Famousity Card Game Review

There are those cynics in the world who think that rise of technology means the disappearance of anything physical. What’s refreshing about a game like Famousity is that it proves that line of thinking woefully wrong. For all intents and purposes, Hotovo’s card game is would be right at home being sold alongside Uno, Clue and Monopoly. There’s a sense of family game night fun to it. The only difference is that it’s available through a digital medium and not in hard copy.

Don’t be deceived, though. Famousity isn’t a trading card game or a collectible card game, nor is it a deck builder. It’s a tabletop experience. The objective is pretty simple and, as previously stated, board game-esque in design: players are tasked with matching common descriptors and vocations found on the top of the cards in their hand to the central card in the middle of the table. In the meantime, players can try to build as matching groups in their hand as possible. It’s essentially poker with celebrity parody portraits.

At first this would seem almost boringly simple, at least to those people familiar with poker (which I do not count myself among.) But when you take into consideration that the cards to be matched have to also come from the same time period noted by the architecture on the left and right sides of each card, things get a little more challenging. Throw in some dynamite cards which can blow up an opponents hand, and Famousity is anything but boring.

What really makes this game charming is the cheeky sense of humour in the cards themselves. At first glance it may seem as if gameplay hinges on bartering celebrities–which would be a very intriguing game in and of itself–but Famousity finds humour in its subjects. Instead of trying to match Taylor Swift, J.K. Rowling and Charles Dickens, players are presented with figures such as Tailor Sweet, J.K. Bowling and Charles Chickens. The caricature art style also adds a dash of fun to the otherwise plain-as-paper gameplay.

While Famousity does offer a harmless experience for all ages and groups, there really isn’t anything remarkable about it. Then again, not all video games have to be extraordinary leaps and bounds in the field. It’s actually pretty awesome that Hotovo, which hasn’t to my knowledge had any releases prior to Famousity, was able to pull off such a polished party gaming experience. There are a few extras, such as a gallery and leaderboard for online games, but other than that it’s really as casual as they come. 

Having said that, I hasten to add that Famousity is still in early alpha access stage. Hotovo will be adding more features during further updates.

Famousity is a great addition to the world of casual party games. It would be right at home in the world of Jack Box or even Werewolf. While it isn’t anything truly groundbreaking, it’s still a pleasant experience with just enough strategy involved to stop it from being too simplistic. Quirky parodies of well-known figures are worth a laugh and the effort it takes to build a hand. It’s a bit too early to pass too much judgement, but if further developments really are in the cards, then Hotovo has one promising game on the table here.

Famousity is available for purchase on Steam. It is still in early alpha access, but according to the development team, will be updated frequently.

REVIEW CODE: A PC code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.

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