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The Council (PS4,PC,X)
Vampyr, Werewolf Apocalypse, CoC and now this, Focus is publishing all the right kind of Dark Gothic games, mid tier tight stuff
Looks promising
The Council is an episodic game like no other, developed by French indie studio Big Bad Wolf. The game delivers a fresh new take on the Narrative Adventure, where your choices and character growth truly matter. Make hard-hitting decisions, develop an array of skills and directly impact how the story unfolds. With permanent, long-lasting consequences, there is no going back. Plunge into a tale of intrigue and manipulation in the style of a classic murder mystery, living with a cast of alluring characters each hiding their own dark secrets. Trust no one while uncovering dire truths – no matter the cost to mind and body.
The Council begins in 1793, with players taking the role of secret society member Louis de Richet after his invitation to a private island off the shores of England by the enigmatic Lord Mortimer. Joining him are a number of high profile guests, including Napoleon Bonaparte and President of the newly-formed United States of America, George Washington. The strange nature of this private reception goes beyond just the prestigious guests –Richet’s own mother has recently gone missing on the island, while each and every one of the colorful cast seems to have their own hidden agendas.
In a new twist for the genre, the core of The Council’s gameplay comes from manipulating and maneuvering through character encounters using the unique Social Influence system. During confrontations, skills and limited resources can be used to gain the upper hand and achieve the desired outcome. Players will be rewarded for their knowledge of each character’s psychological vulnerabilities and immunities, as well as their preparations made during prior exploration and investigation. Failing an encounter does not mean ‘game over’, and no action can be taken back. The consequences are permanent, and may result in persistent physical disfigurements or mental traits that help or hinder the rest of the player’s adventure.
Richet’s numerous skills can be developed to align with your chosen approach to the adventure. Solve issues with diplomacy, delve into occultism to expand your historical and scientific knowledge, or play detective and see what others do not perceive. Your skills will have uses that extend far beyond your conversations with fellow guests. With 15 diverse skills to use and invest in, players are free to uncover THE COUNCIL’s mysteries how they see fit, with wildly varying consequences depending on their methods. The results will forever alter the life of Louis de Richet, of those around him, and shape history as we know it
Preview, first ep in March
http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2018/02/19/the-council-preview-playstation-lifestyle/#/slide/1
Really excited for this one as well!
“Look behind you, a three-headed monkey!”- Guybrush Threepwood
First episode releasing March 13th!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/287630/The_Council/
“Look behind you, a three-headed monkey!”- Guybrush Threepwood
Nice. This one looks pretty interesting.
Been saying this for years, put RPG skill system into AG conversations
Dev diary detailing it
Reviews coming in , 9/10 by 2 outlets
http://pureplaystation.com/review-council-episode-1-ps4/2018/03/
The Council offers gamers a tension filled journey purely fueled by character interactions and mysterious circumstances. Best of all is the evolved gameplay mechanics from what we’re used to for an episodic endeavor. I truly felt that I had control of every situation from an ability standpoint and a cleverness one. Wrap up an amazing RPG progression mechanic into a great looking voyage on a mysterious island and you have an incredible start to a game. The seeds of a secret society’s leader gone missing have been expertly laid and I can’t wait until Episode 2 comes about. Here’s hoping this first one isn’t the end of where the title shines.
http://www.doyouevengamebro.net/the-council-episode-1-the-mad-ones-review/
The Council’s first episode sets the scene for a captivating narrative and has all the ingredients to be one of the best story-driven games of the year. Big Bad Wolf have managed to craft a world full of splendour, intrigue and deception thanks to a fascinating narrative filled with beguiling characters, choice-based gameplay and meaningful RPG mechanics. After one episode of The Council I am hooked. I cannot wait to see how the mystery unfolds and what long-lasting consequences my choices will have. I just hope we don’t have to wait too long before we head back to Lord Mortimer’s island.
Yep, initial reviews seem quite strong.
“Look behind you, a three-headed monkey!”- Guybrush Threepwood
Finished the first episode today. It plays like a combination of a Telltale choice-narrative and an rpg without combat, but then those are both pretty close to being adventure games. To quote something I’ve posted elsewhere:
If Telltale’s Game of Thrones had been more like this I might have played it to the end. The confrontation mechanics add a welcome sense of real stakes, and make sure that paying attention and gathering information are rewarded in the gameplay itself. The rpg elements have many small rewards and choices making you feel like your decisions already have some effects in the first episode. Taking the time to scavenger-hunt for manuscript pages and amber will pay dividends later on.
It may be mostly social interactions with hardly any puzzles, but the game is compelling and hard to put down and actually rewards making an effort in a way that too many pure-narrative games do not these days.
If it’s eligible I may end up voting for this for an Aggie or two, if the rest of the season holds up. Won’t be for voice acting though, that’s a bit off especially for the main character.
The golden age of mathematics - that was not the age of Euclid, it is ours. -Cassius Jackson Keyser
I played the first episode and absolutely loved it. Really a contender to be the best adventure game I’ve played in years.
A cool thing about this too is the different choices when developing skills will add extra replay value, or added value in watching Let’s Plays of people that made different choices than you did. Every time I saw I missed out on something it really made me want to see that as well.
Thanks for sharing your impressions! I haven’t played The Council yet, but it seems like its concept might be right up my alley, and it’s great to hear some feedback.
Vampyr, Werewolf Apocalypse, CoC and now this, Focus is publishing all the right kind of Dark Gothic games, mid tier tight stuff
Indeed, they have some very interesting stuff in their current line-up!
Now playing: GreedFall, Control
Recently finished: Telling Lies, The Sinking City
Making my way through this. I really like the break-downs you get after each chapter. It really makes you want to replay each section and gives you something to strive for should you choose to do so.
I’m liking it a lot so far. Definitely on the hook for the narrative. I love how much depth the “social influence” system gives the conversations. You really do end up thinking about how to manipulate each characters vulnerabilities to get more information.
So far most of the “confrontation” dialogue puzzles have been very cool. I was impressed with the last one I encountered. The game very keenly rewarded my exploration.
In a way the game reminds me of “The Red Strings Club” from earlier this year since so much of the game is thinking about the characters’ personalities and how to tailor your approach accordingly to get what you want.
There’s a few rough edges for sure. Stiff animation, particularly facial animation. The game doesn’t explain its mechanics to you in the most elegant way. Sometimes the dialogue in these choice heavy games can feel “stitched together” and The Council is no different.
A few middling qualms aside, though, this is absolutely a game worth playing. I’m having a whole lot of fun with it.
Strange no one has been talking about The Council, it is one of the year’s biggest adventure games and i thought there would be many keen players around here.
This game looks amazing! Another game on my must play list!
I enjoy playing adventure games on my Alienware M17 r4 and my Nintendo Switch OLED.
For me it’s the Steam thing. Not that I don’t buy games that are Steam only games, but they do seem to disappear from my radar if I don’t buy or wishlist them the moment I hear of them. The amount of games, most of wchich seems to be crap to me, is simply overwhelming. Had the game been on GoG I’d likely have the game in my library by now.
Anyway; I’ll definitely give this one a try. Edit: If I remeber it when I get home from work…:)
I’ve been playing it. I’m trailing a few episodes behind. Finished episode 2 last week and will be getting to the 3rd when I have the time. Episode 2 had some cool puzzles and more intriguing set-up but I’m hoping things start progressing at a faster pace moving forward.
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