This Cute Game has Sharp Edges | Defenders of the Wild Review

~FOLLOW US AROUND, WHY DON'T YOU~

[andreww]

This is a really cool format that I hope we get to see more of! Shorter videos that showcase an interesting mechanical or thematic piece of a board game and engaging with it on a deeper level than just a review of good vs bad. Less "Is this fun?" and more "This is interesting."

[kudosbudo]

We all get out or nobody wins. Nice idea.

[gargrazz]

Thank you for promoting this game the way you did. Their previous game Bloc By Bloc is kind of doing the same thing, but much more overtly. It's literally 4 city factions rioting against the cops and the mechanics aren't identical, but the narrative is similar. I think Defenders was made so they could soften the gritty reality a bit more and place it in an anthropomorphic animal fantasy setting. Having played both games, I think it was a good idea. Losing Bloc By Bloc in the year of our lord, 2024 is very depressing. Losing Defenders because my brother used all his breaches and didn't realize he can't use mine was not as brutal. (He couldn't get into the last factory to rewild it and win the game after telling me he's got things covered and it was okay for me to leave.) Thrilling! Fun! Way better than losing to a bunch of faceless authoritarians.

[ConeDefense]

In case you tried to pause on the review portion:

Defenders of the Wild is a lovely co-op, that's surprisingly difficult considering its cutesy woodland theme. Presentationally it's excellent; a striking palette contrasted with chrome machinery. The defender cards you'll be playing each turn have a huge punch of personality and detail - and each one being entirely unique underlines the huge amount of work put into creating such a cohesive box. Mechanically, it's not tilling any entirely new fields, but it has enough spark to keep players well versed in co-op games happy. Establishing camps across the board can be an interesting logistics puzzle, predicting the movements of the robots is deeply satisfying when done right, and the limited communication throws enough spanners into the works to make things tricky without being punitive. There's modular difficulty that lends longevity to its $50-ish price point - though the attention to detail in the production and the incredibly svelte form factor goes a long way to justify that price already. It scales very well at different player counts, especially considering turns are very short and snappy. It's a very good game, though I anticipate many will have similar games knocking about already - your mileage may vary on how much life this injects into your shelves. Sorry this writing is super mid I just tapped it out on the day of release after realizing I had to fill this spot.

[UniversalRon]

Bloc by Bloc Uprising is an amazing coop game that no one talks about, so seeing T.L Simons in the spotlight with this game is a joy to me. I love how his games put politics, theme and game play into a coherent and enjoyable package. I feel like they did a great job blending together the looks and feel of familiar games like root and catan into something new and exciting. The card system and limitations will hopefully help with the quarterbacking that many coop games suffer from.

[SBPlaysGames]

This was really excellent! Thank you for taking the time to express this thoughtfully. I would love to see more of this kind of thing.

[Celene]

I genuinely love this format and "deeper" form of media critique. It's why some of you guys'ses work hits so much harder and better than some other review channel. It's not just analysis about the mechnics but also the message and theming. I had my eye on this for a few days and I'm definitely going to pick this up.

[MagralhoPT]

the beanny with a lizardcult face!!!! <3

Gotta love root! and this game really draws on it's cuteness.

thanks for the easter egg

[dipmukherjee]

This is the most amazing and heartfelt coverage of a board game I have ever seen in 7 years of following multiple reviewers on YouTube. I am yet to get my hands on a copy of this game, but I intend to. And I have come back to this video multiple times for its thought-provoking and tugging-on-heartstrings review of this game. An absolute masterpiece from SUSD. Kudos!

[cutups]

I'd def like to play this based on the review. But that aside, I'm really liking the visual design - at the very least I'd love to LOOK through the game

[samanthawarren]

You aren’t required to build your last camp until you’re ready- so just wait for the others to catch up and help them get their own camps built. It’s a coop game after all! My husband and I love this game at 2players. It’s genuinely excellent and the replayability is undeniable.

[cheesedanishable]

Thanks for specifying the format is not so much of a review as it is an overview, or showcase. It makes sense and the look at it it beautifully done.

[NewtPoint]

Hey Tom,
I'm really excited to see this shift from the normal review structure. As you say, I think board games can be such evocative works of art that express big ideas in a digestible format, and that can be a totally separate conversation from "value for the money". I think videos like this or the John Company video really bring a side of board gaming to the forefront that I think a lot of people miss. Love the content and I'm glad to see you guys exploring the medium in a new way and I hope you keep it up.

[robtrounce]

This piece is brilliant—a rich examination of a system within a board game, which, in turn, explores the medium of board gaming on a deeper level. I love this deep dive into the narrative and the meaning behind what a game aims to portray. While we can continue to view games as just 'games, ' we can also begin to understand them as a medium capable of being literary, similar to how we view books, movies, and now video games. It’s an exciting time as games evolve in this way, and I'm thrilled to see Shut Up & Sit Down remain at the forefront of critique and analysis.

[BucketHatBenIsMe]

I watched this drunk. I thoroughly enjoyed the “review” but it made me realise what boardgames sound like to people outside the hobby.

[Shazirah_Kaur]

I like it; take this ball and run.

Been kinda missing Quinns and Paul (ya, been watching/listening for a while, that long, ha), and this pulls right into that. I'm here for it. One of my favorite SU&SD moments is at the end of Undaunted where Quinns doesn't just shy away but proactively talks about the unspoken context and unrecognized forces of the era those games pull from. He didn't have to, but he does and it's appreciated.

As is this.

Keep it up.

[kylesmorgabord]

Single session campaigns (this, Leviathan Wilds) and replayable short campaigns (Slay the Spire, Arcs, Heat) are by far my preferred way of playing campaigns now.

Long form campaigns eventually become a chore.

[oliviagabbay]

Great preview. Been interested in this one for a while, and now I’m inspired to actually bring it to the table.

[themultifish]

Really enjoyed this meander and looking forward to seeing more like it on the channel.

[HEMAYATC]

Thank you for this video! <3 <3 <3