As always, before going into the review of Alien RPG: Destroyer of Worlds, I would like to thank Free League Publishing for sending us all the digital material to be able to deal with the examination of this product.

If at the end of the reading you wish to purchase this module, you can find it on the official store of the editor for 29.60 euros. As for the other products of this and other editorial lines of the Swedish editor, the module for Foundry VTT is available for 15.68 euros.

If you still don’t know the game and you don’t know what it’s about, I refer you to our review of the Core Rulebook. Please note that to tackle this module, the Alien RPG Core Rulebook or Starter Set is required.

An Award-Winning Module

If a good beginning bodes well, then we can expect a warm sunny day with Alien RPG: Destroyer of Worlds, as we will explain in this review. This module won three awards in 2021 at the ENNIE Awards, the role-playing game Oscars. To be precise, won the silver award for best adventure and best maps and the gold award for the best value for money. Free League is not new to this type of award and, once again, demonstrates the ability to transform a well-loved franchise into an extremely valuable and versatile product.

Alien RPG provides two game modes: the Campaign Mode and the Cinematic Mode. If the first is designed for medium-long campaigns, the second is designed for very high-voltage one-shots and heart-pounding scenes. A very interesting editorial strategy that transforms each adventure published by the Swedish editor into a cinematic module is, however, a stage in a larger campaign.

Plenty of Materials for This Expansion

As we will see in this review, Alien RPG: Destroyer of Worlds is sold in a practical box set which contains:

• The main scenario book.
• A huge double-sided map (format 864x558mm) of the Ariaricus colony on one side and the Fort Nebraska space elevator ground base on the other.
• Seven pre-generated characters to play.
• Custom cards for weapons, vehicles, and personal agendas.
• Player maps and handouts.

But let’s check in detail what we are talking about and why so many awards are more than justified.

Let’s start by saying that the product comes, in fact, in a box, like most of the products offered by the Swedish editor now. The choice, while on the one hand, it may seem more expensive, on the other it guarantees that you can collect many materials in a practical and durable package. Undoubtedly, in addition to the value of the contents, it makes a very good impression in your library.

The adventure book consists of 88 pages; not only describes the adventure (designed for 3/5 players and manageable from three to four sessions) but also expands the setting by detailing the clash in a frontier area. The care spent in the description of the environments of the Colony (thanks also to the map included), is essential for immersing the players in the context.

To conclude the paperback volume we find four appendices, all essential for the management of the adventure. There are new vehicles, the rules for managing the clashes on the vehicles, some information on the Xenomorphs fundamental to the plot and the eight talents of the pre-generated characters.

A Cinematic Adventure to Take Your Breath Away

We said that Alien RPG: Destroyer of Worlds is a cinematic adventure; but let’s see together, trying not to make any spoilers, what the plot is about. In this adrenaline-pumping, high-mortality adventure, players take on the role of a squad of Colonial Marines on a manhunt.

Given the premises, the pace is decidedly sustained; after all, you have an entire colony and a military base to explore (or try to find safety in).

It becomes difficult to talk about an adventure without making any spoilers, even and above all when it comes to a plot with a strong impact and investigative traits. However, to give you an idea of what awaits the players, I can tell you that the mission of Team Charlie, the team of the protagonists, is to hunt down four deserters. The escaping unit may have sensitive information.

The deserters have escaped from Fort Nebraska, a base located at a colony on the ice moon of Ariarcus and are located in the colony. They are armed and dangerous, and the characters don’t have much time to complete their mission. The imminent arrival of an invasion fleet of the UPP forces us to speed up the time before complications multiply. In the adrenaline-pumping chase, the mission will eventually reveal something much bigger than themselves, something alien and dangerous.

The adventure, written by science fiction author Andrew E.C. Gaska and also the author of Chariot of the Gods, the cinematic scenario present in the Alien RPG Starter Set, has a broad scope and allows players to delve into the atmosphere of the franchise dynamically and excitingly.

The mission is decidedly complicated to complete, the risks are very high and the possibility that not all the characters can reach the end is high.

Alien RPG: Destroyer of Worlds Aesthetics Review

As previously seen for other products of the Swedish editor also Alien RPG: Destroyer of Worlds, presents itself with a high visual impact. The aesthetics follow that of the basic manual; the full print on black backgrounds gives those atmospheres that are perfect for immersing storytellers and players in the mood of the game.

Also in this volume, we find the already-seen green boxes designed to contain the text; all the maps, on the other hand, recall those reproduced by the spaceship terminals of the film series. The layout remains in two columns, constantly boxed as if we were reading directly from a terminal. 

This volume is not particularly dense in illustrations, even if the works of Martin Grip and Gustaf Ekelund leave their mark. Instead, the entire module is dotted with maps, which are essential for managing the adventure. The same maps are also enlarged in the usual and magnificent handouts included in the box. The 44 cards are a particularly apt addition and help keep the objectives of the mission and of the characters in check as well as providing an important aesthetic addition.

Alien RPG: Destroyer of Worlds Review Conclusions

To conclude this review, I can say that the Alien RPG: Destroyer of Worlds is a decidedly interesting adventure to tackle if you want to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of this game.

To support the master and the players, the large amount of accessories offered in the box comes in handy. The plot and its management, thanks also to the story cards, never develop trivially; although it follows a bit of what was seen in the cinematographic films, the gaming experience is not diminished by it.

If you enjoyed this Alien RPG: Destroyer of Worlds review, stay tuned for more RPGs from Free League Publishing!