The Solitaire Conspiracy Review — If The Cards Are Cold, Dont Go Folding

Since playing Thomas Was Solitary on PS Vita seven years ago, I have always looked forrad to the next Mike Bithell game. This is especially true if that release is nether the "Bithell Short" banner which includes short, two to three-hour experiences like Subsurface Round and Quarantine Circular. Bithell's newest, The Solitaire Conspiracy, is the latest from this line and presents the same quality content you would expect from the lauded developer, albeit not for the reason you would expect.

"Bithell's newest, The Solitaire Conspiracy, is the latest from this line and presents the aforementioned quality content you lot would look from the lauded developer, admitting not for the reason you lot would expect."

From my experience with Bithell's games, like Thomas Was Alone and Subsurface Circular, the focus is typically on storytelling. The writing is always witty and smart while presenting a well-told story. The Solitaire Conspiracy does tell an interesting tale using a carte game, which is impressive given the constraints it has every bit opposed to a text gamble similar Quarantine Round, simply I was never truly absorbed by the story existence told.

In The Solitaire Conspiracy, the spy agency known equally Protego is destroyed, leaving its spy crews without direction. How this has happened is a bit unknown, merely Protego's Jim Ratio, played by Kinda Funny's Greg Miller, tells you it'southward a bad man named Solitaire. Ratio has selected you to rebuild Protego dorsum to its former cocky and stop Solitaire.

To do that, you play a modified version of the classic card game, Solitaire.

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Information technology is a bit weird at outset, but the card game fits within the game'due south world, and it all makes sense by the end of the three-60 minutes story. Yet, the narrative itself just didn't interest me nearly every bit much as previous Bithell projects. A lot of that has to do with how it is presented.

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Almost of The Solitaire Conspiracy'southward story is presented by Jim Ratio on a futuristic-looking reckoner monitor. Greg really does a practiced job in his function every bit Ratio. Even so, having watched legitimately hundreds of hours of Kinda Funny and IGN videos featuring Greg, it was really hard for me to separate his real-world self from the grapheme he is playing. It wasn't until halfway through the campaign where it felt like this started to fade and wasn't simply seeing him equally himself any longer. Again, Greg does a great job, merely it was just really hard for me not to run across him equally Greg Miller of Kinda Funny and instead see Jim Ratio of Protego.

In a more minor way, The Solitaire Conspiracy's story is told within mission objectives. In the entrada, you level upward by completing a mission. Each mission has an objective, predetermined crews, and a ready amount of experience. As yous progress through the campaign, yous'll be able to cull between three different missions, with each usually having unlike amounts of experience to gain.

These objectives commonly tell yous near Solitaire's plans, and how each of the crews will infiltrate and disrupt said plans. As the "Spymaster," yous are in command of these crews, coordinating each infiltration by playing a card game. It is corking how it connects the solitaire-inspired carte game to its sci-fi world, but there is definitely a disconnect there.

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For example, a mission objective might say something like, "Solitaire has a recon base of operations; utilize your crew to infiltrate the location and find intel." That sounds pretty action-packed, right? But so you are brought to a pretty chill carte du jour game, which is technically you, the "Spymaster," coordinating this attack on Solitaire. Even though it all feels right within the game's world, it is just a chip hard to connect the game's objectives and the menu game together.

"However, the narrative itself merely didn't interest me nearly as much every bit previous Bithell projects. A lot of that has to practice with how it is presented."

By the end of The Solitaire Conspiracy's campaign, I merely never felt invested in the story that was beingness told. It only feels similar a roller coaster ride. I'm along for the ride, but I am non doing anything that really feels similar information technology affects what happens in the story. That doesn't mean it's not fun, though.

The Solitaire Conspiracy'south version of solitaire is actually quite like shooting fish in a barrel. There are upward to four suits (or crews) in a deck, and y'all have to stack each crew in numerical order from ace (considered 1) to king. Once the stacks are complete, you win the game. That basically sounds like patently jane solitaire, merely it does have its own unique quirks that makes it very fun and approachable to play.

1 of these quirks is to let you to put lower value cards under any card that is of higher value, no matter what suit it falls under. For instance, if you have a menu valued at 2, you do not need to put it on elevation of a different colored 3; information technology can continue pinnacle of whatever bill of fare valued higher than a 2.

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Each adjust, which is presented as different spy crews, has its ain unique abilities. These abilities become bachelor equally soon as you begin a stack with that crew'south ace. To execute those abilities, y'all merely identify that crew's face up card on acme of any row. Those abilities include "exploding" a row which randomly distributes those cards to other rows, organizing a row from lowest value to highest value, and sending the side by side carte you need in a specific coiffure's stack to the bottom of a row. There are a total of 8 of these abilities, each can be a benefit or detriment depending on how you use it.

Let's await at that last ability I listed: "Sending the adjacent menu you need in a specific crew's stack to the bottom of a row." On the surface, that seems like a terrible power to have. In some cases, it actually is a detriment to your lath. Withal, with some idea, it can be incredibly beneficial.

"With The Solitaire Conspiracy being a bill of fare game, it has style more replayability than any Bithell Curt so far."

For example, allow'due south say I put downwards the ace for the coiffure with that ability. That seemingly detrimental ability tin can at present exist activated. The next card I want is another ace to start another stack, but it is at the very bottom of a six-menu long row. Yet, if you utilise this ability on that ace's designated conform in a row that only contains one card, that ace you were trying to grab becomes significantly easier to do and then.

The crew abilities bring a much-needed strategy to this fairly simple game. Sure, it lacks the claiming even normal solitaire brings, but clearing a board feels just as satisfying.

The previous games under the "Bithell Brusk" banner had a chip of replay value, but I never imagined myself playing either Subsurface Circular or Quarantine Circular more than 2 or three times. With The Solitaire Conspiracy existence a card game, it has way more replayability than any Bithell Brusk so far.

Along with the entrada fashion, in that location are Skirmish and Inaugural modes. Skirmish allows y'all to option up to four crews, and play a round of Bithell's modified solitaire at your ain pace; information technology is essentially like the entrada manner simply without the leveling and predetermined crews. Information technology's fun, only it feels more than like a practice mode for Inaugural.

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"The Solitaire Conspiracy may not be the developer'due south best-told story, just it's one of the virtually enjoyable on a gameplay level."

Countdown is a survival-style version of the game. Yous are presented with waves that increase in difficulty as you lot complete them. Every time yous add together a card to a stack, you add more than seconds to your timer. Withal, once the timer runs out, your run is over.

Calculation that timer exponentially increases the "difficulty" of the game. Information technology's not actually harder, simply you lot have to think much more than quickly than the chill version of the game you play in Skirmish and campaign. With the inclusion of a leaderboard, The Solitaire Conspiracy has then much replayability.

The crew at Bithell Games has done it again. The Solitaire Conspiracy may non be the developer's best-told story, simply it'south one of the most enjoyable on a gameplay level. And like every Bithell Brusque, it never overstays its welcome. If you want to play something short and sweet, look no farther.

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