The Council

Ok, this game is 10 out of 10 despite final rollercoasters.
And. Your. Choices. Really. Matter.

Доигрывал уже чисто из принципа.
Очень неравномерная игра, с иногда интересным сюжетом, но с супер душными головоломками и скучнейшей беготней.

I'm halfway through episode 2 and a I can already say that if you enjoy detective style storydriven multiple choice games like a mix of Disco Elisium and the Telltale story games, then you will enjoy this one. Fantastic voice acting very interesting story with actual consequences to your actions. I got it on sale and it was very much worth the cheap deal I bought it for.

This game, alternatively named, "Get On With It Already" made perfect sense at the start. It made for a fun game. But then the last episode came and made me want to end it all.
It was so boring and dragged on. The story lost all of its luster that I actually got the worse ending possible due to me just wanting to GET ON WITH IT ALREADY!
Some developers are extremely talented in ruining their own masterpieces. There should be a game reward "Mucker Upper"

And this year's award goes to: the victorian themed game with the hot babe in the first act before anything else happens!

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Nothing stronger than family

Pretty good.

The first three episodes are well made and very enjoyable, then episode 4 jumps the shark, and episode 5 is just complete garbage. At the end of episode 4 I was still planning on recommending the game based on the extremely low price when it's on sale, but after episode 5 I can only recommend saving your money and playing something else.

My frame rate is stuck at 40 and there is no solution that works.

Очень интересная игра. Она похоже на интерактивные кино от Telltale, но только поверхностно. Здесь все же на первый план выступает детектив с элементами мистики. Первые 2 эпизода немного нудноватые, но с конца 2-го сюжет раскачивается.

Nice gameplay and graphics

Good game. I always liked these dialogue-heavy/choice-focused games with Branching narratives, consequences and social interactions. Much like Vampire swansong, I liked this one. the flaws in both games are kinda the same, but other than them, they're both very good.

The timer is way too short, don't even get a chance to read them. Shitty design.

I enjoyed it

eh

One of my favorite games ever!

The complexity of the plot and the intricacies of the story are beyond words. It's an entertaining, emotional journey all throughout which would interest anyone who has even a slight curiosity for world politics or history. A lot of what this game implies uncannily reflects real life. The RPG mechanics and choices are superb, and I've never seen them executed to such complexity in any other 'walking choice sim'. This game is on another level. For 1.5 euro on a discount, it's a must play, but had I known what I was in for, I'd be ready to pay a hundred times that.

Interesting game, I only fish there more different paths and outcomes.

I was skeptical at buying this but surprisingly the story is actually interesting. Voice acting is decent enough. Buying the rest of the season to see what happens.

Reviewing every game I've played in my Steam Library. Game 12

Not finished this game yet and have read that in the last chapter the story goes down the drain.

However so far the story has remained interesting.

The graphics look slightly cartoony so the visuals might not interest everyone.

Gameplay wise the different skills and conversation mechanics are engaging and fun. Some conversations have quick time events to choose some dialogue so you need to pay attention to what's being said. This is a unique way to develop the story and i've not really seen it used in other games.

However you have limited points to use with the conversation options so you quickly run out of opportunities to uncover more information on the characters.

This means you miss some of the options, and as usual with most "branching story" games some decisions feel like they don't make a difference to the story.

It feels the dev's limited your abilities to use certain skill trees to encourage mulipile play-throughs. I think many won't bother to play it more than once if the ending is as bad as most other reviewers say. This is on my backlog to finish one day.

"Truth is rarely pure and never simple".
The Council is a gripping blend of mystery, intrigue, and education.
This game doesn't just challenge your deduction skills - it pushes you to refresh, or even learn, fascinating details about art, history, and philosophy. It's as much a test of your intellect as it is a thrilling narrative experience.
A must-play for those who love stories with depth and learning woven into every choice.

