I don't normally review role playing games here. I do spend a fair amount of time playing them, but I feel that the experience of playing an RPG is so vastly different than that of playing a board or card game that I honestly don't think the two types of games have all that much in common, the fundamental difference being that in a role playing game, the game mechanisms serve the story being told by the players, while in a board game, the story (if there even is one) is secondary to the game mechanisms.
However, Free League's Blade Runner: the Roleplaying Game is just too good not to talk about.
Swedish publisher Free League has a much deserved reputation for high end design and production value, and that is certainly on display here. The rulebook is beautifully designed and illustrated, using entirely original artwork by Martin Grip and Gustaf Ekelund rather than stills from the Blade Runner films, and the starter set comes with a wide variety of maps and other props created to the same high design standard.
The game takes place in the year 2037, roughly midway between the two movies. Players take on the roles of replicant-hunting Blade Runners in a world that has just recently reintroduced a replicant work force and is still wary of them, in spite of assurances that they will obey every command. The starter set gives players two human and two replicant characters to choose from, and drops them into a murder investigation where they will need to interview suspects and witnesses, gather evidence, and make some interesting moral choices along the way.
The game system is a variation on the Year Zero game engine that forms the backbone of most of Free League's games, modified here to focus on gathering clues and pursuing investigations, with short bursts of violent combat that are very evocative of the setting. Dice rolling to accomplish tasks is very straightforward, with a system for rerolling failures that supports dramatic storytelling. One of the game's more interesting features is a card-based system for resolving chases, something other role playing games often struggle with.
In place of experience points, players are rewarded with promotion points as they uncover vital pieces of the story's puzzle, and also humanity points when they make choices that favor compassion and humanity, or when they interact with important background characters. Characters can get into combat situations and take damage, but more interestingly, they also take on stress, and the game has a whole mechanical system for how they spend their down time, whether it's drinking in the local bar or relaxing at home with a beloved (and most likely artificial) pet.
In addition to the starter set, Free League has published a core rulebook that provides rules allowing players to create their own characters and case files in order to continue the adventure, but honestly, after how excellent the starter set adventure has been, the idea of having to come up with my own material for the game is daunting to say the least. Hopefully they will continue to publish further adventures and maintain the game's current high standard.
Rating: 5 (out of 5) Playing through the starter set adventure has been the most fun I've had with a roleplaying game in quite some time.
- Blade Runner: the Roleplaying Game official website