'Bout a week ago, this was my first verdict for SL:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Shadowrun/comments/8rwrjh/street_lethal_is_live/e0xscvz/I since have started to grow fond of the new fluff, esp. Corpsec. As a GM, you can definetly take someting from Street Lethal.
But the original sentiment stands: It just piles up more and more
stuff that fewer and fewer players will ever use. It seems to me that at no point in the design process, anyone made an assesment on what the game as a whole would actually benefit from. 50 pages of new guns with stats marginally differing from the existing ones (besides Core, we already have Run&Gun, Hard Targets, Gun Haven 3 and some german sourcebooks) surely won´t do the trick.
This game needs an update, not
stuff. Combat is by far not the worst part of SR5*, but it would have made for a good start: Identifiy some of the problems (example: No good use for medium-sized weapons, as large guns are much more powerfull and only pistols can be conceiled reliably), implement a solution (example: Higher penalties for large guns when engaged in Close Combat or in a cramped spot, mandatory
ready weapon for sniper rifles after running...), move on to the next issue. And then you pile up the
stuff. Frankly, I like
stuff. But it has to be piled up on a solid foundation.
Also, where´s the
street in Street Lethal? With that title, you´d expect gangs, close combat (including a well deserved MA buff), improvised weapons, Drugs... I do like the
actual scope of the book, but the title seems misleading.
*That honor goes to the Matrix content, with Alchemy following right behind.