Vitaloid: Base ZERO

The last space outlaws are in captivity. The galaxy is at peace.

Obviously that didn’t last. A secret council of evil masterminds organized a prison break and executed it flawlessly. During the escape, the outlaws discovered a research facility containing a newly discovered species called Vitaloids. Realizing their potential for destruction, the outlaws stole the creatures and made their getaway. Far from the reaches of their captors, the outlaws settled on a distant planet and set nefarious plans in motion to build an impenetrable fortress where they research evil science that will aid in their future conquest of the galaxy.

With the outlaws outside of their jurisdiction, the space authorities seek the aid of the Bounty Hunter who has a score to settle with the outlaws.

Vitaloid: Base Zero is a journaling game about the hubris of evil space scientists and their quick destruction at the hands of a competent and vengeful Bounty Hunter. This game takes major inspiration from the Metroid video game franchise (especially Metroid: Zero Mission and Super Metroid), as well as The Quiet Year by Avery Alder. You need a standard deck of playing cards and something to write on to play this game.

Cover art by Bradley Smith.

Content warnings: This game is almost entirely up to your interpretation of the cards, so I can’t account for every way that the cards may be interpreted, but the cards hint at general violence, violence against animals, experiments on animals and people, environmental exploitation, body horror, and eugenics.