In 2349, the human-colonized planet Rhand is ruled by an autocratic government that seeks to crush a rebellion known as Alpha Team.

In addition to nuclear bombardment from space, the Spectrals have released a virus that effectively turns the infected into bloodthirsty zombies.

As game critic Rick Swan noted, the player characters "are hunted by the other two factions; the government wants them executed as dangerous traitors, while the Spectrals see them as uncooperative troublemakers, best suited for zombie food.

[3] The rules were presented first as a boxed set in 1987 with illustrations and graphic design by Jon Conrad, Toni Dennis, Steve Huston, Scott Miller, and Maggie Parrand.

As Martin noted, "The potential for 'high adventure' which the company claims is certainly there, but it may be hard for referees to achieve for their players with the materials presented in the game set alone."

Martin noted, "The result is that most Ringers which players will create will be played infrequently at best — a frustrating situation since these are the most detailed, motivated and best equipped characters one can generate."

[...] Overall, Living Steel has a fascinating historical setting, wonderful equipment, detailed character creation, problematic game systems, and little support for the referee.

However, Thornton pointed out an apparent dichotomy: although "a large portion of the goodies in the box are to do with combat", the rulebook states "Living Steel should not be a game of military conquest".

"[5] Stephan Wieck reviewed Living Steel in White Wolf #9 (1988), rating it an 8 out of 10 and stated that "Living Steel is a must for the realism player or any combat oriented role-players, others should play the game a couple of times before deciding to purchase it.

But Swan thought the rules undercut this promise, commenting, "For the most part, they're ambiguous and difficult.