So, here it is. The eagerly (by so, so many I am sure) anticipated review of the last Destinies expansion: Sea of Sand. I already reviewed Myth & Folklore and Witchwood expansions if you would like to check them out. I had some small gripes with them, but ultimately highly recommended them. But does Sea of Sand follow suite or is it one to skip out on?
A Sea of Sand
So, Myth & Folklore covered, well, myths and folklore (SPOILERS!). Witchwood covered Slavic mythology. Both of these are totally my jam. I go into this in detail in the reviews as these are themes that I actually adore. Sea of Sand promises a touch of Arabic legends such as Ifrit. That is correct, Final Fantasy stole that name from actual mythological legends. Scandalous! This is what sold me on picking up Sea of Sand.
It promises to introduce new mechanics to the base game, such as mazes and sub map areas to visually represent the scope and scale of the Sahara Desert. If you have read my other reviews, you will find my thoughts on these mechanics there. But what is that I hear you all murmuring under your breaths? How can a new mechanic be reviewed in a different review of a different expansion? This is simple. I made the unfortunate mistake of playing Sea of Sand AFTER I had played all other content on offer. Which unfortunately made these ‘new’ mechanics actually tiresome to encounter. For me. Mazes specifically.
For those who haven’t played the other expansions here is an overview of these mechanics.
Sub maps are my favourite of the two as it opens up the scope of the play area. Sometimes an action, conversation or interaction will see your character traveling to a different area altogether. This has you setting up a smaller area away from the main play area. This is a fantastic way to surprise players and inject a little more excitement into the scenario. Especially if you are starting to feel a little lost and think you have exhausted all your options to complete your destiny.
Mazes is another way that is supposed to open up options and make the game world seem bigger than it is. This is in the form of delving into dungeons and the interactive app will guide you through your path options. My issue with this is that you often have no way of knowing the correct paths to take in these mazes. If you turn a corner into a dead end, your turn ends immediately. Then everyone else takes a turn. Then you can go back into the maze, but if you hit another dead end, your turn ends. The app does not inform you if you have already gone a certain way before so you need to hope you don’t forget. And even after several turns wasted, you may only walk out with a basic item, or something that doesn’t help you at all. Some might enjoy these little RNG excursions, but I find them very grating.
A See of Sand
So, all of the boxes of Destinies have the same recurring issue. The first scenario is pretty safe and doesn’t take many risks. Sea of Sand goes the extra mile with this and doesn’t even offer a range of areas in the first scenario. It is just a big old camp in the desert. See now what I did with the subtitle? I know, I am super clever. This bothers me when a game promises mythology and supernatural but then gatekeeps it from you.
The first scenario is basically an episode in politics and political intrigue. Which for some people might be right up their alley. The campsite is composed of several different factions all with different interests, gripes with each other and problems that need resolving. And with an incoming army on its approach that keeps the time aspect of the game ticking down slowly in the background, it is our job to drift and weave amongst the people to take advantage of the situation. As is standard in Destinies, each character has their own private objectives that they are trying to achieve. And to do this, we all need to figure out who to help or deceive in order to get into the city that we are camped outside and trying to get into.
This sounds so interesting right? Factions to speak to, choices to make, manipulation, etc etc. And if that sounds good to you, then you will absolutely enjoy Sea of Sand. I on the other hand find this theme absolutely yawn inducing. Where are my promised Arabic legends?!
The different factions all seem monotonous to me. There are English people, and French people, and, other…. people. And you can help them all to your own benefit to get into the city, because they all, well, want to get into the city too. So, if every faction has the same goal, and all the characters have similar goals, then why aren’t we all working together? This is kind of my issue with anything political though. I am sure there are intrigue there for people who are into such a setting.
Which Expansion to Get?
Sea of Sand has not been my favourite of the expansions on offer. And I don’t want to discuss it specifically too much as to avoid spoilers. So, does that mean I think you should skip this expansion and jump into the other expansions instead? No. I played this expansion with some family members who had not played many games before. Nor had they played Destinies before. And the look on their faces when they discovered how fun the interactions can be between your cards and scanning them on the app for information was great. It reminded me of how much the base game appealed to me when I very first played it. And seeing them experiencing that made the expansion worth it for me. If you have Destinies and you are looking for more content for the incredible game, then you should 100% pick up Sea of Sand. I would just stipulate that you play this expansion first. This is because the new things that are introduced in this expansion actually feel fresh if you haven’t seen them in the other expansions first. And I think the theme and interactions in the other expansions are strong enough to carry them on their own.
I would recommend playing Sea of Sand, followed by Myth & Folklore and finish up with Witchwood.
The first scenario of this expansion might have been the one scenario in the entirety of Destinies that I bounced off of the most. But I can for sure see how it could be someone else’s favourite scenario.
Closing Thoughts
So, I bounced off this expansion a little. But I had hindsight that held me back. After the highs of the other great expansions, it was perhaps wrong of me to play the very first expansion last. So, I really do implore anyone else to pick up Sea of Sand before the other expansions to avoid a similar situation. But it is still more for a game that I love dearly. Sure, the merchants are still clunky. Sure, it can be frustrating when another player reveals a piece to your puzzle and they are on the other side of the map. But Destinies is such a robust and clean system that I just always want more for it. Even though this expansion wasn’t my favourite, and the theme wasn’t quite right for me, I am still glad I own it and can easily see others being a lot more invested in it.
