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A Dungeon Crawler game by CORVUS BELLI based on the Infinity Universe.
A group of heroes has been commissioned up by the human nations to stop an imminent offensive by the Combined Army. Embarked in the Defiance, the heroes of the Human Sphere must fight against an alien invader in a suicide mission with the sole objective of saving humanity. Infinity Defiance is a dungeon crawler with high quality metal miniatures that are compatible with Infinity.
At the beginning of the Round, you build the Initiative deck which will determine the order in which the enemy units will be activated. Each enemy Unit will draw a card from the AI deck and every Enemy in that Unit will attempt to perform, in order, the actions the card indicates - up to a maximum of 2 actions.
Each time you make a roll, you will obtain a series of symbols from the dice. Equipment cards, Software cards, Specialty cards, and enemies, may spend those symbols to apply Effects via Switches.
As the Campaign advances, Characters may improve their combat skills through Specialty cards, which will allow you to choose the specialty best suited to your playing style or personal preferences.
—description from the publisher
Infinity Defiance Scenario 4
- clever dice play and character growth
- substantial hours of campaign content
- pricey with expansions and optional buys
- dice-driven combat with equipment and narrative scenarios
- fantasy with sci-fi/cooperative elements
- campaign-driven with branching outcomes
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Campaign — the campaign evolves based on choices and outcomes
- dual dice pools — player and enemy dice pools with modifiers through gear and switches
- scenario-driven progression — the campaign evolves based on choices and outcomes
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is a list that is purely subjective and what i mean by that is this is purely the games that i like to play the most
- the numbers 5 through 10 or maybe even 4 through 10 might change on any given day
- one and two are really really close
- it's light-hearted it has a strong story
- the dice are fun
- the real joy of gloomhaven is just the card play
- i love exploding dice
- the artwork and minis look really good
References (from this video)
- tough but engaging dice combat with meaningful choices
- strong campaign narrative with immersive setting
- active hacking and tech-trade elements that add variety
- learning curve can be steep for new players
- rule interactions can be nuanced and occasionally ambiguous
- late-round reinforcements can create overwhelming odds
- cooperative extraction of alien technology under pressure and threat escalation
- Paradiso orbital space, Defiance main hold, alien ship ruins (CA3) and shuttle operations
- campaign-driven with holographic briefings and evolving objectives
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Combat: Dice — combat relies on colored dice with outcomes that can be modified by rerolls, abilities, and shields; outcomes determine hits, blocks, and wounds
- Dice-based combat — combat relies on colored dice with outcomes that can be modified by rerolls, abilities, and shields; outcomes determine hits, blocks, and wounds
- hacking and lock-picking — players simulate hacking with dice, storing hits, and using special abilities to access consoles and reveal components or generator controls
- Line of Sight — characters move across a modular board with line-of-sight rules and special abilities that bypass line of sight barriers
- Movement and line of sight — characters move across a modular board with line-of-sight rules and special abilities that bypass line of sight barriers
- threat/alert and reinforcement timing — rounds increase alert levels, triggering self-destructs or reinforcements and shaping risk management and routing decisions
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- i'm digging the story i love the dice combat it's really challenging
- wow this could put jazz down right now
- gosh that heavy pistol is amazing on Uma
- as always i'm sure i made plenty of mistakes i hadn't played in a long time
- three days hovering in paradiso's orbital space
- you barely manage to board the stalker before you fasten your seat belts
- i've got three intel packs and then one minotaur engine
- it's incredibly quick and easy