Public Access is Not What You Think It Is (A Review)
Looping forests. Creepy basements. Crawl spaces whose darkness can't be pierced by your flashlight. Wouldn't it be great to have a game that preys on your fear of the unknown? That evokes that which you most fear? This is the promise of Public Access and the results are... mixed... I don't think Public Access is a bad game necessarily, but it's only heightened my desire for a juicy collaborative horror game rather than truly scratch that itch. I've read the game cover-to-cover, read most of the adventures, run the adventure the game talks the most about (The House of Escondido Street) and to quote a player during our debrief, "I don't think any of us liked this game, but this session was great." Public Access has some great ideas, and evokes some excellent moments. However where Brindlewood Bay is the counselor who teaches you to swim, Public Access is the counselor who throws you in the deep end and trusts that you'll figure it out. It was e...
