The one word to describe the 80s was “BIG”. It was true for fashion, for music and especially for action! Action movies were over the top and so were comics and cartoons. One shining example of that was G.I Joe: A Real American Hero. The comic iteration was a little more grounded in reality, but the cartoon was the very definition of “over the top” in the best ways possible. You may think that those days are gone, but you’d be wrong. Make way for Freedom Squadron! 

Freedom Squadron is the RPG version of the boardgame VENOM Assault by Spyglass Games. The VENOM Assault is a cooperative adventure that pits the player(s), who are agents of Freedom Squadron, against the minions of VENOM, an international terrorist organization with world domination on its mind. The RPG version, which uses the Savage Worlds gaming system, takes it up a notch. You get to play in the world, at first as a Recruit who has to earn their stripes (i.e., survive a deadly mission) to become a Commando, complete with a codename and awesome skill set! In the right hands, the game plays like the most awesome action movie you’ve ever seen, while the epic soundtrack is playing in your head. And yes, it is possible to walk away as something explodes behind you. The game has been in development for over a year and people who have had the opportunity to play test this game have not walked away disappointed!

After play testing and developing a deep yet accessible world, Freedom Squadron now has an active Kickstarter that you can back and get in on the action, too. The campaign runs through April 10. The game was fully funded within 6 hours and has already reached its first stretch goal, with the second one in sight. For $15 you can get the Commando’s Manual PDF, along with all the digital stretch goals. The printed version is available at the $35 level, along with the PDF and all digital stretch goals, too. I strongly suggest that you go and check out the Kickstarter for yourself, and make sure to seek out any livestream of the gameplay – you will be blown away!