From the publisher that brought us the immensely popular titles Disney Villainous and Disney Lorcana comes a new tabletop roleplay game — Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls (Disney Edition). In this game, players can choose one of four heroes (Belle, Moana, Violet Parr, or Maid Marian) and team up to fight off shadows and restore the Realm of Light. Recently, I had a chance to try out the game for myself and had a few thoughts about the experience.
Please note: Ravensburger provided me with a copy of Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls (Disney Edition) for the purposes of review. The opinions are my own.
I’ll admit that, when it comes to board games, my level of competence is capped at the classics. Thus, when my wife and I have tried some other games in recent years, we’ve been easily overwhelmed and frustrated just trying to navigate play. That’s why I was very happy to find that the rules guide for Chronicles of Light was well written, clear, and included images to further help us get a grasp on the game. On top of that, by scanning a QR code on the booklet, you can view a video version, which was helpful as well. I also appreciated that each hero board featured a list of all the items you needed so that you didn’t leave anything out by mistake.
For our first play through, my wife and I each went with our faves: I was Moana and she was Belle. This combo proved helpful as one of us was able to quickly pass through the water sections and the other could do the same on land (I bet you can guess which was which). Since we were newbies, we also chose to play the two easiest quests as highlighted in the rules guide.
As has been common among Ravensburger games I’ve encountered, Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls is a cooperative game for up to 4 players (alternatively, you can play solo but use two heroes at a time). However, in a twist on gameplay, Chronicles of Light doesn’t have players taking turns. Instead, the game is played in a series of “days.” Each day, a leader sets a plan that can involve any of the heroes, but is limited to a certain number of move tiles played. This leadership position also rotates after the end of the day, so everyone has a chance to steer.
In our case, we’d start each day by recapping our various powers and discussing our quest status as well as throwing out various potential plans. This was my favorite part of the game as it was really fun to think through various combinations of plays we could make to progress through our quests. And while the course of action was ultimately left up to whomever was the leader that day, we played it pretty collaboratively the whole time.
To my surprise, we actually got really into the game and felt like I had a good handle on it by the time we were ready to go for the win. On that note, by the skin of our teeth, we did manage to win our initial game. Granted, as mentioned, we chose the two easiest quests… and we may have rewound time by a couple of moves after a miscommunication about our powers led to a less-than-ideal strategy (AKA we cheated a smidge to get it right) — but, hey, I was proud anyway!
Another aspect of Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls that I love is the art direction. Specifically, the polygonal, “crystalized” character design on display in the hero cards and elsewhere. This also carries over to the hero tokens that come with the game. However, this is where my one minor gripe comes in: seeing how great this art is, I really would have loved it if these tokens were a bit larger and more solid — something in the vein of Disney Villainous, perhaps. Then again, with the game retailing for just $29.99, it’s hard to ask for too much.
On the topic of the game pieces, though, the decision to include color-coded baggies for storing all of each hero’s items was inspired. This will definitely make setting up future rounds of the game much easier.
Needless to say, I was really impressed with Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls (Disney Edition) and actually look forward to trying future quests. Moreover, even though the game can be adjusted for the likes of me, I still feel as though this is one that my board game-loving brother-in-law will also appreciate — so I plan on packing it the next time we have a family gathering. Speaking of families, I also think that kids (8+) and adults will be able to get the hang of this game and be able to play it together. Plus, the rotating leadership feature could make things pretty interesting in that regard. All in all, whether you’re a Disney fan or a board game fan, I think this is one worth checking out.
Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls (Disney Edition) is now available for preorder and will be released on July 21st.