A few hours with New Arc Line reminded me that setting doesn’t mean much in an RPG if the characters aren’t interesting
When the trailer for steampunk RPG New Arc Line released in April, I was immediately taken in by its premise. To my shame, I’ve never gotten around to the social tensions and magic-meets-technology world of Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. A newer, shinier journey to a similar setting sounded like just the ticket. After spending a few hours with the preview build, I do have at least one bit of very positive news to share: I’m definitely going to play Arcanum now, because despite some fetching environments and potentially interesting social systems, New Arc Line just isn’t doing it for me.