Neon City Overdrive vs Shadowrun
Compare Neon City Overdrive and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Neon City Overdrive | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Cyberpunk | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Fast-Paced, Low-Prep, Fiction-First, Atmospheric, Cinematic, Tag-Based | Crunchy, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a pool of action dice (d6s) based on advantages, then roll danger dice for obstacles. Danger dice cancel matching action dice. Your result is the highest remaining action die. | Roll a pool of d6s equal to attribute + skill, counting 5s and 6s as hits. Meet or exceed a threshold to succeed. Situational advantages generate Edge points rather than modifying dice pools directly; Edge is spent on tactical effects like rerolling dice, adding successes, or imposing penalties on opponents. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very Low | Very High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | Low | Medium |
| License | All Rights Reserved | No open license |
| Cost | $ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Peril Planet | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2020 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want fast, fiction-first cyberpunk action with minimal rules overhead and maximum style. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Simple action/danger dice mechanic, fast character creation, fiction-first tags drive everything, compact 72-page rulebook, strong cyberpunk atmosphere | Unique cyberpunk-fantasy setting blending megacorporate intrigue with magic and metahuman races. Dedicated subsystems for Matrix hacking, magic, rigging, and astral space. Edge system replaces many situational modifiers with a spendable tactical resource. Decades of published lore spanning in-world history from 2011 to the 2080s. |
| Considerations | Tag-based characters can feel mechanically samey, limited advancement system, danger dice can stack to make rolls feel futile, short rulebook leaves many situations to GM judgment | Matrix hacking runs as a parallel subsystem that can leave non-decker players waiting. Multiple supplemental rulebooks needed for full coverage of magic, Matrix, and rigging. Published books have documented editing and layout issues. |