If you’ve ever wanted to play a Flash Gordon-esque roleplaying game then rejoice, because Slipstream is here. A pocket dimension accessible only through a black hole, it’s home to dozens of planetoids and dozens of (playable) alien races. Yes, people, places and things from around the galaxy and across time get sucked in, and the shattered remnants end up in Slipstream. There is no known way out, so make yourself at home. And to make it more fun, the whole pocket dimension is ruled by the evil Queen Anathraxa, who captures men and does… well, no one’s sure what she does with men she captures, but you can use your imagination.

This is not hard science fiction. This is barely even pulp science. This is science fantasy. All of the “planets” (the largest being the size of Earth’s moon, the smallest about 1/6th of that) have exactly 1G of gravity. Earth normal. There’s 0G in space, but there’s atmosphere. It’s thin, and you probably want a helmet or some kind of breathing apparatus, but you won’t suffocate or explode in the vacuum. There are no “balkanized” planets or mixed-race planets — it’s a jungle world, an ice planet, a desert moon, a planet of bird men, or lion men, or robots.  You fly spaceships by looking out the front window at where you’re going, and navigate with a compass (what’s generating a magnetic force to provide compass directions isn’t explained, just roll with it). It’s is deliciously silly in the best cliffhanger serial sort of way.

The game is powered by Savage Worlds, and some copy of the full rules is needed for play. This isn’t a problem for me, but I did note that nowhere on the cover does it say that you should pick up the Savage Worlds Explorer Edition or another game with the full rules. There are new Edges and Hindrances, and a neat system for generating new alien races which can be usefully ported to other Savage Settings.  There are rules and writeups for rocketships, though, and the worlds within the pocket dimension, and all of the alien races. But the core rules ain’t in here, just so you’re warned.

The art, as usual with recent Savage Worlds products, is good, plentiful, and in full color. I like the art deco-style trade dress of the product, harkening back to the 1930s. The character sheet in the back of the book is gorgeous. I want to print one out in full color, frame it, and hang it on my wall. Seriously, it’s the prettiest character sheet I’ve ever seen. The map is pretty keen, too.

About half the book is a campaign, broken into episodes like a cliffhanger serial. Everything you need to run this except the core rules and some pregen characters is right here. Prep time: minimal. If you want to be heroic and goofy and blast evil villains and all that sort of chewy pulpy retro-future fun, this is the stuff.

Buy Slipstream (Savage Worlds, S2P10008) at Amazon.com

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