Superheroic Starter: Sentinels Of The Multiverse Demo

Sentinels of the Multiverse [official site] is one of the best digital adaptations of a physical game I've played in recent time. It takes the form of a card game that pits your team of superheroes against a villainous sort in one of several locations. Essentially it's both comic book battle sequence and multi-stage boss fight translated into card-based singleplayer combat. Although it can be a tad too slow-paced, with the better powers taking several turns to utilise effectively, it's a thematic triumph and now, around a year after release, there's finally a demo available.

Available for Windows, Mac or Linux direct from the developer or via Steam, the "Learn to Play" edition is, as the name suggests, a sort of free tutorial. Smart move, that, as it'll give you a good idea as to whether you're likely to enjoy the game without giving too much away. It's worth noting that there are three DLC packs alongside the base game, each adding new cards in the form of either heroes, enemies or locations.

Over to Alec, who judged the game earlier this year:

"Presentation issues aside, Sentinels of the Multiverse is an ingenious, tactically deep take on card games that does a good job of recreating those preposterous, issues-long mega-scraps of superhero comics at their best/worst. I don’t love how it looks or feels, but I do want more of what it does."

I haven't played nearly as much as Alec but I agree with that conclusion. More thematically powerful card and board game adaptations would be most welcome.