Dead in Space is a role playing game created by Christian Plogfors and Carl Niblaeus, part of the games that came from the RPG collective Stockholm Kartell, famous for creating MÖRK BORG.

A got my physical copy of this game at the Essen Spiel a year ago and since then, I have been meaning to write a review for it as it has been quite fun to read and to play with my group. The book itself it’s a gorgeous little black book with silver/metallic details on the cover and a huge metallic cross in the back that always pull some eyes, the art and the design of the book are really nice and the organization of the information inside the book was very clear for me.

The setting:

The game is set in a future where humanity has reached the stars and has expanded across the universe, building a wondrous high tech civilization in the process; nevertheless the game starts when everything is collapsing and the reality that the characters face is one full of struggle but also of opportunity.

I like to describe the setting as a post apocalyptic universe set in space.

The rules:

The character creation it’s quite easy and fast: my group had their characters ready in less than an hour even after taking some time to explain them about the origins/backgrounds available for their characters; it also ask the characters to create a base/HQ that can serve as a great way to kick off the adventures or to keep the group together.

The game uses a very simple D20 system for challenge/conflict resolution where most of the times the players look for the right ability, roll the die, sum the ability + the die result and then check against the standard difficult.

The game mechanics also introduces the Void, which is a condition/situation/entity that permeates the whole game: every time a character fails any roll, that character gets void points in return which is a meta game currency that allow the players to have more control about the rolls, but also putting their characters on more risk.

Baked in the game is also a system that makes the players always worry a bit about the condition of their equipment, which goes great with the setting itself.

The play:

The game itself runs quite nicely and my group got a hang on the game quite fast thanks to the streamlined rules, the character creation is fast and easy but it has a lot of little “hooks” hidden that allowed my group to create some memorable characters with very little effort.

I enjoyed a lot the void points mechanic but struggled a bit with the conditions rules as I kept forgetting to ask my players to roll for equipment condition when I should had.

Another thing that I noticed is that the potential for things to go BAD for the players is enormous, my group plays carefully and likes to prepare for any encounter and event after doing that, the combat would feel like a serious and dangerous option that forced my players to take different approaches.

Final notes:

Dead In Space was one of my favorite findings of the 2022 and I have been really enjoying the setting and the mechanics, initially I meant to use it to play Sci-fi horror tales inspired by movies like Aliens or Event Horizon, but after some sessions and how my players build their characters, I feel now that I be telling tales that might sound more if the Cowboy Bebop crew somehow get sucked into a Fallout like universe.