Pulp Invasion

Pulp Invasion is one of those games that, once laid out on the table, seems to keep its promise. Its aesthetics and atmosphere are exactly what I expected from the Kickstarter: pulpy, thematic, and strong enough to make me want to set it up again. Unfortunately, the gameplay did not win me over to the same extent — and I say that as someone who does not consider himself an expert on solo games.

At its core, it is a solo game with strategy, management, and plenty of replayability. There are decisions to weigh and things to manage, so this is not an entirely passive experience. Still, the way it raises the difficulty did not feel especially satisfying to me.

The problem is that, in some cases, the pressure does not feel like something I can answer through better play, but like a simple sentence with no meaningful way to react. The X1 expansion somewhat saves it for me, turning it into a light head-to-head experience: one player plays the complex game, while the other watches and makes targeted interventions to make their life difficult. It is a good option when there are two of you, one person wants to play properly, and the other is not in the mood to melt their brain but still wants to take part.

That was more or less my first impression back in January, and returning to it did not overturn it. I set it up again at one point, when I was tired of staring at my PC screen and wanted to compare it with the solo deckbuilders I have been playing lately, but I left it unfinished. It is not a bad game; I just feel it could have been much better. For me, hard pass-ienza.