• The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.
  • The Council: Screen zum Spiel The Council.

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  • Plattform: PC Veröffentlicht: 13.03.2018
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Preis Update 18.01.23

Über das Spiel

Die komplette Staffel von The Council mit vollständigem Zugriff auf alle 5 Episoden.
Du erhältst jede Episode nach der Veröffentlichung.

The Council ist ein Episodenspiel wie kein anderes. Deine Entscheidungen und die Charakterentwicklung wirken sich dauerhaft aus und sorgen für frischen, neuen Wind in diesem erzählerischen Adventure. Triff knallharte Entscheidungen und entwickle zudem eine Reihe an Fähigkeiten, um direkt auf die Entwicklung der Geschichte einwirken zu können. Die Konsequenzen sind dauerhaft und können nicht zurückgenommen werden. Tauche ein in eine Geschichte voller Intrigen und Manipulationen im Stil eines klassischen Krimis und erlebe eine Riege faszinierender Charaktere, die jeweils eigene dunkle Geheimnisse verbergen. Vertraue niemandem und bringe entsetzliche Wahrheiten ans Licht – ganz gleich, wie hoch der Preis für Körper und Seele sein mag.

The Council beginnt im Jahr 1793. Der Spieler schlüpft in die Rolle von Louis de Richet, Mitglied des Geheimbundes, nachdem er vom geheimnisvollen Lord Mortimer auf eine Privatinsel vor der Küste Englands eingeladen worden ist. Zu ihm gesellt sich eine Reihe hochrangiger Gäste, darunter Napoleon Bonaparte und George Washington, der Präsident der noch jungen Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika. Doch die Besonderheit dieses privaten Empfangs hat nicht nur mit den namhaften Gästen zu tun – Richets Mutter ist kürzlich auf der Insel verschwunden und jeder einzelne der illustren Gäste scheint seinen eigenen Motiven zu folgen.

Im spielerischen Mittelpunkt von The Council steht die Manipulation und das Erleben von Charakterbegegnungen mithilfe des einzigartigen Social-Influence-Systems, welches das Genre neu auslegt. Während der Gespräche kann der Spieler Fähigkeiten und begrenzte Ressourcen einsetzen, um immer einen Schritt voraus zu sein und den gewünschten Ausgang zu erreichen. Der Spieler wird für sein Wissen um verwundbare Punkte und Immunitäten der anderen Charaktere belohnt, aber auch für die Vorbereitungen beim vorangegangenen Erkunden der Umgebung. Scheitert eine Begegnung, ist das Spiel nicht gleich aus, genauso wenig kann eine Handlung rückgängig gemacht werden. Die Konsequenzen sind dauerhaft und können zu körperlichen Entstellungen oder psychischen Eigenschaften führen, die den weiteren Spielverlauf positiv oder negativ beeinflussen.

Die zahlreichen Fähigkeiten von Richet können entsprechend deiner gewählten Vorgehensweise in diesem Adventure entwickelt werden. Löse Probleme mittels Diplomatie, tauche in die Welt des Okkulten ein, um deine Kenntnisse in Geschichte und Wissenschaft zu vertiefen oder spiele Detektiv, um etwas zu entdecken, das anderen verborgen bleibt. Deine Fähigkeiten sind aber nicht nur bei Gesprächen mit den Gästen nützlich. Dank der 15 verschiedenen Fähigkeiten, die der Spieler einsetzen kann, kann er die Geheimnisse in The Council ganz nach seinen eigenen Vorlieben aufdecken. Und je nach Vorgehensweise unterscheiden sich die Konsequenzen gravierend ... Das Ergebnis wird das Leben von Louis de Richet und seinen Mitstreitern auf ewig verändern und die Geschichte, wie wir sie kennen, prägen.

Systemanforderungen

  • Setzt 64-Bit-Prozessor und -Betriebssystem voraus
  • CPU: Intel Core i3-2125 (3.3 GHz)/AMD FX-4100 (3.6 GHz)
  • GFX: 1 GB, GeForce GTX 750/Radeon R7 360
  • RAM: 4 GB RAM
  • Software: Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit)
  • HD: 15 GB verfügbarer Speicherplatz
  • MISC: INTERNET CONNECTION REQUIRED FOR GAME ACTIVATION
  • LANG: Englisch
  • Setzt 64-Bit-Prozessor und -Betriebssystem voraus
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 (3.4 GHz)/AMD FX-8370 (4.0 GHz)
  • GFX: 4 GB, GeForce GTX 960/Radeon R9 380
  • RAM: 8 GB RAM
  • Software: Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit)
  • HD: 15 GB verfügbarer Speicherplatz
  • MISC: INTERNET CONNECTION REQUIRED FOR GAME ACTIVATION
  • LANG: Englisch

Steam Nutzer-Reviews

1216 Produkte im Account
63 Reviews
Nicht Empfohlen
117 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 17.03.22 22:31
Sicher eine tolle Geschichte die auch gut erzählt wird.

