Faeria The Adventure Pouch: Oversky review
:: CONTINUED HEXCELLENCEPrice: Free
Version: 1.2.643927595
App Reviewed on: iPad Air 2
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Faeria is a collectible card game (CCG) that really goes out of its way to feel different from genre titans like Magic: The Gathering and Hearthstone. When it initially launched on mobile in March, I was really impressed with the game, citing its blend of conventional CCG mechanics with unique territory control gameplay as its key to success. Since then, Faeria has seen the release of The Adventure Pouch: Oversky, an ambitious expansion to the original game's offerings that adds in co-op boss fights, new cards and more. These new additions are all welcome, making Faeria the best it's ever been.
Pouch presents
As an expansion, The Adventure Pouch: Oversky adds 33 new cards, 20 co-op boss fights, new card mechanics/types, and a special event that offers daily challenges and rewards. For players that do not pay for this expansion, the first Oversky "island" is unlocked for free, which contains only a small portion of the new cards and boss fights, and the rest of the expansion content can be purchased with about $20 worth of gems or 38,000 gold, Faeria's grindable in-game currency.
In an effort to make this content feel more like an event, parts of it are doled out over time and certain rewards can only be earned through logging on and playing Faeria regularly. Players that purchase Oversky are given an Adventure Pouch, for example, which is an in-game item that you can level up through defeating bosses or simply playing multiplayer matches as normal. Rewards from this pouch include cosmetic items like new card backs and backgrounds.
Co-op carding
As nice as shiny new cosmetics and cards are, The Adventure Pouch: Oversky's most compelling addition is its co-op missions. In them, players must team up with friends (or AI) to take on characters from Faeria's lore, like Ulani and Peace Blossom, in custom 2v1 scenarios.
Many of these bosses have specific rule sets that ratchet up the difficulty to make it feel like a satisfying challenge instead of a lopsided game mode. Some bosses only allow you to play cards of a certain type, for example, while others may overload your hand with undesirable cards. Each challenge is unique and interesting, and playing Faeria in this cooperative way builds a sense of camaraderie that is rarely found in other CCGs.
Rugged territory
From a gameplay perspective, Faeria has only gotten deeper and more satisfying. The amount of variety that The Adventure Pouch: Oversky adds to an already great package is certainly worth celebrating. That said, there are still aspects of Faeria's user interface that are a little rough around the edges, and there are also a couple other little tweaks that could be done to make the overall experience feel even better.
There are times in matches when the emote selection menu pops up when selecting cards, which is largely the most common issue with playing Faeria on mobile at the moment. Oversky also has a daily boss challenge against a character named Emporer Kaios, which could stand to be a little more challenging. These are minor gripes in the grand scheme of things, but they do put a slight damper on the experience.
The bottom line
With the launch of The Adventure Pouch: Oversky, there's never been a better time to be playing Faeria. The addition of new cards is shaking up how people are building decks against each other, and the addition of co-op missions allows players to learn from each other while they face formidable AI opponents. Oversky offers new things to all Faeria players regardless of whether they buy it or not, and these new things make an already great game even greater.