I had the pleasure of playing a short campaign of Shepherds run by the game’s creator. While I’ve read a bunch of Powered by the Apolocapyse–style games, Shepherds was the first I’ve actually had the chance to play. My experience was so positive that I recommend Shepherds both in general and in particular to others looking to dip their toe into the PbtA-waters.
My favorite thing about the game, at least mechanically, is the system of Resolve and Insight. These are two resource pools, keyed off your character’s core attributes, that you spend as you’d expect from their names. For example, you spend Resolve to withstand a foe’s attack.
What makes the system so elegant is how these resources tie into the system’s focus on narrative and player agency in multiple ways. When you spend resolve, you (the player) say how your character overcomes the foe’s attack and avoids harm. And you replenish resolve by interacting with your allies—for example, by sharing a moment with them during a rest. It’s not quite HP/healing, it’s not a metacurrency, it’s a unique structure that does wonderful work reinforcing the game’s flow and themes of comraderie.
On those themes—and the general JRPG-inspired vibe—I would consider myself a modest but wayward fan of the genre that inspired Shepherds. I loved the Final Fantasy games of my childhood, and while I haven’t played some of the more specific inspirations (Trails and Tales games), playing Shepherds felt like slipping into a warm bath of nostalgia. YMMV of course—every game’s vibe depends on what players bring to it—but for me, the game nails the approachable, whimsical, heroic high-fantasy-and-magitech vibe of the games I loved as a kid. The clarity of the setting and intended tone went a long way toward helping the players gel early on.