Better late than never, right? Several weeks ago, I listed this game among the things I intended to cover eventually. Well, that eventually is now, so here we are!
Space Marine Adventures: Labyrinth of the Necrons is a cooperative game where 1-4 players fight their way through a Necron maze filled with danger. Is the game any good, though? And what about the components themselves? Read on!
Replayability is high. There are five different characters to choose from, each with a unique ability that can help the team. Each Space Marine also gets a random item card or tactic card to use as a bonus action once per game. There are three levels of difficulty, each with their own deck of cards to randomize the encounters. These can be linked into a three-level gruelling campaign for extra challenge once each has been completed, and then there is a bonus challenge pack that can be added in on top of that. Each maze card has a different layout of spaces on which Necron minions may appear, a goal space, and three potential exits. The real exit is only discovered part-way through the mission.
Pictured below is the initial board setup for my solo playthrough to get a feel for the game. The first mission tasks your team of Space Marines with fighting their way to the control console, which they must then attempt to activate by rolling a dice (Games Workshop insists that the singular term for "dice" is "dice," for some reason) and getting a 6.
The game felt tense. I had to choose carefully how I would use my limited movement and combat actions to address the challenges presented by the Necron event deck. The dice gods smiled upon my try and beginner's luck revealed the exit on my first turn when I could attempt it. Despite overlooking the directions to remove two of the Necron activation cards from the activation deck in this scenario, I still managed to get all four of my team through the mission alive. Two of them were wounded, but nobody died. And that is the important part!
The game models are quite nice. They look like they are part of the same series as the Space Marine Heroes. If memory serves, Japan had these special figures for some time before they reached the US, and people complained at the time Series 1 was announced that some of the Japanese models were missing. I suspect these are those models.
The parts twist from the frame easily enough, and although I did this without tools, I suggest using clippers and a file for the best results possible. The characters are color-coded, and the parts press-fit together without glue. Note the options for helmeted or bare heads on each soldier. I prefer the helmeted look. Glue and paint are not needed, although you could certainly use them to take these models to the next level.
Even if you don't intend to play the game, this box set may be worth it just for the miniatures. I did notice that the bases seem slightly larger than the grid squares, though, and I want to eventually use these specific models for another project. But the game is fun, and the rest of the components are also good quality. That gives me an idea...
These models are represented on the cards as members of different Space Marine chapters. In the fiction behind Warhammer 40,000, this is only likely to happen is when chapters send members to join the Deathwatch. I have a set of Deathwatch Marines and some standard Space Marine bitz. Why don't I try replicating the loadouts shown on these miniatures, use the old 25mm/1" base size, and paint them up using proper Deathwatch heraldry?
Hmmm...