suck at rulebook editing sadly.

Now that’s a real unbiased review! I’m about 12 dreams in and can’t wait to bring it back to the table with that clip! Great job!

Rahdo, Thanks! I am waiting and waiting for this game, wondering-despite a lot of criticism of it on the web-whether I will enjoy it. When I pledged for it, I THOUGHT I was going to enjoy it. You have revved up my hopes here with a lot of substantive info. -toby

Thank you SOOOOooooOOooo much for wearing a pro Vax shirt! You're amazing Rahdo! :-)

I may have to re-evaluate whether or not I want this game…

Your keep your keys and gems idea is great -if you don't mind l want to insert it as a variant for packing up in the app. :)

Just picked up the 2.0 Version. This have is magical. It reminds me of this old movie i use to watch called mirror mask with a hint of bioshock.

Sounds like one really needs to approach this one almost like a reader experiencing a narrative, than a player trying to 'beat' a game. The story is delivered through mechanisms as well as the visuals/text and there are some nice gameplay moments to be had but ultimately it's not about the large picture experience not the crunchy systems.

Thanks man, gonna play it with the full experience, with slumbers and so on. Not at all interested in the Continuous Dream Mode. Now the point is : getting the first wave language edition in order to start playing it :-)

If you remember your list with Tom Vasel of Top 10 "You're Wrong" Games? Would love to see you organize a similar event with Quinns for the SUSD 10th Anniversary.

Still waiting for mine, but I can't wait. It sounds like a good solo narrative experience, which is a genre AR dominates. Slowly creating an immersive story is why I play TWoM and Tainted Grail.

Best entertaining Final thoughts ever haha. It's kind of a wake up call to all of the people dreaming and still in a slumber XD I really like your passion behind the game. It's refreshing to love this game as much as you do.. I'm super excited to receive my copy. I also intend to try it in a group of 4 people and see what happens. I heard most people recommend playing it solo, but I want to share this experience with others haha Thanks for the video and have a great day!

Just picked up the copy second hand. Kinda worried before purchase as a LOT of bad reviews on how's the bad rulebook or grinding it is. After watching this review gives me a peace of mind and open minded to try the games later on. Your reviews make me feel you really really like this game. Thank you!

Nice you mentioned Soul Raiders. I see a lot of similarities to Etherfields and am backing that game because of that.

Great final thoughts; thank you. We have just purchased this game and loving it so far. The recent 2.0 Rules provide different ways to save the game. This covers pretty much all preferences now.

This officially qualifies as a gamegasm! Getting close to finishing Gloomhaven Forgotten Circles, super excited to play this next. Thanks for the review.

how easy is it to swap out and change dreamers, playing solo

You are amazing and one of the smartest people I ever saw on a gaming video on youtube!

Just saw your video, loved it. Where can I get that t-shirt? I think it will be a collectible item shortly.

We played our copy once so far and really enjoyed it. Your runthrough and final thoughts really make me want to crank it open again and loose myself in it! Thank you Rahdo, for everything you do for our hobby!

Hi, have you tried the Continuous Dream Mode? What do you think about that? Thanks :)

Great, really a great review on you side, in my opinion.

I just hated gathering Keys. Running around getting keys. Ugh. God, I don’t miss that. But, this new rule seems okay..

Where did you get the Continuous Dream Mode card? It’s not in the first wave shipment and the second wave has not started.

At this point I'm just interested if there is an intersection of people who love Dark Souls and dislike Etherfields because of slumbers. The one thing I really like from japanese games is that when you fail the boss, you need to go through grind, albeit through the shortcut or you can do speedrun, but you HAVE to go through the grind every single time. When you play DS, there are some bosses that will make you do it 50 times if you're not skilled enough. And I still haven't heard of some mass discontent with the game, only universal praise.

How many runthroughs did you did? It seems ppl complain about the grinding after a few games