Rarely have I seen a starter this well built and laid out.
Press Start suceeds remarkably at teaching you two things: how the game plays and what the game is about. And it does so with minimal exertion on your part.
The rules are introduced progressively as characters face more and more complex threats and challenges. It does so through a rather railroady adventure that do feel more like a scripted tutorial. The final encounter is a bit more involving in terms of rules dump, but otherwise it does a great job at teaching the key rules of the system.
Premade characters and the events can be a bit cliché, but in a first session players and GM alike are putting more focus on getting the rules right, so you probably won't notice too much.
So, what's the verdict?
Press Start, by throwing player agency out the window, is not a good adventure. But it's not an issue, because this title has a different purpose. It is an excellent introduction to a deep and well thought-out system. This module values your time and focus with solid content and top tier layout.
I GM'd this with barely any preparation, because I could just read along. Many starter kits are meant to work this way, but few I tried really succeeded. By the end of the session, players and I knew the ropes and we could figure out whether or not we liked the game. And we had a good time doing so!
If you're intrigued, don't hesitate to try it out!
About the system…
The system itself is rather curchy and heavily geared towards combat. Not for everyone ; I usually prefer much lighter titles, but I was surprised I had such a great time. I ended up buying the core game, hopefully to put it to use in a future campaign.
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