I recently obtained my physical copy of “The Sprawl“, the Cyberpunk tabletop roleplaying game that is Powered by the Apocalypse. In short, after examining the game in preparation to try this game out in a solo manner (yes, Solo), I just have one thing to say on the subject:
Oooooooooooooooh! This is one damn good game!
Look, I have basically been spoilt by “Shadowrun” and “Cyberpunk 2020”, and it takes one Hell of a great TTRPG to make me want to try another “Cyberpunk”-style RPG. “The Sprawl” makes me have literally no desire to play either of those two, classic games ever again.
Seriously.
“The Sprawl” is clearly superior to “Cyberpunk 2020”, and it takes one Hell of a game, for me to be able to make that claim. Mechanically and narratively, “Sprawl” is just better. It is able to emulate “Cyberpunk 2020” wholesale, or to be able to play any sort of “Cyberpunk”-style game or setting. There is even a player-made homebrew set of rules, provided for free, which gives you everything to play “Shadowrun” via “The Sprawl”, even.
It is simply more nimble, more flexible, with more solid mechanics. You don’t need a veritable fuckton of books to play “The Sprawl”, either. Players and the GM make the world as they go, which in turn creates whatever setting they desire, within the “Cyberpunk” genre. Hell, you can homebrew this to be a Steampunk game, or just gritty hard Sci-Fi, if you wanted.
There are no limits to what one can do with “The Sprawl”, other than the imaginations of the people playing it. And I love that!
Anyway, like I said before, I will be trying the game out Solo, then maybe playing it with My Lovely Bride™, as she’s a big fan of this particular genre of RPGs, too. Either way, good times will be had, on the gritty, treacherous, neon and chrome streets!
