Easily one of the best games I've purchased on Steam. The developers are actively trying to make the game better and better. Their latest expansion which improved character depth is evidence of that. It has a great assortment of memorable characters and interesting locations. I've played the game extensively and have yet to get bored with it. Each crew of characters offers a new way to win. Whether that be exploring West Africa and Egyptian ruins for great wealth or the Pacific Islands for scientific research. I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys strategy and roguelike RPG games.

Great strategy game! Deep, very innovative, reasonably challenging.
Several gameplay strategies, and not just one of them is viable. Lots of options, and each choice has its own consequence to be pondered.
Charming graphic look & feel, very well animated.
Highly recommended!

I'm not one for solitaire or Candy Crush clones, but sometimes I still want a game I can play for fifteen to twenty minutes at a time. With some grand strategy games, that's barely enough time for a single round of play.

Renowned Explorers is just the game I needed. It's easy to pick up and easy to put down. The game play is deep enough to keep me interested as long as I want it to, but I can also quit when I need to without any fuss. The missions are small enough and the campaigns short enough that I can pick up where I left off without spending a great deal of time trying to recall my plans.

Essentially, this is a board game about risk management. There are three attack types with a sort of Paper, Rock, Scissors relationship: Friendly, Devious, and Agressive (yes, friendliness is a form of attack in this game); however, the rewards for each encounter vary depending upon which of the three you favor. Choosing a party that specializes in only one of these attacks can make victory more likely, but may leave you resolving some encounters with little or nothing to show for it. Similarly, your players can level up in a number of skills that increase their chances of winning rewards in the wheel-spinning challenges scattered throughout each mission. Focusing on a small number of skills can make winning the challenges that need them much more likely, but you will be extremely unlikely to win challenges that call for skills you lack.

The tactical combat is interesting, but the real meat of the game is in strategic decisions like these. Play it safe and you'll most likely retire an unremarkable explorer; risk it all and you'll almost certainly face humiliating defeat; find the right balance and you might just become... The World's Most Renowned Explorer!

► Simple and complex
► Funny little jokes
► Highly addictive, if you like puzzles and strategy games: Try renowned explorers out!

I decided that since my overall view of this game is positive, I would go ahead and change my review. I feel like it's a bit unfair to thumb it down just because it isn't a true roguelike, as it is a very fun game from a non-roguelike perspective.

If you're a hardcore roguelike fan looking for another challenging roguelike to add to your library, this probably doesn't fit your style. It just doesn't play like a roguelike should, to me. If you're the FTL roguelike sort, you might like it, but if you're a roguelike fan that likes their roguelikes to be about skill, with bad luck streaks capable of being nullified with forethought and planning, this will probably frustrate you to some degree.

Too much can end up being determined by RNG, especially on your first 2 or 3 expeditions in a playthrough. Nabbing bonus treasures with good bonuses is absolutely crucial if you want to beat rivaleax by the actual deadline on higher difficulties, and not drag it out to an aftergame shangri-la victory.

There is some strategy in which treasures you can reliably nab in the different locations depending on your additional win condition aside from having as many treasures as possible (wealth, campaign, science), but overall luck does play a fairly noticeable role until you have items and skills that can boost your chances to 100%, which typically you only get after the deadline, unless you did extremely well in a previous expedition money-wise, since you want to boost both your defences as high as possible, thus defensive items will usually take most of your gold, since buying skill items over defensive items usually screws you over come boss-time.

As an introductory title to some roguelike concepts, perhaps, but I wouldn't buy this game on the expectation of getting a full roguelike experience. this is very softcore roguelike, at best.


The roguelike issue aside, this is a great game with lots of charm and a feel-good atmosphere and solid, if relatively simple, gameplay. 9/10 in my book. Get it if you like casual turn-based games.

This is one those games which will have you suddenly realize its 5 a.m. in the morning

It has everything a good indie game should:

-DLC which is worth your money
-Small Price
-Addictive on dangerous levels

And thats just only to name a few

My only complaint is music is uninspiring and boring....

Action, adventure, fun, and full of surprises.

I wanted a game that was turn-based, light-hearted, and only took an hour or so to play and that's what I got!! Love it!

A legitimately excellent adventure come roguelike with a turn based "combat" element. I airquote combat because it's actually a really brilliant rock-paper-scissors attitude system where your characters engage enemies with kindness, deception or brute force depending on various situational aspects.

I love this more than I thought I would, there's real depth to it that isn't apparent on your first look.

Not an overly complicated game, but a good one to pick up and have fun with for a little while. The skill system is well set up, allowing you to become good in a few areas (recommended) or okay in a number of them. Different playthroughs allow you to focus on different sets.

Lots of character variety and the ability to unlock more expedition leaders as you go makes it feel like you are progressing towards something playthrough after playthrough. Also, the ability to unlock campfire cards from game to game gives more of the same feeling.

Combat is unique in that you can defeat enemies by hitting them, insulting them, or complimenting them. Your characters have different strengths in each and the enemies are more or less vulnerable to different approaches. You also get different rewards in each fight depending upon how you win.

The setting and characters are amusing. The game is involved enough to be fun, but not so much as to bog you down. A full playthrough wraps up in a few hours and will often leave you wanting to give another go at it.

Absolutely amazing game... Extremely simple to get started with, but extremely deep mechanics. Each game takes only a couple of hours, but the game has massive replayability due to its large cast, many places to explore, and all the mechanics.

Easily one of the best games I have played.