itch.io

This just looks like a romp. Love it, want to play.

I love that the game is competitive, but in a kind of parallel-competitive fashion. You're not battling each other, but everyone is trying to win (though the note of "whatever that means" is incredible).

The aesthetic and the ideas behind the game are great and everything is well thought out and hangs together really well. 

If I need to suggest any room for improvement, it feels like it's edging away from an RPG into a something of a board game with RPG elements. That's not all of it a bad thing, but I think there are areas where maybe you can pull back on the "gameness" of it a little and lean into more robust storytelling elements. A lot of that will come down to how the game is played in the wild, but it is a sense that I have looking at the system as presented. 

Is there a free or cheap ocr system or another means we can use to test our content?

The game looks like a lot of fun. For such a short text, especially with the art and the layout, it's amazing how much you've packed into the game. 

If I have a complaint it's that the whole thing is a bit non-specific. The game would benefit from either a single statement or something like prompts and random tables to specify what's going on exactly. I get the overall vibe of what's happening, but it feels like as a GM, I'd want at least pointers that give me something specific. I feel like there's a risk of getting overwhelmed by having too much openness here. Something like a d6 table for clues at each location, or a dossier with a couple of options would be good.

I like the feeling of everything that you're doing. The design on Marie is very cool, and everything hangs together really well.

I dig the concept of the grotesques. I wish there was a given reason why they're aggressive toward the players. I know it's implied that they attack the Nazis too, but it feels like there's space for them to have been manipulated by the invaders, which might make the Notre Dame quest hang together better with the rest of the game. 

Mechanically, I worry that the countdown clock is a little aggressive. It's good that they feel relentless, but I worry it will turn into an annoyance rather than feeling like a danger when they attack every 4 turns or you need to constantly feed successes into keeping them away. 

I love the worldbuilding and the concept for the game. You did a great job of bringing together two interesting concepts in a really compelling way. It reminds me a lot of Terry Pratchett's Vimes novels in a good way.

Maybe I missed something. There are a lot of references to a clue track which feels like it could be a compelling addition to the game, but then it's not articulated in the actual text and there isn't a mechanical element stated. This feels like a lost opportunity.

Overall the game feels a little overwritten, this isn't necessarily good or bad, it's just my read on it. There are so many details and elements that are potentially useful, but probably won't appear in the game. In part that makes the document longer and noisier than I would like. Dolmar is so fleshed out as a setting that it feels a bit wasted, and I feel like it would be better to have a comprehensive Dolmar setting, and make this one of many modules within it. Likewise, there is a ton of information about fire fighting, both real work and in game, that doesn't have mechanical weight. They're great payoffs for people who can use them effectively, but there's a lot of unneeded information. 

I'd say a focus on the game, if you want to make revisions, would be quality of life and UX modifications. Things like a map of the tower (even just as a flowchart), dialing back on some of the extraneous details, and consolidating some of the rules text would go a long way without a lot of changes. The bones of this game are fantastic, just a little bit of rewriting to make it more user friendly could take it to the next level. 

I really appreciate how the game feels very modular. The combination of locations and the secrets with the objectives offers a lot of flexibility and replay value which can be a weakness in the Havoc Engine. In particular, the ability to return to a location with a new objective

I also like how all the elements interact. The use of cash to gain resources and negate conditions while boosting heat is really well thought out and feels "right" in terms of a game with a modern setting.

There are some great elements thematically. As I mentioned, cash specifically feels immersive for a modern setting, as do the notorious and heat tracks. I like how grounded it is in the historical setting and cultural context, noting the factions at play and the various shadowy players in the secrets component.

That said, the combination of rules starts to feel very busy at some point. There are a lot of elements to keep track of, and although there's good ludo-narrative consonance for them, I worry about mental load to play or run. The cards and trackers may help mitigate that, and overall, it may be intuitive enough to keep the issue in check. That said, it's a relevant concern and I can't say how much of an issue it is until I've had a real playthrough.