Spirit Island: Nature Incarnate Review: The Ultimate Expansion Where Legendary Spirits Protect Your Island
A mythical being has finally descended upon the world of Spirit Island.
The latest expansion to this cooperative game, "Nature Incarnate," is themed around "the spirits that have existed on the island throughout the ages," and involves players defending the island from colonists arriving in white sailing ships. It offers a breathtaking gaming experience in which the forces of nature themselves take physical form .
In this article, we'll take a closer look at the appeal and features of Nature Incarnate and help you decide whether or not you should get this expansion.
Game Basics
We will provide an overview of Nature Incarnate and the necessary prerequisites.
Nature Incarnate is an expansion for Spirit Island, released in 2023, for 1-6 players (recommended 1-5, best 2), with a playtime of 90-180 minutes and a recommended age of 14+ .
A unique feature of Nature Incarnate is that you need the Jagged Earth expansion, meaning you must own both the base game and the Jagged Earth expansion.
Eight new Spirits have been added: three medium complexity, four high complexity, and one super high complexity.
"This box does not contain any low-complexity spirits, and is mostly biased towards high-complexity spirits," making it an expansion for experienced Spirit Island players.
The core mechanic is the "Incarna" system.
It's an innovative system in which spirits take physical form and appear on the board, as one player commented, "Having actual pieces representing my spirits on the board felt very...different."
The allure of Nature Incarnate: The moment myth becomes reality
This section will take you deeper into the innovative experiences Nature Incarnate offers.
Innovations of the Incarna System
As described, "Incarna is a very simple addition to the game, breathing new life into three old spirits through aspects," and as such, this system brings about dramatic change despite its simplicity.
The Ember-Eyed Behemoth stomps across the island like a walking mountain, as described as "stomping across the island just like Godzilla."
On the other hand, there are also defensive Incarnas, such as "The towering roots of the jungle are Incarnas, a tangle of giant trees and roots that can protect the land from plague."
The Thunderspeaker 's Warrior Aspect allows for a specific combat experience in which the Thunderspeaker travels across islands and fights alongside Dahan, dealing 1 damage on each land they travel across with Dahan.
Rediscover your existing spirit with 20 new aspects
The Aspect system breathes new life into existing Spirits, as evidenced by one reviewer who said, "At this point, I own 37 Spirits and would rather learn Aspects than learn new Spirits."
The appeal of Aspect is its low learning cost.
"Aspects are easy to learn if you've played with the spirit before; they simply modify the original spirit," allowing you to enjoy familiar spirits in new ways.
Particularly popular is the Warrior Aspect of Thunderspeaker, whose favorite aspect is included in Nature Incarnate. "The Warrior Aspect of Thunderspeaker has been modified in many ways, including replacing special rules and unique powers, changing setups, and even adding new power cards."
Innovative new spirits
Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine has the unique ability to "abduct invaders from the board (think Lost in Time and Space from Arkham Horror/Eldritch Horror), slowing their growth and creating fear."
By literally "keeping" the invaders in the dark, they slow down the invasion and create fear.
Dances up Earthquakes has an overwhelming starting ability: "You start with six unique powers and can drop Quake tokens around the map."
Additionally, the Impending Card system adds a strategic time management element: these cards will be played on a future turn when their cost is fully paid and do not count against your card limit.
Concerns and solutions
We will organize the issues that you should consider before purchasing and the measures to resolve them.
Strict acquisition conditions
The requirement that "you must own both the base game and the Jagged Earth expansion to play Nature Incarnate" creates a high hurdle for new players.
Solution : Please understand that this expansion is intended for experienced players who have thoroughly enjoyed Spirit Island, and consider purchasing it only after fully mastering the base game and Jagged Earth.
Lack of new power cards
Some players are disappointed that there are only 12 new major power cards and no new minor power cards.
Countermeasure : Pay attention to the abundance of unique power cards that the new Spirits and Aspects have, and focus on enjoying the depth of each individual Spirit rather than the diversity of the deck.
Recommended for these people and occasions
We'll explain what type of player Nature Incarnate is best suited to and when we don't recommend it.
Highly recommended person
This is perfect for those who: "love the new experiences of new spirits and don't mind mastering them perfectly"; "love complex spirits"; "love aspects"; and "want to take advantage of the new Incarn mechanic."
Specific player profile :
- Veterans who have played Spirit Island more than 20 times
- Advanced players who want to challenge themselves with highly complex spirits
- Those looking for new elements in an existing spirit
- Those who value "physical presence" in cooperative games
People I don't recommend
Those who are new to Spirit Island, players who do not own Jagged Earth, and players who prefer low-complexity or medium-complexity Spirits should refrain from purchasing this game.
Best play scene
Weekend Gatherings : In an environment that supports long gameplay of 90-180 minutes, you can share a fresh experience with your friends. "Incarna presents a very cool new playstyle and is a great way to revitalize old favorites."
Solo Strategy Research : "Every Spirit in the game has incredible depth, and even a single Spirit requires multiple playthroughs to fully understand it," making this a great game for those who have the time to devise their own strategy.
What you can expect : Nature Incarnate will continue to provide fresh experiences for a long time, making Spirit Island an even more perfect board game.
Nature Incarnate is a fantastic expansion that adds depth and grandeur to the world of Spirit Island.
The time has finally come for you to unleash the power of legendary spirits that were only spoken of in myths.
Check the product on the online store page
Free shipping throughout Japan. Orders placed before 3pm will be shipped the same day.
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