Absolutely loved this game. Should have played it long ago. Many choices and story plot twists. Many different choices and paths to take. Loved from start to finish. Great game. Highly recommend to anyone who loves story driven games with many choices and consequences and branches in the story and how it plays out. The game mechanics are also very unique in that i have never played a game with such mechanics. the game has mostly a detective type game play but also uses many different skills you must build up in order for the choices you make to be available to you. Also has other mechanics i have not seen in other games. truly a Gem of a game. I must say this game is not a combat type game but more choices consequences and story/detective type game. If you love these type games with an excellent story, this game is absolutely for you.

The game of plots

It's not perfect but it does things you won't see in any other story drive games. I hope the studio can one day make an improved sequel or use its mechanics in another game

What if I told you this story is not a work of fiction.

An interesting premise but somewhat letdown by the 4th and 5th act story direction. Could have been even better if grounded a bit more in reality. A truncated, slightly confusing and somewhat obtuse scenario presented towards the end, seemed to suggest that budgetary issues towards the final episodes forced the devs to tidy up the story with slightly jilted and jarring animations and camera work, along with a somewhat bum rushed ending. The Mansion looks really nice and there is a lot of fine detail in the period era furnishings. For a game about a secret society impacting world matters in the 18th Century, you really don't see any tangible impact as far as I could tell. The story seems to center more around the protagonist. I'm sure there are 2-3 major plot points I missed through entirely in my first play through, barely hinted at. Still, a solid and entertaining first effort!

Hold on: the game is FREE now?

Do play it, it's an excellent telltale-like game that is way more developed than the ones made by that studio. The storytelling is amazing, the riddles are masterfully crafted and the story goes on whether you succeed or fail at them. The ending is a bit lacking however, but it's that kind of game where you forgive the last 15% because the other 85% are so well crafted.

22

despite everything, this game will have a special place in my heart because of the memories we had, also I hope you see this one day.
...and f*ck you.

An engaging mystery with some very surprising characters, lots of ways to solve puzzles etc. A nice relaxing experience, with interesting secrets to unravel. The animations seem robotic and not at all in sync with the characters dialogue, however I for one can overlook that and just focus on the writing, which is superb. If you like period games this is a good one! If you are looking for action, you will be very disappointed. It is very much a mystery adventure, with some occult thrown in.

Good and fun game, you'll have a good time playing, it is very nice when NPCs feel like real people.
Dystopian but this is where we are, a time when good writing in games is a rare occurrence.

hidden gem

Choices MATTERS!!!

Runs at 40fps fixed and pins your gpu to 100% usage, this should have been fixed years ago. It was a wild spread issue six years ago.

Saving error...

I was impressed by this game to a degree that is rarely achieved.

The peculiar style and voice acting require a moment of adjustment, but quickly begin to feel artistic rather than awkward. By the end of the game, I was let feeling disheartened that the visual style, so fresh and unique, probably won't be seen elsewhere.

Now, on to the real subject matter: The story (and this is a game all about story) is absolutely phenomenal. It's rare that a game can surprise me with a narrative, but I was blown away. Suffice to say, I understand the disclaimer at startup: "This is probably a work of fiction..."

I highly recommend this game - whatever quirks others might draw attention to, it makes up for in freshness and originality. If you enjoy a good adventure, and perhaps some of the more intellectual pursuits (although it requires very little reading, in fact), you won't be let down by this great title.

No, no, no, no, NO!

This is an episodic game--it was released in parts over years.

It's great in the first half. And that's fine if you can love the first half and then let it go. But it hits a quality HARD WALL about halfway through, and everything after is just...depressing. After the first half, the gamma doubles, blinding your eyes. The characters start talking over each other. The dialogue makes no sense whatsoever. The plot, already sliding towards dumb, becomes dumber and dumber. The game as you go on gets further and further plagued by technical glitches.

The first half of this game is amazing. The interface, the writing, the story, the everything, would've gone down as amazing. But then it hits that wall, and you wouldn't even believe how far the quality drops so fast--and it completely destroys any good feelings toward the earlier parts.

