https://therpgacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/The-Reviews-Myrrorside-RPG.mp3
Hello and welcome to The RPG Academy's The Review series. Today The Caleb G (
@TheCalebG) takes a look at Myrrorside by Angus McNicholl /
Parallel Publishing.
Howdy cats and kittens! It’s TheCalebG aka Professor Crunch aka the founder of Point Five Past.Today I’m here to review Myrrorside, a Parallel Publishing game created by Angus McNicholl. At the time of writing this article, the book is available on Drive Thru RPG in PDF, softcover, and hardcover versions. The publisher was kind enough to send a copy of the book for the purpose of this review.
Quick Overview
Myrrorside is a horror game in a modern setting where magic and scary things come from an alternate reality hidden behind the real world. Its mechanics are easy to understand and have a moderate level of complexity. There’s a nice balance between narrative flexibility and mechanical guidelines. The game works best when it’s used to tell stories in episodic fashion, similar to horror TV shows or mini-series.
Book
At right around 100 pages, the book is easy to read and use as a resource during gameplay. Myrrorside is a focused world simulator, providing a vibrant setting for players to use as they wish. The first 14 pages are focused on that setting and there is not a specific story or named characters to follow.
It’s worth noting that there is only half a page dedicated to safety rules at the game table. There is an abundance of information on this topic in the gaming zeitgeist, so what’s presented here is clearly a quick summary. Some may find this refreshing as it does not repeat information needlessly. Others may find it concerning and not considerate of players who may not have a wealth of experience at the table.
The remainder of the book provides gameplay instruction, mixing in small pieces of setting lore occasionally for flavor. Overall, the book’s layout is average. It’s easy to read and is well-organized. However there is a lot of empty space that could be used for examples, supplemental information, flavor text, or art.
The interior art is all in shadowy shades of teal, presenting a moody atmosphere that carries a persistent sense of dread. Like the green tones in The Matrix, this teal shading informs readers that something is different in this world and that the world is consistently dangerous.
Setting
The scary, horror-filled world of Myrrorside is presented as the underlying foundation of reality. The real modern world is built upon this terrible structure, like an operating system. The surface levels of the Myrrorside are just like reality, only slightly different. In some places there is an overlap between worlds and it’s possible for people and other beings to slip between them. Going further and deeper into the Myrrorside reveals the sprawling nightmarish world where human understanding breaks down and everything is trying to kill everything else.
Modern technology breaks down in the Myrrorside. Old-fashioned analog tech will still function, but digitally-powered devices like smartphones either stop working entirely or start glitching in strange ways. Likewise,
