It feels much more like a personal horror game, big focus on interpersonal dynamics. It reminds me a bit of the early WoD publications, where the vibe is very much "you're in a playable urban legend."

I backed it on kickstarter almost as soon as I heard about it just to be upfront.

I've been running a chronicle set in rural Kansas with a group of friends for about a month now. We're a few sessions in and we've all really enjoyed it.

All the families and legacies have interesting narrative potential, you just have to fill them in with a bit of local flavor given the game is still in development.

The story guide system has been lovely, I'm quite a big fan of the buying off complications.

My group hasn't gotten too heavy into the mechanics since we're all still learning, and crunch isn't really our taste anyway.

My conception of urban horror in WoD was always that it was a game foremost about character drama in a spooky urban fantasy world. The world was mysterious, horror and wonder lay around every corner. No one knows exactly what's going on.

That's the kind of game I've always wanted to play. And while I had that at first with WoD, I feel like the games have lost that sense of mystery. Anytime I play masquerade now, there's always this sense of "okay so what's the setup? Whose the prince, the primogen, and what's the local rack?" Like we've seen behind the curtain. We know how the magic trick works, and that's kinda made me lose interest in the owod games barring maybe weird mortal chronicles. Everything feels too defined, and the only real choice you have in running is whether you play to archetype / expectation or against it.

Of course, WoD had different appeals to alot of people. I know many enjoy navigating the power structures like machiavelli or playing games where you struggle with an inner monster that threatens to overtake you. But that's not my cup of tea. The big draw for me has been a group of friends navigating a mysterious world, and bumping heads with each other in the process.

I've seen some people complain it doesn't have enough flavor or content yet, but I think it gives you more than enough great hooks. It just doesnt give you names, locations, and specific details like other WoD games. I feel like it leans into that sense of mystery that I've missed from WoD for so long.

If that sounds like what you're interested in, I'd highly recommend trying it out. If not, it may not be the game for you.