The physical necessities of Shadows of Brimstone keep this game from being the top shelf contender, but I had a pretty good time when I played.

I like the diabolic oater theme, and the two dimensional artwork is quite appealing as are the cards for the monsters. The Depth Track and Darkness events were cool features that enriched the atmosphere. I also like the way in which the asymmetrical tiles fit together and the manner in which the exits are determined.

But these gargantuan tiles--and some of these figures--are better suited for a Texan than a New York apartment dweller, and the number of card decks in play--about 15--and varied tokens and figures also require lots of space. The end result is that I felt like I spent a lot of the game setting things up and taking things down and looking for pieces, rather than just playing the game. Mage Knight certainly has lots of bits, but that game is deeper than Brimstone, where the playing (in this admittedly more novel world) is mainly straight forward moving and combat. And since most of the valuables (money & shards & XPs) are geared toward campaigning rather than one shot games, which I often prefer, this elements adds little to the adventure. I bought my copy second hand, since I am not a miniature builder, and the fragility of these figures inhibits play to some degree for me as well.

Overall, the exploratory aspect (eg. tile laying), the theme, and the two dimensional paintings make this an appealing presentation of gargantuan game that is a bit too ponderous for me to regularly play, especially now after also acquiring better-suited games like 'Perdition's Mouth Abyssal Rift' and 'Runebound Third', but I intend to try it again.