The first major supplementary book for the Gaia Complex introduces a number of new hardware pieces and the black market structure. The item catalog makes up only about half of the volume. More extensive and, in my opinion, even more interesting is the background section, which deals with the black market. In addition to Neomunich, the various black markets for weapons, blood, sex, data and more are covered here. In addition, we find 15 new corporations which, like the the rest of the book, provide many ideas for your game sessions. I was particularly convinced by the clear connection to actual gameplay. It's almost impossible not to come up with new ideas for missions when reading the supplement. I would like to emphasize the once again high-quality illustrations as well as the aspect of sex work and fetish products. With the latter, the authors treat a topic that is often left out or only depicted in a very clichéd way in cyberpunk settings. Perhaps a bit too explicit for some game groups, the erotic and sex work scene is convincingly and sensitively presented here and neither idealized nor demonized. While it can easily be kept out of any game round, there is a consistent and thoroughly enriching perspective to be found here.

All in all, I'm very pleased with the quality of the product and the variety of ideas, which I think can also be integrated into other settings. The Gaia Complex is a cyberpunk setting in its own right, but it can also be used to invigorate other game worlds. Not least because of the clear relevance to gameplay and the simple rules.

I am very impressed by the game. The writing and artwork is superb and the world has an interesting twist. The addition of vampires and ferals (animal mending humanoids) into an otherwise ‘realistic’ world building is surely a question of taste. The world still feels plausible and the supernatural element is kind of explained by a secret truth, that is particularly well written and adds another layer of depth. While the world and type of adventures are classical cyberpunk plus a bit of supernatural, the rule system is quite different. It uses stats and skills, but the fact that skills can't be levelled (1) and are either possessed or not is an interesting design choice. The system only asks for rolls if a situation is stressful, a skill is not possessed or a difficulty is higher than the related stat. If a roll is required, we compare two d12 to our stat and need one success if we are skilled and two if not. That is a truly unique approach that promises a very smooth and narrative gameplay but might need some accomodation. The corebook alone holds everything you need to play. Obviously the 290 pages can't present a world as detailled as other cyberpunk games that exist for decades. The philosophy of the game takes this as a strength, by allowing the GM and players some freedom in their interpretation of the world. For example there are no fullly fleshed out adventures, bur data seeds that are meant to inspire thrilling adventures, but leave the Group to fill out the exact details.

I can recommend the game to anyone who is interested in a cyberpunk setting with a lot of freedom and a supernatural twist. The game can keep up with the big names out there and is definitely worth checking out!

(1)To be nitpicky: In fact there are specializations, but they work entirely different from traditional levels.

(a more detailed review can be found in German at www.zauberwelten-online.de)

Excellent story and artwork, science. tech and a little bit of the supernatural.

Angel's Citadel just reviewed The Gaia Complex by Chris Shepperson and Hansor Publishing. A solid cyberpunk offering with some mechanics not commonly seen in the genre. Go check out the full review here: https://angelscitadel.com/2021/10/08/review-the-gaia-complex/