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An Excellent Start to the Retro Apocalypse, March 14, 2023The first thing that stands out about this game is the UI. Styled after old VCR graphics, it's eye-catching and retro in a way that perfectly fits the setting. This is a world where tapes and old computers are about as far as technology developed before some unnamed cataclysm sent everything grinding to a halt. The player character explores a violent post-apocalypse with little more than the shirt on their back (that is, of course, assuming they elect to wear a shirt).
The character creation offers an extensive array of choices, boasting around 130 items of clothing, all very stylish and post-apocalyptic. I had a lot of fun reading all the descriptions and choosing a suitable outfit for my disaster of a protagonist. (I ended up with a player character who has zero common sense (or -1 SAVVY, according to the stat screen, so less than zero), and a high SIGNAL stat. I adore them to pieces.)
The game uses a dice rolling system, plus skills and XP, in a way that will be familiar to players of ttrpgs, but it's simplified enough that those who are less experienced won't find things difficult to follow. There's SAVVY (street smarts), BRAWN (strength and intimidation), GLAM (aesthetics and charisma) , and SIGNAL (sort of like intuition, but there's more mysterious and interesting things going on with this one). Occasional dice rolls are affected by the player's skill-level to determine the outcome of a situation.
There's an impressive amount of detail packed into every bit of this game, too. Whether it's a side quest collecting zines for a peculiar bookseller, or the 'genderfuck' identity achievement that can be gained from talking with the security guard at a brothel, these details really make the world feel lived-in and fully realized. This is a game that truly says: Explore every corner, see what you might find.
As you explore the post-apocalyptic environment, bits and pieces of the plot begin to emerge. (Spoiler - click to show) A stolen package, a death god, militias and socialist(-ish) mercenary crews, drugs, brothels, vampires. Radio signal, *Signal* signal, assassinations. I can't wait to learn how these different threads connect, and see where all this is going as further installments are published. The author clearly has a bright future in game development ahead of him.
On a final, and more personal, side note, I played this demo at a time when I and my friends have been pretty down due to recent anti-trans laws where we live in the US. Playing a game that is so unapologetically queer has been very good for morale. So thank you, to the author, for that.