No entendi nada la historia, pero esta bien

The Council is a highly unique and intriguing adventure game, one that builds on contemporaries like Telltale's The Walking Dead by offering a heavy focus on conversation. As Louis De Ritchet, you'll journey to an isolated island for a major conference, one that will determine the fate of nations at the turn of the 1800s. The esteemed guests include President George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte and many other historical faces who all seem to be hiding something.

What follows is five episodes that all take place in the same location; you'll look around the lavish estate, talking with NPCs and solving puzzles as Louis attempts to track down his missing mother Sarah and unravel the truth behind the council's meeting. The game sets itself apart through simple additions like a run button, consumable items that can aid your skill checks and a set of conversations where you must choose the correct options and exploit vulnerabilities to uncover information. All of it is boosted by a solid story and great voice acting from everyone involved with many outcomes depending on your choices.

Despite its strengths, The Council does fall into the same traps as its contemporaries; it's impossible for every dialogue option to have weight and there is some unavoidable railroading of player choices, especially in the final episode. While the game boasts a strong atmosphere and an art style reminiscent of games like Dishonored, the character models and expressions lack detail. This is unfortunate as it does impact the immersion with so much emphasis placed on the guests and their individual personalities.

Still, if you're a big fan of the genre and want something a bit different, The Council will deliver a very enjoyable experience that often goes overlooked by the masses. It's a title that will test your mind far more than your reflexes.

Very nice story. Very well written.

I enjoyed it a lot. Lot of dialogue options, perks, findings...nice plot. Ideal if you like investigation and puzzle solving with a pinch of action

This was so good and I really hope the developers make more like it. I did not see where the plot was going to end up and it's just so gripping. I can often feel exasperated with some games that make you read everything and pick up everything to understand what's going on but I didn't feel like that with this game. I was genuinely invested in trying to find out what was going on and it didn't feel in any way tedious.

Also a couple of the characters were actually terrifying without it being a horror and I think it added a lot to the suspense and urgency with which I played.

Plot twists in this game are on another level and made my jaw drop a few times. Graphics are beautiful and choices actually DO matter compared to some other games. Each choice influences the rest of the game somehow so it's really fun & you can choose different paths, careers, skills,...
Also, for those going for a 100% achievements, it's really easy and you don't really need any guide to get them all.
Either way, i've enjoyed every second of this game (even though some puzzles were really difficult lmao) and can't give anything else than a 10/10. There are big sales on this game, you can get it for less than 2eu BUT if you don't want to wait for the sale, it's worth the money :p

I will leave this cat here, so that everybody who passes by can pet it and give it a thumbs up and awards
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　| (￣ヽ＿_ヽ_)__)
　＼二つ

Simply fantastic! I love when people take history and twist it around for a good story, and they did a superb job of it here. Sure the animations are a little rough and Louis' voice actor fell flat on a lot of lines, but that's easily overlooked with the masterful way the story is put together!

- I think the story is very unique but weird. It branches too many paths that it doesnt make sense anymore.
I had this one thing to figure out for 1 episode, then this thing is somekind important but it had nothing useful for the next chapter because I went to other path to resolve the ending.
- No skip button and it has long cutscene.
- I played it blindly in my first playthru, it went so horribly because of how little the hints that the game gave you.
- the characters design are bad.
overall 3/10

The Council is a third-person adventure game set in 1793. You play as Louis de Richet, a member of a secret order. After your mother goes missing, you’re summoned to a remote island off the coast of England. There, the enigmatic Lord Mortimer hosts a secret meeting with historical figures like Napoleon Bonaparte and George Washington. The game spans five episodes, each broken into multiple chapters, where you unravel a complex web of political intrigue and occult mysteries.

Rich with political, religious, historical, mythological, and art themes, The Council offers a unique narrative experience with a great number of different endings. However, one of its more divisive elements is a tone shift in the later episodes. While the first three episodes maintain a relatively grounded narrative with hints of the occult, the final two episodes dive headfirst into supernatural territory. This shift can feel jarring, significantly altering the game’s tone and making the story feel disjointed. Additionally, new gameplay mechanics introduced in these episodes feel underutilized, which is a missed opportunity.

