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A thoughtful, clever game that feels to me a bit like if Guardians of the Galaxy were a Don Bluth cartoon from the 1980s. It offers a sort of combine-three-things character creation that still provides variety, an easy-to-understand dice pool mechanic, and the opportunity for all kinds of interstellar hijinks.
The galaxy is in chaos because the all-powerful domineering Syndics mysteriously vanished, leaving ten thousand other intelligent species wondering, "well, huh, we're free, now what?" Numerous factions have risen up, each with its own unique agenda, and the characters typically find themselves in the middle of it all.
Character creation is mostly a matter of picking from a few templates (species, career) that provide a set of abilities, and then you can fine-tune a bit. While that might sound a bit constraining, I would guess without doing the math that there are more than a thousand different species/upbringing/career combinations, and with the fine-tuning, you won't find two characters who seem anything alike. Starting characters by default are competent but not unstoppable. Optional rules include suggestions on how to create more/less powerful characters, too.
The core game mechanic, if you aren't familiar with Sanguine's other games, is basically a dice pool where you count successes, and the difficulty will tend to require 1-3 successes depending on if it's something anyone/a professional/an expert could do.
There's some assumption that characters will find themselves in violent situations, and so the rules provide quite a bit of information about combat and fighting. Instead of something like "hit points" the game uses a wound-levels approach more like the old Star Wars D6 game, but with some clever updates that encourage teamwork and cooperation.
Possibly my favorite thing about the game is the experience/reward system, where characters write down goals, and when they're accomplished the GM gives them "gifts", abilities appropriate to a) how they accomplished the goal, and b) how hard it was to do it. Gifts somewhat resemble feats from D&D3+ and can provide extra dice, contacts, psychic abilities, you name it. Seems like a really good way to encourage communication between player and GM about the characters.
The only thing I wish the game had, and perhaps I missed it, is some advice on how the characters and their goals might evolve over time, for example from scrappy scoundrels who want to get paid, to dashing heroes who want to protect the galaxy from a deadly menace. An experienced group could probably figure that out no problem, but this game might also appeal to inexperienced younger gamers who could use the advice.
I also kind of wish there were a less expensive print option available here besides full color hardback.
That said, the creators of the game are tremendously supportive and can't wait to offer assistance if you find yourself confused. If you're interested in some colorful hijinks on strange worlds with seriously endless opportunities, you might like this game.
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