TTRPGs

Space 1889: After brings steampunk adventure into 5e territory

By Crosspad Gaming July 13, 2026
Space 1889: After brings steampunk adventure into 5e territory
Space 1889: After art used with Wargamer coverage of the 5e-compatible steampunk project. Image: Strange Owl Games via Wargamer

Space 1889: After is putting a classic Victorian science-fantasy setting in front of modern 5e tables. Wargamer reports that the project updates the 1989 alternate-history game with D&D-compatible play, steampunk exploration, Martians, Automatons, Ogres, and a setting shaped by adventure fiction.

The official Strange Owl Games trailer backs up the tone. This is a campaign pitch about changing the furniture of fantasy: less tavern-and-orc routine, more strange science, expedition energy, and pulp-era wonder.

Space 1889 After official trailer image
The official Strange Owl Games trailer frames Space 1889: After as a steampunk science-fantasy campaign world — Credit: Strange Owl Games
Source

What to do with this news

That can be healthy for a table. A familiar rules chassis can help players try a new genre without asking everyone to learn a new system at once. It can also expose whether the group actually wants 5e mechanics or only wants a different world.

For families and church groups, the wise check is tone. Steampunk adventure can be playful and imaginative, but alternate history and colonial-era aesthetics need careful handling at the table. Ask what kind of heroes the game rewards, how it portrays other peoples and worlds, and whether your group can play with wonder without turning exploration into entitlement.

Sources: Wargamer, Strange Owl Games.

Crosspad Gaming
The editorial team at Crosspad Gaming — tabletop and digital game coverage with purpose.