[Review] Homeward, a Zinequest solo RPG
It’s been a while!
And it won’t be long before I disappear once again… but not before I drop a quick review. Zinequest and being generally an insane disaster-human are taking up a huge chunk of my attention at the moment, but I did manage to cross one thing off of my bucket list this week- I tried a solo RPG!
I managed to snag a demo copy of Homeward, a post-apocalyptic RPG created by Robert Jamison that bills itself as a ‘solo survival sim’. I was a little skeptical, because in the past I’ve tried to get into solo gaming and hit a wall hard before I even started. Solo gaming seemed like an odd concept to me, and not one I was entirely sure I was onboard with.
“No scheduling, no social contract and no witnesses? What’s to stop me from not gaming and just telling people I did?”
But this game’s creator claims its’ entire demo can be played through in only an hour, and is still actively asking for playtester feedback. So I decided, just this once, I could find the motivation to force myself to play a solo RPG. I knew I’d thank myself later, but would I actually like the experience?
Yes. Yes I would.
Homeward is a game I’d gladly play again. And now that I’ve played a modern ‘survival sim’, I’m curious to see what other solo subgenres have to offer!
Why you should try Homeward:
The mechanical rails are just rigid enough that I never floundered, and, even without external pressure from other players, I was always consulting the event oracles and driving the narrative forwards. As somebody with an abysmal attention span, I also love that the narrative has a defined endpoint that’s ever approaching. I also loved the mechanics for the game’s settlement phase; a simple, tactile card pull. The numbers are suitably brutal for the game’s flavour, which made the rare positive story beat all the sweeter.
I am, however, holding out hope for the game to develop further in at least some key ways. For one thing, I’m not sold on the combat system. It flows better in play than on paper, but that doesn’t change the fact that, as the only gameplay mechanic that isn’t dirt simple, it doesn’t seem to justify its own existence- not with interesting storytelling or meaningful decisions, at least. I would love to have seen a combat system that takes more lessons from the game’s settlement and downtime mechanics.
Another thing I would love to see is event oracles that push me just a tiny bit harder to add my own imaginative touches to the story. There were certainly some evocative descriptions and Choose Your Own Adventure style decision points, but I think something as simple as a few open-ended descriptions, or questions directed towards the player, would go a long way to making the world of Homeward come to life.
Homeward is currently funding on Kickstarter as part of Zinequest (or if you prefer the non-trademarked, non-Kickstarter-exclusive term, Zine Month).
I, for one, will be keeping a close eye on this release.
Until next time,
Élodie