Nightfall Games and Daruma Productions are closing in on the final few hours for their SLA Industries: Cannibal Sector 1 Kickstarter. This project has busted its way through all manner of stretch goals and it's working its way towards more as it comes to an end.

So what is the world of SLA Industries and this Cannibal Sector of which they speak? Well, the focus is on a world of Sci-Fi brutality with a distinctly dark edge.

In the Cannibal Sector there are cameras everywhere and it's up to the different factions to try and get as much airtime and ratings as possible. This drives the campaign system in the game as you look to be the best through over the top tricks and tactics.

Now this has been a staple of this world for a while and the Cannibal Sector book will bring things towards the darker and even MORE brutal side of things as the Cannibals get involved. Warped by toxic waste and shunned by society it's time for you to head out into the dumping grounds of this corporation and see if you can get your ratings up against these strange creatures.

Factions

As well as the Cannibals we have a few other factions for you to pick up when you get stuck into this skirmish game. We'll kick off with the Shivers.

"Shiver Units operate chiefly as SLA Industries’ main police force, but they also serve as the primary line of defence along the Sector Wall. 24 hours a day, the men and women of the Shiver Units patrol the perimeters, and more increasingly, journey into Cannibal Sector itself to drive back its ferocious inhabitants.

To work in the sector the Shivers give up the green armour for grey, and switch from the standard ball bearing round for the lethal flechette in their Gauss Rifles. They are brave, loyal, and, most importantly, expendable."

I really like the armour style that we're seeing here which has a nice old school look to it, as if it's been pulled from an 80's comic book, but with an additional twist.

Next up we have the Carrien.

"Carrien are a strange, highly aggressive indigenous species of Mort. With their canine-skulled heads and hockey-stick weapons, the Carrien are instantly recognisable, and they are commonly found in the dark passageways of Downtown.

The bulk of their numbers, however, live and thrive in the Cannibal Sectors. Carrien exist solely to feed and they perpetually stalk the ruins in search of fresh prey, beating them to death and gulping down their flesh raw in great chunks."

Once again this gang has a very cool aesthetic to them. It's neat to not really know what's under those masks and I think the skulls will certainly freak out anyone who happens to come across them.

The Scavs are up next...

"Many consider the Scavs to be the greatest new threat in the Cannibal Sector. They are a race of beings cloaked in mystery; their faces hidden behind gas masks and bodies shrouded in piecemeal armour and filthy rags. Despite their dishevelled appearance, Scavs are a force to be reckoned with, having an intellect to match their towering statures.

They work ceaselessly to gather scrap from the city ruins to then convert their recovered junk into powerful weapons and vehicles. Only their low numbers stand against them, but each individual Scav is an equal match to a SLA Operative."

If you fancy delving deeper into the Cannibal Sector and beyond then I reckon you'll have to contend with these folks. Once again a mysterious and hidden visage makes them a daunting foe to face.

SLA Operatives are also coming to try and even the score...

"Operatives are the finest trained and best equipped staff in SLA Industries. Their principal directives are to protect SLA Industries from rival company attacks, destroy hostiles subversives on Mort and throughout the World of Progress.

SLA Industries selects only the best trainees to become Ops; the majority are human, but they will readily employ alien races like the Wraithen and Shaktars, pseudo-magic wielding beings knows as Ebons, and biogenetic warrior Stormers.

Operatives fulfil a selection of different missions for the company; these will occasionally take them into the depths of Cannibal Sectors in order to exterminate high-level threats, like marauding Scavs or particularly well-organised cannibal enclaves."

Once again we're having a look at a very cool retro model which has got a modern twist to it in terms of its design. I like the full body armour with the swanky leather jacket giving her a personal edge.

Making up the rest of the factions we have both the Cannibals which we've seen in artwork...

...and DarkNight Inc which we've yet to see. DarkNight Inc are another company that are fierce competitors of SLA Industries so I can imagine we're going to be seeing some industrial espionage on a massive scale as things heat up.

Gameplay & The Book

The campaign as mentioned above is all about taking the game beyond its role-playing roots and into the realm of a skirmish game.

Basic pledges will get you the book along with faction decks for the card driven portion of the game mechanics and a number of different additional items too including t-shirts and more.

Gameplay-wise the system is driven by 2D20 making for a fast paced and visceral game. Once all of the modifiers have been worked out it comes down to Margin of Success to determine what effect your attack or action has had.

Special Manoeuvres then add to the cinematic feel of the game and when it's all being played on a 3x3 table you're going to have some tight games where the focus is on character on character action.

We have got a look at the make up of at least two of the factions when they hit the tabletop here with the Shivers Patrol and the Carrien.

If you're interested in joining in with the playtesting of this game you can join their group HERE where you can get a hold of the rules and share your thoughts too.

Stretch Goals

Of course no Kickstarter would be complete without stretch goals and they've been churning through quite a few of them. A lot of them are focused around bringing new characters to the tabletop and they've shown off a lot of cool artwork for some of them.

Once again we're seeing this amazing aesthetic playout in the artwork for this game and hopefully that transfers over to the miniatures. There is this strange mix of the old school/retro and the modern with plenty of interesting designs for these characters.

I mean look at McNultie here...

The style of the armour looks great and the weapons all feel like they have a real heft and brutality to them. That sword is frankly just a big ol' hunk of metal with one purpose - cutting your head open.

This strange alien look of some of their characters continues with this fellow too, T'Rn T't T'rL'n.

You're really not going to be wanting for variety and depth when it comes to this game. It's no surprise either as a lot of these characters and their history are from a rich role-playing background which spans many books and source books.

Has this game caught your eye?