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Full Disclosure: Kickstarter backer.
This game does what it says on the tin. The system is original and flexible. It's also modular, so players and GM can run their games at variable levels of detail and difficulty. Want to run a high risk/high reward two fisted action game? You can do that. Want to run a slow burning grind of a game where the horror isn't the monster, but your balance sheet? You can do that.
Physically, the book is one of the highest quality RPG books I've ever laid my hands on, Eclipse Phase included. The paper stock is heavy. The font is larger than normal, which is great, because I'm an old person with bad eyes. The artwork is evocative and inspirational. The binding is top notch. This won't fall apart under light stress. It's also thicker than the Pathfinder core book, for comparison.
Mechanically, the system is tight. Skill based, not level based. Players build milestones and end goals, which precludes the inevitable mistake of a campaign going too long, or the players getting frustrated with the GM putting the plot on rails. The skills (depending on the rules the players agree on) vary from incredibly useful to absolutely necessary in order to perform tasks. The GM does very little dice rolling, usually involving pre-game planning (tons of handy tables) and contract amounts. The system uses 2d10, one black, one red. (The game is also incredibly thematically consistent)
Players build an 'Enclave', a home base from which they go beyond the fence and earn the Bounty they need to get themselves or their dependents out of the "Loss", the part the civilized world left to the zombie horde. The GM gives prompts, but the entire thing is in the player's hands.
Character development is covered by player created Dependents - people who need to eat but can't work for their own meals for whatever reason. During pre-Negotiation 'Vignettes', players roleplay interactions with these people - either solving their problems, world building, or surviving the trauma of dealing with people who just don't know how bad it is beyond the fence and all the PTSD you can garner there. Successful Vignettes heal sanity - ones that go really badly can do just as much damage. The Vignettes encourage further worldbuilding and give the GM future plot hooks to work with.
The one area where players new to the system may have trouble is the pre-Job Negotiations. They are opposed roleplaying with the GM, with one player acting as the 'face' and the others doing supporting jobs in a round based competition with the GM. The best part of the system is the way it involves players without everyone needing to get too talky. Supporting jobs are nonlinear, and aimed at getting a better price, removing competition, and discovering weak spots to 'push' for better contract terms. Read the rules closely. There is a provided example, and there are many online actual plays that help to learn the mechanic, but it still will take time to make it go naturally.
Gear is simple and robust. The system discourages hoarding. Everything has a cost and an upkeep. Players who try and acquire too much stuff will feel the pain as expenses mount, and a bad job could see all their carefully hoarded items break or become nonfuctional as they watch their funds run out to maintain it. Losing things in a world where they aren't replaceable is a big source of personal horror, and the rules reflect it.
The book contains literally everything you need for years of play. No need for splatbooks or enhancements - it's a Player's Guide, a GM's Book, and a Monster Manual all in one, clocking in at a hefty 496 pages, of which almost a quarter is merely setting material.
In summation, having played in multiple games and seen and heard many more, this is a well polished effort that does an excellent job of evoking horror from an unlikely source for most RPG's. Highly recommended.
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