A fantastic idea for a setting, that I am incredibly glad was so succesful (during its Kickstarter campaign) that it allowed the author and publisher to expand substantially on the material - from a one-off semi-sandbox adventure to a viable long-term campaign setting.
The Purple Planet is strange. It is completely alien. And that makes it a wonderful place to explore, for everything is exotic. It is the epitome of the planetary romance genre - a masterful blend of fantasty and sci-fi, on a world unlike anything else. Warring factions of very differet ideological/technological beliefs (in how their specific Ancients preserved knowledge), absolutely unique toponymy, and the hook for escaping/using items found strewn amongst the rubble of the crumbling planet. Everything works well, and fits together seamlessly.
I was a fan of the Wormwood campaign setting for RIFTS back in the day, but it was extremely convoluted (and an awful system) - this is the logical successor, even for adapting to other gaming systems. Everything is fun to explore, and piecing together fragments of history to work out what has happened makes for a riveting story arc. Common assumptions cannot be made for anything, everything requires experimentation - and the expanded sourcebooks have allowed for so many factors to be covered in great detail.
It is extremely hard to review without giving examples, but I do not wish to post any spoilers here.
I cannot recommend this boxset highly enough - in my opinion, it is the pinnacle of Goodman Games art, and a true pleasure to run/plan more adventures in. Long may the modular mini-expansions for it continue.
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