Recall

Can you brew yourself a cup of tea while waiting for your turn?

I invite you to check out this review of the game Recall. I hope it won’t be too oolong… (badum tss)

Revive revived the euro game genre, and Recall continues this trend of games where action follows another action, and the powerful combos we can pull off are a real treat for the brain.

In this section of the review, I’d probably write about what this game is about. After all, it has to have some kind of central theme, right? Well, it does, but it’s just a framework for its mechanics. Someone might say that we play as a tribe traveling across the board, collecting cubes, pebbles, and crystals to perform various actions. One could also say that collecting keys and establishing settlements lets you get into that prehistoric-meets-modern vibe. But let’s not kid ourselves—this is, after all, a euro game.

That’s why in this review I’ll focus more on the mechanics, and I’ll leave the story hanging in the key box in my hallway.

What I liked during Recall:

First of all, let me tell you that the key to the game is… collecting keys.

Think of it as deck-building, but without cards. We all start with the same set of keys, but as the game progresses, our collection will expand to include new, more powerful ones. These will grant us additional actions, resources, people, and other essentials. Another advantage is that they’re versatile and fit into any slot. That’s why the faster we upgrade them, the more we’ll be able to do on our turn.

I love games where you upgrade basic actions. In addition to acquiring new keys, we’ll also boost the potential of regular moves by applying special overlays to them. We always have several upgrade options available and can choose completely different development paths than other players. Imagine it as adding a keychain with your favorite design to your bunch of keys. In real life, this would at most increase our prestige, but in Recall, it’ll massively boost our combo potential.

I love the progression of actions, moving our little meeples around the board, discovering new areas, and the possibilities that Recall offers us. All the elements fit together perfectly, and the extra bonuses help make our turns as productive as possible. Seriously, mechanically speaking, there’s nothing to complain about with this game. It’s just as satisfying as a hot cup of tea on a cold day.

Another plus is the wide variety of ways we can score points at the end of the game. Additionally, players can choose from various specializations that will affect their final score. Although, in my opinion, focusing on the tracks and the extra points they provide should be the absolute priority.

This is yet another minor plus, but one that’s border of being neutral. Each of us starts with our own asymmetric tribe, which grants us a unique ability during the game. These abilities are quite diverse. One allows us to climb volcanoes, another to place UFOs on the board, and yet another to herd cows.

In terms of atmosphere, they’re very interesting, though not every ability is equally useful. We’ll use some of them more often than others. The same applies to the gadgets we add to our board. They’ll help us with our actions, and it’s worth choosing ones that complement our tribe’s abilities. So if we’re short on extra movement, it’s worth grabbing a gadget that will provide it. The development of our tribe is really well done, and activating the gadgets with pebbles gets me pretty excited especially since I find myself talking out loud to plan my moves properly.

Why I Don’t Want to pick up Recall:

Have you ever gone to the kitchen to make some tea, come back, and hoped it was your turn in the game? In Recall, you’ll have time during that to clean up after dinner and maybe even sit through a barrage of YouTube ads. Even those 90+ second ones where they show gadgets straight from China or show this long adverts of new kickstarter board games. But you can’t blame the players for that!

The main culprit is the number of actions you can take on your turn. Imagine this scenario you insert a key that grants you bonus resources, and on top of that, you have an upgraded action that gives you several developments. You enhance all of this by opening a chest, and finally, you unleash an avalanche of stones on top of it. Sometimes someone would pull off such a massive turn that we had no choice but to watch them have a blast. But was that a bad thing? In my opinion, no. Figuring out these combos is incredibly satisfying. It’s like a sweet treat for a Euro-Pooh. These chains of actions make me feel like I have a brain straight out of Beautiful Mind that’s not occupied for a moment by thoughts of Warhammer or my wife. But which is more important?

To make up for it, I’ll add that the game provides us with little cubes that we can use to mark the actions we’ve taken, so we don’t get lost.

Sometimes the board gets as cramped as a pants pocket where we stuff our keys, wallet, and two chestnuts we found on our way home. When all the players suddenly rush to a certain hex, it can overwhelm even my cat, who’s constantly trying to prove to me that he can fit into any box, no matter how small the game is.

Number of Players and Game Duration

I won’t go on about downtime in Recall again, but I think it makes sense to mention that the more players there are, the longer the game will take. That’s why the sweet spot is playing with 2, or at most 3, people. I can play with 4, but everyone needs to know the rules for it to go smoothly.

The game itself isn’t particularly long. You should count on about 40+ minutes per person. I’ll also add that, in my opinion, its length is perfect. It’s an intense experience, but I don’t feel like the game drags on. It always ends at just the right moment.

Quality and Components

How would I describe Recall’s appearance in one sentence? It’s meant to work, not look good!

I don’t think I need to say anything more on this topic, though in my opinion, the feature where you slot in keys and attach gadgets to your game board is awesome. The actual look of the tiles and the colors used are a matter of taste. I’d definitely take issue with the lack of an insert and the fact that some icons aren’t very intuitive especially the icon for taking relic cubes. Players often got confused by this and asked if they could take only the brown cube, based on its color.

Summary

You’re probably thinking that I’m going to compare Revive and Recall now, since you could say they’re fairly similar games with similar mechanics and themes. However, I’m going to surprise you and say that I won’t. Nor will I decide which game is better, because that’s a bit like choosing between your own children and wondering which one is smarter and has a better chance of succeeding in life.

That’s why my review will skip that comparison, though I don’t rule out returning to this topic in the future…

Recall, as a modern Euro game with “over-the-top” mechanics, is one of the best games out there. Even though that doesn’t sound overly enthusiastic, I have to admit that I had a blast every single time I played. I love the combination of mechanics it offers. Everything works beautifully together, and once you really get the hang of it, it runs smoother than many new PCs. Plus, inserting keys into your game board is a pretty cool feature!

Maybe other players’ turns were a little long, but that didn’t bother me at all. Because of the fast-paced action, I know I can do a lot of things in the game and build my tribe so that all the abilities complement each other. That’s exactly what encouraged me to keep playing and discovering Recall’s new possibilities.

Final verdict: Recall is the key to a great time!*

Pros
It feels like playing Revive
Combos
Action sequences
Asymmetrical factions
A ton of abilities and possibilities
Exploring the world
Developing our tribe

Cons
Slight downtime
What’s this even about?
Didn’t you forget an action?
Some powers are better than others
Not every chest contains treasure

*Hey, your tea’s getting cold

[Game provided by Galakta]