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Maximum Apocalypse the RPG Review

Maximum Apocalypse the RPG Review

 

Picking up a new role playing game (RPG) can be overwhelming with all the existing choices being so appealing. For a while, Michael, John and myself were going back and forth on which RPG we should focus our attention on and begin a campaign under our Drop the Spotlight Gaming Crew banner. The process kept going back and forth for a few reasons, the main reason being that we all have different tastes when it comes to choosing an adventure. This process eventually became a stalemate and we left it up to fate to intervene. At least, that’s what happened.

An email from Rock Manor Games sat in my inbox a few weeks back with founder Mike Gnade looking for game reviewers willing to try the game out with lead Maximum Apocalypse RPG designer Scott Uhls. How could I say no to what seemed like a perfect opportunity? We scheduled our play session (which you can view here, or listen here) and eagerly awaited the adventure before us. We got to feast our eyes on the book itself alongside a quick start book so we can begin to get ourselves acquainted with the rules and lore of the game. Our initial thoughts about the game were all unanimous, it was love at first sight.

Maximum Apocalypse the RPG is based off the tabletop game of the same name. It has a little bit of something for everybody. Zombies for John, psychic, sci-fi vibes for Michael, and alien invasions for me. Yes, all of those things exist in Maximum Apocalypse the RPG. Our adventure was uniquely designed and created for our play session by lead designer/game master Scott Uhls, and in it we encountered mutant rats, a towering mutant longhorn, robots, and a wasteland devastated by nuclear war (feel free to try it out for yourself). Scott was also nice enough to create pre-generated characters for us so we could focus more on the gameplay rather than the mechanics as we were recording our play session for our gaming podcast and wanted to keep it as interesting as possible for our listeners. This really allowed us to focus on what each of our characters had the potential to do.

Michael’s character for example was a mechanic who had been transported back in time and had a very useful foresight power that saved our skin from the gigantic mutant longhorn tearing our vehicle apart. John’s character was a firefighter afflicted with pyromania which was useful if we encountered any zombies, and my character was a scientist that could quickly assemble bombs to get us out of sticky situations.  In total there are 10 class archetypes each with a unique skill set. Not to mention that every character also gains skills depending on the apocalypse that they suffered through. My character The Scientist had been one of the first people to be abducted by the initial alien invasion, so I was prepared to use their technology against the horrors we could have encountered.  Maximum Apocalypse the RPG offers enough versatility which allows you to truly create a unique character that you can call your own while still being very accessible to novice RPG players.

Highlights from our game include The Mechanic successfully hacking a killer drone, The Scientist building a gas bomb on the fly while battling giant mutant rats which was then used to knock several of them out, and The Firefighter going toe-to-toe with some killer robots using his pyromania skills to melt their armor. This game was a blast! Maximum Apocalypse the RPG is set in a world where everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. So I ask you one question, why settle for one apocalypse when you can have them all? It is in the name after all. Maximum Apocalypse the RPG goes live on Kickstarter on June 9. If you’re looking for something different for your RPG sessions, or if you’re curious about RPG’s check this one out for yourself and begin with the quickstart guide available on Drivethrurpg.com. Maximum Apocalypse the RPG has the DTS Gaming Crew stamp of approval.

About Me: I’m a video/tabletop game reviewer, content creator, and game member of the Drop the Spotlight Gaming Crew. If you have questions about any of my content, reach out to me at maurogarcia@dropthespotlight.com. You can also view our gaming content on our FacebookTwitter, & Instagram pages, check out our gaming podcast on Anchor FM, and our videos can be viewed on the Drop the Spotlight YouTube.