Exploration is the action of exploring an unfamiliar area. When you have procedurally generated maps and events, Curious Expedition guarantees that you are forever in unknown territories and it’s the epitome of an open world environment.
Set in the 19th century, you play one of several London’s Explorers Club adventurers. It’s an exclusive members-only operation for the elite whose aim it is to venture forth into uncharted lands, befriend or enslave tribal populations and secure your return home with a plethora of valuables. Curious Expedition is a pissing contest on who can achieve the most fame or wealth.
At the beginning of each expedition, you choose one of the infamous explorers ranging from mainstays like Charles Darwin to the less well known in exploration circles, but equally notorious Grigori Rasputin.
Curious Expedition Switch Review
The latter historical figure gave the best run: a sun dodging supposedly well-endowed individual with a hypnotic talent, slaying leopards and bartering with missionaries. Historically accurate? It doesn’t matter; Curious Expedition is a deceivingly simple-looking indie title with much horsepower under the hood.
Before you embark, you’ll usually encounter a traveller or local that will make a request. Kill an elusive wild animal and bring back proof, deliver a letter to the chief of a village or locate and retrieve as many musical instruments as possible for a handsome reward are just some of the sub-quests.
These sequences in Curious Expedition usually feature a passage of text with the story detailing the surroundings, as well as dialogue and command options on the left side of the screen. To the right is an illustration of your ship, and later encounters will depict temples and shrines, villages, waterfalls and combat scenarios. This aesthetic resembles a journal of your expedition; the number of days you’ve been travelling shown at the top of the page.
Around In The World In 80 Days
After you choose your opening task (accept or refuse it), your ship sets sail into new territories to explore. The aim is to either find the golden pyramid located on each map before your rivals, or use your hot air balloon to retreat, but taking as much loot back with you as possible.
Curious Expedition isn’t a turn-based game, but there is a restriction on how far you move without a penalty. Each time you move, it comes out of your energy gauge, a.k.a. sanity. When it gets to zero, you incur injuries, become over-encumbered with inventory or worse, have your crew turn against you.
The combat sections are probably my least favourite part of Curious Expedition, usually through being overwhelmed by enemies. While they aren’t random encounters, it can be tricky to avoid a conflict as moving away from any threats uses up your energy. When you get into a fight, you roll dice and mix various combos.
The World Is Your Oyster
A lot of the fun in Curious Expedition comes from exploration. Trampling around the map resembling a lower budget version of Cannon Fodder is a lot of fun – more so when you locate a hidden temple, looting it of goodies. You can, of course, fast track each expedition by finding the golden pyramid for the quick win, but that means exploring the world maps, and you don’t have the resources to go flat out.
After each run, you’ll return to the club and be presented with an Explorers League table. Do you donate your prizes to museums to increase your fame or auction them off to get money for the next adventure? That’s the gameplay loop.
Should your character die, it’s game over, and you start from the beginning. Your explorer is not gone forever, but any perks you unlocked or the fame you’ve earned resets. It’s a harsh model, but not entirely unfair and adds to the appeal. Curious Expedition is a strategy game, after all.
Curious Expedition Review Summary
Curious Expedition is a challenging game for all the right reasons and rewards the inquisitive nature of exploration with in-game achievements. There’s a wealth of achievements to uncover such as collecting all the available treasures in a game or eating a certain number of rations.
