15 Games you might enjoy if you like Awaken Realm’s Nemesis
Nemesis is a semi-cooperative game of survival horror, heavily inspired by the Aliens Franchise. This game is another smashing success by Awaken Realms, and was followed by two sequels, including the recently crowdfunded Nemesis Retaliation.
If you’ve enjoyed Nemesis and are looking for more games that you might like, we’ve got a list of 15 games for you to consider.
I have a video version of this list, if that’s more your thing:
Today we’ll be mostly looking at games with horror, monsters, and epic battle themes, games with medium-high to heavy complexity, games with great table presence, some of them cooperative, others not.
Let’s go!
15 – This War of Mine: The Board Game (2017)
In This War of Mine, civilians trapped in a war-torn city must make difficult decisions to survive. You have to be in the right mood to play it, but when that happens, the unique theme of this cooperative game is sure to leave a mark.
You might also like: This War of Mine is known for being quite difficult. Another difficult cooperative game of survival is Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island. Mage Knight (Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition) and Destinies are also recommended if you like This War of Mine.
14 – The Great Wall (2021)
The Great Wall, you Control medieval Clans in China trying to resist invading Mongol hordes. This is a cooperative game with worker placement mechanics. The Great Wall also has solo and competitive modes. As always with Awaken Realms games, people have praised the gorgeous art direction.
You might also like: You might also like : Dead Reckoning, Dwellings of Eldervale, and Perseverance (Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles – Episodes 1 & 2).
13 – Scythe (2016)
Scythe is a mid-weight euro game of worker placement and area control, set in a dieselpunk 192s Europe with mechwarriors. The game is a very good introduction to modern board games as a whole, and has great table presence. This is a competitive game, which also has a popular solo mode.
You might also like: For more euro games with awesome themes, have a look at Terraforming Mars, Viticulture Essential Edition, and Anachrony.
12 – Mansions of Madness: Second Edition (2016)
Mansions of madness is an app driven game of mystery and horror, where you have to collect information and, of course, fight monsters. Another semi-cooperative board game of horror, with nice looking minatures, which you might enjoy if you like Nemesis.
You might also like: For more Lovecraftian games, have a look at Eldritch Horror and Arkham Horror (Third Edition).
11 – Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition (2017)
Twilight Imperium is one of the most popular 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, & eXterminate) games out there. In Twilight Imperium, you’ll Build an intergalactic empire through trade, research, conquest and grand politics. Games of Twilight Imperium can be extremely long, so make sure you have a group of players who are committed.
You might also like: People who like Twilight Imperium also recommend Dune, Oath: Chronicles of Empire & Exile, and A War of Whispers.
10 – Blood Rage (2015)
Blood Rage is a game of battles and area control set in the world of Vikings. Your strategy will heavily depend on the cards you draft, and the player with the most victory points at the end of the 3 rounds of the game, wins. Blood Rage has often been compared to Scythe.
You might also like: You might also like : Res Arcana, Mission: Red Planet (Second Edition), or Champions of Midgard if you like the Vikings setting.
9 – Lords of Hellas (2018)
In Lord of Hellas, you Honor the Gods, build temples, defeat monsters, and establish supremacy. This is another game with really cool looking minatures, and multiple paths to victory, whether you’d rather control areas or slay monsters.
You might also like: You might also like : Cry Havoc, Clash of Cultures: Monumental Edition, and Mysthea.
8 – Gloomhaven (2017)
Gloomhaven has very strategic gameplay thanks to the very diverse character abilities and its clever card management system. This cooperative dungeon crawler probably doesn’t need to be introduced at this point, as it sits at the top of rankings for most solo or cooperative gamers.
You might also like: People who enjoy Gloomhaven also recommend the following cooperative games: Mage Knight, Mechs vs. Minions, and The 7th continent.
7 – Star Wars: Rebellion (2016)
As its name implies, Star Wars: Rebellion is a game set in the Star Wars Universe, in which you play as the Rebels and the Empire, fighting for control of the galaxy. Here again, we have a strategic game of worker placement and area control, with great looking miniatures.
You might also like: If you like the Star Wars theme, also check Star Wars: Outer Rim
6 – Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy (2020)
Eclipse is the “other” 4X game in this list (if you exclude games like Scythe, and I know that’s a controversial topic). It has some significant differences with Twilight Imperium, such as the presence of neutral ships that you can attack, and might scratch a different itch for you.
You might also like: You might also like : Civilization: A New Dawn, War of the Ring: Second Edition, and Spirit Island.
5 – Rising Sun (2018)
In Rising Sun, you Lead your clan to victory through negotiation, combat, monsters and favors from Kami. The game puts heavy emphasis on negotiation and alliances with other players. However these alliances never last, and this shouldnt be mistaken for a cooperative or semi cooperative game. As many other games in this list, Rising sun has great looking miniatures.
You might also like: Fans of Rising Sun also recommend Kemet, The Godfather: Corleone’s Empire, and Western Legends.
4 – Cthulhu: Death May Die (2019)
The original aspect of this Lovecraft game is that as investigators, you are this time actively trying to summon the elder Gods, in order to be able to destroy them. The game plays in under 2 hours and has great table presence. If you like the miniatures and horror theme of Nemesis, this cooperative game will be right up your alley.
You might also like: For more thematic cooperative games, have a look at Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth, and Sleeping Gods.
3 – Ankh: Gods of Egypt (2021)
In Ankh: Gods of Egypt, you take the role of Egyptian gods fighting to survive and be remembered. Like many other games in this list, we’re looking here at a very thematic game of area control, with great looking miniatures. There are multiple paths to victory, and emphasis is put on the deterministic nature of all your actions, including combat. No dice rolls!
You might also like: For other thematic games, check Kemet: Blood and Sand, Dune: Imperium, and Root.
2 – Unfathomable (2021)
Unfathomable is a traitor game with a lovecraftian theme. Players have to cooperatively survive on a boat until it reaches its destination. But some of the players are actually secretely trying to disrupt the plan. If you loved the “semi” cooperative aspect of Nemesis, as well as its horror theme, this is yet another game that could work great for your play group.
You might also like: You might also like : Tyrants of the Underdark, Beast, and The King’s Dilemma.
1 – Nemesis: Lockdown (2022)
Sorry, I kept the most obvious one for last… that’s a bit anticlimactic, but if you really love Nemesis, then the most obvious choice for you is to get Nemesis Lockdown. Nemesis Lockdown improves on pretty much every aspect of Nemesis, it brings a new location and new mechanics, but if I can be honest, you probably only need one of the two games. You might also want to consider the third entry in the series, Nemesis Retaliation, which I mentioned at the beginning of this article.
You might also like: For more heavy weight cooperative games try Frostpunk: The Board Game, and Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon. The Witcher: Old World is also recommended if you like Nemesis Lockdown.
This is it for my recommended 15 games if you liked Nemesis. Did the list make sense? Are some games missing? Let me know in the comments, and see you next time!
Games mentioned in this article
| Check on Amazon (affiliate link) | ||
| Check on Amazon (affiliate link) | ||
| Check on Amazon (affiliate link) | ||
| Check on Amazon (affiliate link) |