You can choose one of three professions, each with its own skill tree that not only determines your starting abilities but also influences how you interact with the game world. While you can level up any skill, those aligned with your chosen profession require fewer points to upgrade. You earn experience points by completing quests, side objectives, and finding collectibles. These points can then be used to level up your skills. Before each chapter, you have the opportunity to read books that grant permanent bonuses to one or more skills. In conversations, you use effort points to perform skill checks. If your skill matches the difficulty, no effort points are needed; otherwise, you’ll need to spend points to succeed. Managing effort points and resources wisely is crucial, as they are limited, though you can find items to restore points or make the next skill check free. While the game provides a range of skills, some prove more impactful than others in dialogue outcomes.

The gameplay focuses on manipulating and maneuvering through social encounters. You frequently use your skills and limited resources to gain the upper hand in conversations and confrontations. Each character has specific weaknesses and immunities that shape how you approach interactions. However, some choices you make can feel undermined by scripted events that force a particular outcome, which can be frustrating. At certain points, the game presents you with a prompt to make a decision between two choices, further affecting the direction of the story.

One of the highlights of The Council is its puzzles. You often need to find information in books or by talking to other characters, and sometimes you have to recall details from earlier in the game. The puzzles have multiple solutions, so your choices can affect the story and lead to different endings.

The game’s art style might take some getting used to. While the environments are beautifully detailed, the characters have an exaggerated and almost surreal look, particularly in their facial animations. Movements can feel a bit stiff, and there are occasional texture and clipping issues, though these are relatively minor. The environment, though richly designed, can become repetitive, with many hallways and rooms looking similar. As you progress, you’ll find yourself frequently backtracking through the same spaces, with only a few new rooms added in later chapters.

The music and sound design are well done, and the voice acting is generally strong, though it’s odd that Louis, a Frenchman, doesn’t have a French accent, while other characters have accents matching their nationalities. The costumes are appropriate for the period, though one female character’s over-the-top dress feels out of place and breaks immersion.

One aspect to keep in mind is the game’s save system. The Council uses an autosave feature, meaning every decision is final, and there’s no option to manually save and reload. This can be frustrating if you accidentally advance the story without picking up certain items or talking to specific characters. To uncover all the game’s content, multiple playthroughs are required.

Perfect game, like it despite a bit weird grafiphics. Replayed 2 times, and plan to do again.

Year is 1793, George Washington is currently president in this fictionalized story-- but he's also the president at the same time of standing in the same room as the painting: Saturn Devouring his Son (painted and depicted by Goya) which was painted 1819-23. George Washington died in 1799.

Immersion? Ruined.
- Art history lover.

The artwork and scenes in this game are attractive. The initial idea of the game is quite good however in the end I found quite a lot of annoying things. By the final scene I was no longer invested and was completing the story for the sake of it.

Although there seems to be choices in the game these were hindered by the complexity of social interactions, various energy/modification action points and also sometimes I'd find that my selection would sometimes not be selected properly. There's also a bug in the game as I accidentally chose the wrong sister yet it seems the game confirmed it as if I had chosen correctly. By the time I found out I was a daemon I lost all interest and couldn't have cared less about any of it because my choices were not my own, I couldn't find any more Royal Jelly and I was now just watching the plot unfold rather than being part of it.

I feel like an extraordinary amount of effort was applied to the writing and the graphic but the game play just really wasn't there to maintain. It would have probably served better as a simplified walking adventure rather than pretend that the player was playing the game. I also do not have any education with regards to religion or know much about that era although the characters all had the depth necessary for this to be a successful game. It simply lacked the most important part for me being the player.

I wanted to love this game but perhaps it's best played by people with more education, patience some other trait that I'm sure is more supportive of this title.

10/10 graphic
2/10 game play
6/10 story (the story is good but it detaches you as the human player )