saw that you were leaving detailed reviews in this format on other games, and i really respected that, so i decided to return the favor!
Why you should check this out: an incredibly genre-savvy super story with an interesting mechanical base for narrative & lots of random tables to make GMing easy
Style: it’s an ashcan! i don’t think this is where it’s aiming to compete, and that’s ok 😅
Structure: very well laid out. i love the glossary right at the beginning, it’s very helpful. the use of diagrams, even simple ones, makes it really easy to understand the structure of mechanics at a glance.
Content: the progressively built villains based on player discoveries and additional random elements is fantastic. Powers are a great take on FIST’s traits, and Origins and Drives are a fantastic take on FIST’s Roles. i love the “you can/sometimes/[mechanical bonus]” structure of Powers—the “sometimes” communicates so much narrative so concisely. having story beats determine advancement in a way that changes specific attributes related to the story beat is so compelling—and i love that they can subtract attributes as well. in general, all the trait/role equivalents are very flavorful, and GM tables are perhaps even more flavorful. this would be an incredibly easy game to drop into and immediately start playing a genre appropriate story with very little prep!
What might I change?
Structure:
1. you mention “ Instead, they slowly emerge as the Supers make a Discovery”, but haven’t yet mentioned Discoveries outside of the glossary—consider a brief definition of the term when you first use it, and some indication you’ll find out more below
2. you do such a great job defining most terms in the glossary, or using capitals to indicate it’s a Concept, but “beats” or “story beats” aren’t defined anywhere, just referenced informally when talking advancement & listed with Origins/Drives—i was a bit confused when i got to Origins and assumed i’d missed the definition for beats, so i’d maybe give them their own subhead?
3. consider introducing “Help” after Grit & Stress, so that those terms mean something (mechanically) to you when you’re reading the helping mechanic. i had to go back and reread at the end to process how helping works (and why Stress matters)