Disclaimer
I’m a friend of the author, but my only contribution was to suggest a B&W version of the character sheet. Regardless, I will try to make this review as objective as possible.
What it is
Operation: Flash Strike is a short adventure designed to introduce new players to the Solar Echoes RPG. The goal is to showcase the different mechanics, such as skill checks, social tests, combat, chases, and hacking.
Physical
The product is a 48 page PDF that shows very good production values for a small press indie product. I really like the cover, which shows the seven alien races in the game. I would describe the style of artwork throughout the product as “semi-anime,” which is not my favorite style, but nonetheless all of the art is quality work. The page layout, tables, and fonts are clean and crisp. The product includes character “flats” you can use in place of minis, which I thought was a nice touch. And I was pleasantly surprised to see the bookmarks, something I don’t always see in PDFs.
Content
There’s a lot of content in these 48 pages, and at times the presentation seems dense, but never confusing. The adventure itself is simple: arrest the villains inside the warehouse and interrogate them (with a few optional agenda items.) This is the sort of adventure that is perfect for evaluating the system before purchasing. Do you need the full version of SE to play? I don’t think so—it looks like all the rules you need are present.
Final Verdict
Rating a free product of this sort is tricky. It’s not a review of the game itself-- that would be a different review—and any rating of the art is subjective. So I will rate it primarily on one criteria: Does it effectively teach the game? I believe it meets that goal.
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