Thu 01 Feb 2024, 16:04
I'll definitely second this!
I initially bought Mutant: Year Zero to see if there was more stuff I can mine from it for the ALIEN RPG which had just released.
But, I cracked that first book and was drawn right in - someone had finally captured the old Gamma World first or second edition magic again.
The feature that most won me was the Ark Projects ... a character-level strategy mini-game within - that is a conflict but not just fighting - that also draws in a bit of hope and fear beyond just hexcrawling the Zone ... the more characters invest in building the Ark - the more they stand to lose when you send the inevitable raiders.
I've only seen one other post-apocalyse game do that so well (no spoiler here since its just an opinion thing), and MYZ easily matched up to it and I could immediately see ways where those game tools could all cross over to each other and make both games even better.
As I read further through the game line - I was more and more impressed - each game is standalone yet part of the larger story.
Each game is also standalone but interlocks those classic Gamma World style elements together so well.
My favorite adventure in Gamma World was the referee module "Albuquerque Starport" ... and what finally hit the street? Ad Astra.
MYZ well deserves the praise - I am glad Ad Astra released and that they were put into reprint. Definitely worth having the entire line.
We live, as we dream -- alone. ~ Joseph Conrad