Fri 19 May 2023, 23:05
I am also a bit disappointed but mostly because of my expectations, and partly because of some concrete aspects of the game (in some parts it feels a bit raw). Frankly, I expected the game to be something between MYZ (sector exploration, items decaying with time, haven managing, encounters and ark threats,…) and Alien (stress system, narrative oriented and character driven game). For the drama part and characters centered stories I think it nails it, but I expected some more of the MYZ-like way the story, the characters and the events fit in together in the game (I mean: you roll for an Ark threat/encounter and you get a brief description and some short suggestions as to how fit it and escalate it, add some characters and the story almost magically unfolds by itself).
Most of the game I like a lot for one-shot scenarios but my main complaint would be that I can’t see anything solid enough to incentivate my players to run a campaign. In campaign play, players want to see development in their characters and their haven/group/ark. I would suggest that instead of just doubling the XP costs for upgrading the characters (relative to other FL games), maybe make the players have to spend XP to improve the Haven, or even having to spend XP in group talents that reflect the way their team deals with the entourage and tactics they use, adding coherence to the group of survivors.
Another concern for me is that the game is focused in a rules light system to emphasize in the story (which I like; that’s why I love the YZE), but when I got to the Brawls system I felt like it changes the Theater-of-the-Mind approach for (almost) like a tabletop game with maps and minies. I also would clarify some kind of initiative system (even if it’s the players who get to decide the acting order, like WH40k Wrath and Glory).
Some say there are too many tables, but I find they come quite handy when you need to improvise NPCs, places and stuff. I would even expand some of them. And they would be even more handy if they were easier to find (maybe an index of tables).
About the lore? Yes, some more of it would be appreciated. Be it from the series or original content. But I guess the lack of more game lore can be because it is a licensed franchise and every little detail or addition has to go through lots of supervision and approval by a third party, which can be painfully slow and energy consuming. I guess there’s a lot going on behind the scenes which we may never know.
Would I ask for a refund? Not at all, of course. But in the next kickstarter campaign it would be much appreciated a more detailed explanation of the game mechanics and contents of the book before bidding. In one of the first interviews (I think it was with Tom) they mentioned it hadn’t been playtested thoroughly (excuse my english, I am not native) with many groups.
I’ve got some concrete questions about the system but I think I’d better write them in the dedicated chapter’s posts.
Thanks a lot for you time and please, take this as a constructive criticism. Also thanks for the hundreds of hours of fun provided by your previous games.