Don't Look Back 2nd Edition Review

Everyone was dead. She was sure of it. The huge monster of a man wielding a machete had hacked Ranger Sandy to pieces right in front of her eyes, and she had been running for what felt like hours ever since. Even if they had survived, they wouldn't have left her. Would they? She had heard the car start, and she did wonder why the others had sent her a different way to the car. Maybe they would come back for her once they had found a safe place to hide? Hopefully, before that killer found her.

Welcome to Don't Look Back 2nd Edition! We covered the original Don't Look Back box set a few years ago, and recently we covered the awesome Hametsu, also by Black Site Studios.

What Is Don't Look Back 2nd Edition?

Don't Look Back is a horror miniatures tabletop game that can be played cooperatively against an AI-controlled killer, or with the latest edition, a player can take control of the killer and try to slay their friends. The 1st edition of the game released in 2021, which you can read our review of here, and the 2nd edition update is essentially the same, but with a lot more content in the rulebook. 

What Is The Difference Between The Don't Look Back 1st and 2nd Edition Rulebooks?

The core rules for Don't Look Back are the same as they were in the 1st edition, with a focus on the layout and presentation of the rules to make them as clear as possible. What the 2nd Edition Don't Look Back core rulebook now contains is a lot more options and background, which includes:

• 2 new characters (on top of the 6 original 1st edition)
• Rules for randomly generating your own plots (in addition to the five classic core plots)
• Optional rules for vehicles and companions
• Trilogies - Originally a separate book, the new rulebook includes these rules for creating a series of 3 linked games
• Final Call - The 2nd edition core rulebook includes rules for creating your own character, playing as the killer, and also running the game as a games master
• Pack Hunt - It also includes the rules for including multiple killers, and hordes of enemies in your games
• Large background section - The book includes a lot of background, maps, and images on North Wood to help you flesh out your games
• Two complete trilogies - It also includes 2 complete sets of 3 linked adventures, Visions and Corporate Casualties

How Do You Play Don't Look Back 2nd Edition?

The core rules for Don't Look Back are very simple, which is essential for a narrative and theme-driven game as it allows you to focus on what's going on, rather than flipping back and forth through a rulebook, ruining the immersion.

With each turn in Don't Look Back, fright tokens are generated to represent noises, shadows, and eerie effects. The killer can randomly appear from fight tokens, or they might just generate terror for nearby characters. When characters gain terror points, they increase the movement and combat skill of the killer targeting that character, and also reduce a character's rolls, making it more difficult to achieve tasks. If a character ever has double the amount of terror points of their fright value, they are removed from the game, succumbing to panic.

During the game, players need to complete the scenario objective while avoiding the killer and controlling the terror points on their character. Players do this each turn by working together to search areas and removing fright tokens by investigating and shining light tokens on them. They can also lure the killer to an area to allow other characters the freedom to search with the 7 Minutes in Heaven action with another consenting character, in a true horror trope.

What Else Do You Need To Play Don't Look Back 2nd Edition?

As with all miniatures games, you will need a few items on top of the Don't Look Back core rulebook to play:

• Three types of dice (D20s, D10s and D6s)
• A measuring tool
• A 3x3 playing area with an assortment of terrain
• A miniature to represent The Killer
• A hero/character miniature for each player

Don't Look Back is a miniatures agnostic system, which means you can use any miniatures from any system you want to represent the killer and characters, but Black Site Studios have a whole range of killers (and their rules) and character miniatures, along with scenery that's perfect for the North Wood setting.

What Are Our Final Thoughts On Don't Look Back 2nd Edition?

We loved Don't Look Back 1st edition, it's simple rules let you explore the theme very well without distracting, allowing full immersion. The mechanics complimented the theme perfectly, and nothing has changed in this edition, other than giving you a huge amount of content in a single book. Everything that made Don't Look Back great is still there, only now there's more of it. The added scenario generator, character generator, and ability to play as the killer, or run it with a GM make this an incredibly varied system with a huge amount of replayability, built of a simple set of core mechanics that get it done.

Should I Buy Don't Look Back 2nd Edition?

Even if you own the first edition of Don't Look Back, this updated rulebook has a huge amount of content, all between the same covers to stop you from carrying multiple books around. It's all presented better, with a great opening chapter on the setting and the North Wood area. If you're not a horror fan though, then you won't find much else in Don't Look Back as it's entirely built around the theme.

The copy of the Don't Look Back 2nd Edition Core Rulebook used to produce this review was provided by Black Site Studios.