I say short mostly because I'm not writing a full essay about each one. Each review will be split into two parts. Every review will have a reading portion, which is my opinions and observations based on a reading of provided resources. More rarely, a review may have a play portion which are my thoughts and opnions after playing one or more sessions of the RPG.
Reading Review:
Escape from Dino Island is a short, thematic, and narratively driven experience, which will be familiar for regular fans of other "Powered by the Apocalypse" games. When reading through this, I would reccomend having a look at the playsheets first, as the main game will make reference to the content upon them multiple times. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't know what map the game was referring to at first...but that's just my skill issue. Like most thematic sessions, this are adept for people who are already familiar with the concepts within, which for this I would personally reccomend the original "Jurassic Park" movie, but I suppose anything in the "Jurassic...series?" will do. Playing the original "Half-Life" video game or the "Black Mesa" remake version will also help fill in the general vibes (sans Dinosaurs unfortunately). Both Half-Life and Jurassic park are listed as inspirations
The playsheets have a delightful amount of flavor for every "Hero" you can play, which will help you settle into the character if you aren't familiar with the archetypical references each most likely garnered from. I always assume it is due to legal and/or copyright reasons why these aren't referred to directly in the text but they are listed in an "inspirations" section at the end. I do think there could be more variety to playsheets than those have been offered, espcially considering the different possible scenarios presented for the island and its complex. A geneticist, an entertainer, or a tourist could feasibly work, althoough I imagine they might not have the same agency or unique traits within the current options. I also imagine those wanting a quicker experience may be dissapointed with the lack of pre built character sheets or a filled in map, but I would never take off marks for the actual draw of the game- making your own adventure.
The game itself is excellent material not just for any game master desiring material for an action themed area or a dinosaur dedicated session. Intresting locations, NPC motivations, and of course Dinosaurs. It handily packs everything you might need to know about each reasanoble classification of dinosaur, such as their scale, diet, number, and an image of their general appearance. Anything else added could be for any dino, and honestly, not much more is necessary given the general mystery of prehistoric animals. However, some general summaries of strengths and weaknesses, even if only made up or a movie weakness, rather than a table of gimmicks. Funny Nitpick: The term "Fertile" is used in place of "Fecund", and is the scariest gimmick if dinosaurs get off the island. Invasive rabbits are scary enough as it is.
Overall, I am hoping to play this one sometime in the future and will probably steal from this for notes and worldbuilding in my other games. Dungeons & Dinosaurs anyone? My heart is also extremely drawn to the potential of the "Xenosaur", but I may wait to suprise my players after a few sessions.
Status: Started reading 4/14/2026 Finished Reading 4/14/2026 Reading Review complete 4/14/2026. Not planning to play.
Reading Review:
Boy, this was a short one. This is the first of many "solo journaling" RPGs. I totally understand the appeal, the idea of creating a role in a city with some very general guidance slowly lets you fill in the smaller details about this place and carve out a life for your character. However...the city itself is only ever described on a single page, and almost no details are provided about the details of the city itself. When is San Sibilia? Where is San Sibilia? Why is San Sibilia? The appeal is imagining it yourself, but this requests a lot of engagment for the uninitated, and comes off as too generic for my tastes. I might be getting myself, so I may come around and add more once I read more of these journaling rpgs. I was expecting there to be much more worldbuilding, but I will withhold judgement until I become more familiar with this type of RPG.