Modern (horror)
Deep7
1999
Complexity: 2
When I first saw the cover art for Shriek I had really high hopes for it. At this point I’m assuming you’ve glanced back at the cover and have now returned expecting some sort of explanation that makes me not seem like a crazy person. Well, I can’t make myself not seem like a crazy person, but I can explain that making a game based on cheap horror films actually look like a cheap horror film is a great idea. But I won’t get too much into that right now.
Anyway, back to reviewing. Shriek is another ones of those one-page RPGs that I’ve taken to reviewing as of late—also I realized I haven't reviewed anything from the ‘90s. So this is going to be another short review.. Unless I go off on some weird tangent, which is always a possibility.
Character Creation: 3/5
Shriek is another game that makes sure to point out that characters are “disposable,” and as such character creation is extremely simple. Roll a d3 for each of the four attributes, roll a d6 for skill points and assign, roll up a few secondary stats and other miscilennia, and you’re done. So if/when your character dies, it’s not a big deal, just roll up another one. As a test I rolled up a character—without rushing—and was able to do so in 1 minute and 34 seconds—including retrieving the die that rolled under my desk. So you can keep rolling them out as fast as the GM can throw them in the meat grinder.
Mechanics: 2/5
The basic mechanics are also pretty simple, add an attribute and skill together, roll a d6, if you roll equal to or under the target: success. There’s also a sanity system, where 1d6 is rolled against the character’s ‘Guts’ with a loss of ‘Wits’ on a failure, and loss of sanity upon losing all Wits.
I do however have a slight issue with the skills, as a rules-lite game there’s a fairly limited number of skills, but some of those skills are weirdly specific and kinda useless—things like Fashion Sense, Shopping, and Mixology. And while these skills could be applied abstractly to other things—make a Shopping check to search the shed for useful items—such connections may be far from obvious.
Writing and Presentation: 2/5
Overall the writing is good, but sometimes a little weird. It feels like they’re trying to come across as informal, but are a bit inconsistent with just how far they take it. The rules section literally begins with “Uh, like, so here’s the deal,” that in and of itself isn’t bad, but if they’re going to use language like that sometimes, I’d really like to see it throughout. Layout is unremarkable, and there’s a few editing errors that irk me, but there’s always editing errors so I’m just going to move on. The big thing for me is that while this is a one-page game, and the rules are all included on the one-page character sheet, they also have another page explaining them more thoroughly, and a third with GM advice. As far as I’m concerned this is the right way to do a ‘functional’ one-page RPG—as opposed to a ‘challenge’ one-page RPGs where everything must be kept in one page, and primarily exist for designers to show off.
As previously stated, I love the cover art on this book; unfortunately, that style doesn’t follow throughout. The rest of the art is just a mismatched assortment of drawings, bad Photoshop, and clip art, some color, some black and white, nothing really impressive.
Content: 1/3 [−]
As a rules-lite game there isn’t much content to speak of. However, the content that there is to speak of is eight scenarios, which is always something I like to see included with a game.
Final Remarks
As obvious as this may sound, what Shriek lacks in complexity it makes up for in simplicity. It’s not going to provide a deep nuanced role-playing experience, but it’s not supposed to. What it does provide is everything you need for an evening of simple stupid gaming with minimal prep work.
Base Points: 6
Character Creation: 3/5, Mechanics: 2/5, Presentation: 2/5
Adjustments: −1
Setting: N/A, Writing: +0, Content: −1
Overall Score 40% (6/15 Points)
Not terrifying, but not terrible.
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