It’s been just over a week since I got back from the first Neothera event and I gave it a somewhat awesome dude review on the Podcast whilst also comparing it to Azeroth. Having time to reflect I still stand by those descriptions.
The game is best described as awesome. Awesome comes from metrics such has great balance – the game had downtime (to rest and eat) – but not too much – so there was no boredom,. As players I never felt as if we were being pushed in a direction. We had a job to do – we started doing and as events unfolded we reacted accordingly. There was a feel of real going on here. Neither did we trust or distrust too much. Sure at times we didn’t know who to trust, but it wasn’t overwhelming. At times we felt real danger, even a hint of hopelessness as it became clear that the odds were stiff. Yet never to the point that we wanted to give up.
In short – the game was well balanced.
I compared the world of Neothera to Azeroth simply because it tripped off the tongue. I still think its a good comparison. Both are high fantasy and both have individual idiosyncrasies. There is an availability of technology and black powder in both – and in both it doesn’t feel like a bolt on. Its a proof that when done right you can blend genres. Finally there are cultures borrowed from well known tropes and that is ok as at no time does it feel like wholesale plagiarism. It is what it is – a nod to things we as players will understand.
There is also a need to commend the crew. They really worked their socks off to give us a great game.
As for the players – wonderful group – I look forward to meeting them all again.
My final thing to gush about are the costumes – for the first outing of the game there was no stinginess. Great costumes had been created. My personal favourite was the treeman! You’ll find him in the gallery.
All the pictures in this gallery belong to Neothera larp and used with permission
Finally here are the links you’ll need if you want to get involved.
So far in this review there has been no negatives. That is almost true. I only have one regret about this game that is. I had to retire from play early due to an old injury problem resurfacing to the point that I had to go home before the end. I think I should have handled my departure better. So if that caused any concern or offence – my apologies.
