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REPLAY - A 'Time Travel' adventure's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Usability - How "pick up & play" is this for a Warden? | #23 | 3.235 | 3.235 |
| Favorability - how much do you personally like the submission? | #23 | 3.353 | 3.353 |
| Polish - How is the overall look/vibes/writing & design? | #29 | 3.059 | 3.059 |
| Overall | #31 | 3.103 | 3.103 |
| Theme - How well does it match the Jam's Theme? | #35 | 2.765 | 2.765 |
Ranked from 17 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Hello!
First off I love the premise of this adventure and how it fits within the jam theme, it is all very creative and original. I love the monster and the overall aesthetics of the adventure. I also really like the art! I really like the brevity of the module though I think adding a few more details, especially in how the creature changes, maybe a small table of some examples, would have been nice. I also think adding a little more concrete mechanics would help new Wardens especially. In that vein I also think adding a key to the map would be a good help for newer people. And lastly I think the combat stats on the monster and the guards is too high, and the number of guards, while realistic, I think would make it extremely hard for the adventure not to end in a TPK. Other than a few small tweaks and an editing pass I think this is an awesome adventure and one of my favorites that I've read. Great job!
hiya! here are some of the very disorganized notes i took while reading this :)
ooh this is a diabolical idea. knew there was a loop going in, but didn't expect THAT to be the reason. i'm already imagining ways to play up shane as a slimeball.
i'd love to see some examples of how you envision the horror adapting based on certain fears--some ideas i can already picture (i.e. PCs barely survived ABH? horror looks like a carc) but did you have other things in mind as well?
this is inspiring me to riff on it, like, you know what room i would want to see in the studio? an editing bay, where the player sees dozens of tvs showing dozens of different interviews starring themselves (or for a real headfuck, some person who looks almost like them, making it clear that THEY are the "replacement" actor)
it's favourably reminding me of a certain japanese video game that came out in 2017 (i'm not even mentioning the name of that game because just comparing the two would be spoilers) -- if you know, you know :) loved that game! love that i am getting that game's vibes here.
appreciate the very clean map, easy to mentally navigate for those like me who often struggle with maps in these things.
this is real fun! i imagine i'd have to do a bit to adapt it for our table but i bet i'd get some good reactions from my players.
Interesting concept, although it's one that I feel is stretching the jam's theme a bit. Yeah, not everything is as it seems at first glance, but that's true of a lot of horror, so if this fits almost anything does.
It's usable enough, I think, although it demands some ad-libbing by the Warden. I see two significant weaknesses on that front.
Firstly, you've established that the characters have had their memories wiped, so presumably the players don't know anything about their backgrounds. At the same time, you're asking the Warden to have the Horror evolve to fit the characters' specific fears. How do we know what those fears are if we don't know the characters' backgrounds? I think there needs to be some sort of flashback mechanic where the Warden invites the players to fill in their backstory gradually and evolve the Horror in tandem with that.
Secondly, I don't really see a likely way for the players to get out of this. I know Mothership is meant to be hard, but usually there's some way to move laterally when the challenge isn't beatable head-on. Here, once they're loose in the studio, you've established that the ONLY way out is through a checkpoint with bulletproof doors, and the only control for that is in a security room with potentially as many as ten high-statted security guards with armor and assault rifles AND automated turrets, while the best weapon the heroes could potentially have come across is a pistol with a 50% chance of firing one bullet or none at all.
The best I can come up with is trying to take Shane hostage but realistically I don't see security letting them out in that scenario, it'd just create a prolonged standoff. (EDIT: Or I guess they could make explosives in the lab or something. But that assumes there's a chemist in the group, which won't necessarily be the case.)
Overall im in love with the idea and can see myself running this with all of its twists, but some polishing and elaboration is needed. I think with the horror specifically having a system or guide, however barebones, to guide the warden on making the horror would be greatly appreciated. For a module that relies on the threat so heavily, I find it odd the module omits any stats or base abilities for the monster. I think adding that, even in supplemental form as an example would be greatly appreciated. Good work, my players would hate this (in the good way)
This is a very compelling premise akin to an episode of Black Mirror or the opening of Prey, which is a great starting point for a one shot! I like the visual treatment and I think especially in print this will really pop!
I do feel that it could be tighter in the execution, as in reading I found a variety of edge cases that could cause friction for Warden usability. It's not clear from the maps specifically how the studio and set fit together, and the "rules" of the game show feel a little vague. I feel some more fleshing out on the "it takes the form of your worst fear" front would be welcomed by a lot of Wardens who struggle to come up with that kind of stuff ahead of time/on the fly, and also good to address potential trigger warnings with the players. People might be prone to taking that concept too far if they're left in the wind to improvise.
In the end I think that with some cleaning up on these fronts, I think you'll have a really slick module! You can layer in like three twists in as many hours and keep a canny group of players on their toes. Letting them end it all with an interview gone wrong (resisting sedation) is the exact kind of memorable end-scene I love to see in a one-shot. Good work!
Thanks for the feedback! For the record it is 100% inspired by White Bear, the black mirror episode ;p
A really cool concept and unique setting for a timeloop mechanic.
+ Great subversion of the timeloop troupe for players to doubt themselves
+ A clear timeline of events to take place before it "loops"
+ A good implementation of the horror that adapts with each loop
If you're looking for feedback, let me know and I can expand further.
Always looking for feedback!
Certainly. I feel the overall premise is strong and experiencing the time loop is fleshed out. Once it gets to the Escape section, it feels vague as to how players are supposed to escape. It is clear where they can escape from. But, with how limited the players' equipment is, it feels quite lethal to try go through the checkpoint and it is isn't clear where the "Hidden Exit" leads, if this is indeed another escape. The map also makes it hard to understand what options players have to get to the exit. I feel the Studio locations could be clarified as to what clues and resources players can find to aid in their escape. I also feel the map could benefit from a legend to clarify the paths between the rooms. This would help make the module feel overall complete, strengthening the story and pacing.
Overall, I feel there is a cool game that starts off strong, but feels to teether once it gets to the Studio due to the lack of information on how to escape, on the map, and lack of clear useful items to find.
This one might be my favourite.