Like hundreds of thousands of other players, I’ve been playing a lot of Helldivers 2 lately. I’ve been a fan of Arrowhead’s games since Magicka and when I put this many hours into a videogame I typically end up thinking about how I’d adapt it for the table, if it would even work, and if there’s something out there that could capture those Verhoevenesque feelings.

I received my copy of Deathmatch Island by Tim Denee recently and was reminded that the Paragon System would work great for a group traveling from place to place encountering danger at every turn (such as heroes of ancient legend, mysterious reality show contestants, or planet-hopping clone warriors), and it would remain mechanically rigorous while playing fast.

Two weeks later you have this. I hope it works as both a standalone sci-fi-military game and loving homage to the bloody, angry inspirations that came before it.