Das Problem ist die Grafik. Nachts gibt es einen sehr seltsamen Kontrast der noch auszuhalten ist. Das Screen-Tearing aufgrund der niedrigen FPS machen es unspielbar. FPS sind immer bei 40-45. Es gibt eine Einstellung um auf 30 FPS zu Locken, diese funktioniert aber nicht. Ein ändern der Einstellungen bring nicht mehr FPS (Aber bei niedrigen Einstellungen ist es ein wenig angenehmer.) Das Ändern de Auflösung hat glaube ich überhaupt keinen Effekt.

Die Animationen sind alle sehr Ruckelig (low FPS). In Kombination mit den niedrigen FPS wird das ganze leider nicht besser.
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1193 Produkte im Account
183 Reviews
Empfohlen
478 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 22.02.22 05:57
Na in welcher Geheimgesellschaft bist Du denn so Mitglied, lieber Leser?
Keine Bange, mir kannst Du´s ja verraten, wir kennen uns ja nun schon so lange nach all den Reviews.

Und man hat ja heutzutage die Qual der Wahl, wenns um so eine Entscheidung fürs Leben geht. Also: Welcher Geheimbund passt zu mir? Die Tempelritter, Freimaurer, Illuminaten oder gar der ADAC?

Sowas will weise überlegt werden und das entscheidet unsereiner ja nicht mal eben so im Vorbeigehen. Manchmal sind echt abgefahrene Aufnahmerituale vonnöten oder gar regelmäßige Geld, Blut oder Erstgeborenenopfer erforderlich. Puh, da kann man schonmal die eigenen übereilte Entscheidung bereuen.

Aber hilft ja nix, einmal drin, heißt meistens: Bis dass der Tod uns scheidet. Ist wie bei der Mafia, noch son Verein übrigens.
Natürlich gibts nicht nur Schattenseiten, es ist auch ein Privileg, einem illustren Bund von Düstermännern und Frauen anzugehören.
Manchmal gibts coole Parties, Orgien oder andere feucht fröhliche Clubtreffen. Da werden flott ein paar Unschuldige ausgeblutet, ins Opferfeuer geschmissen oder an den Marterpfahl gebunden und schon kann die Feier so richtig Schwung aufnehmen.
Zusätzlich kriegt man coole Kapuzenkutten und bestimmt gibts auch immer viel zu trinken und lustige Drogen en masse. Natürlich nur zur Erlangung von echter Transzendenz und Bewusstseinserweiterung. Ist ja klar.

Richtig cool wirds aber dann, wenn man nem richtig ganz dolle mächtigen Geheimbund angehört. Da wird schonmal die Weltwirtschaft manipuliert, Regierungen nach eigenem Gutdünken ab und eingesetzt und die Echsenmenschen Brut, die unter der eigenen Villa haust, nur mit reinstem Adrenochrome gefüttert. Man spart schließlich nicht am falschen Ende...

Und genau so einer Geheimgesellschaft gehört Louis, Held dieses Spiels auch an. Naja fast, eigentlich ist seine liebe Frau Mutter Mitglied und der Sohnemann eher ein halbseidener Abenteurer, als ein waschechter Welten Manipulator.
Aber wies manchmal so läuft im Leben, ist Mütterchen plötzlich vom Erdboden verschwunden der der gute Sohn muss eben mal nachgucken, wo die alte Schachtel abgeblieben ist.

Also ab auf die Insel eines gewissen Lord Mortimer, seines Zeichens mysteriöser und unerkannter Herrscher über eine Welt voller Intrigen, geheimen Abmachungen und unglaublicher Verschwörungen.
Und ja, auf der Insel wird Louis schnell klar, dass wirklich jeder dort ein doppeltes Spiel spielt, Mütterchen ist zwar nirgends zu entdecken, aber jeder sucht scheinbar nach ihr und neben begehrenswerten Gräfinnen, intriganten Popen, George Washington und Napoleon höchstselbst, findet sich am Ende auch Lord Mortimer ein.

Und da, lieber Leser, kommst Du dann ins Spiel. Also schärfe Deine Sinne, wetze Dein Gespür für psychologische Winkelzüge, stelle die richtigen Fragen und argumentiere nach Belieben auch mal mit handfester Drohung, wenns dem höheren Zwecke dient.
Und wenn alle Stricke reißen, dann hilfst Du eben mit dem Okkult Hammer nach, bis die Kleingeister um Dich herum endlich rausrücken mit der Sprache.

Denn darum gehts am Ende in fast jeder Unterhaltung. Louis will wenig von sich preisgeben und viel erfahren. Das ist nicht immer leicht, aber rollenspieltypisch darfst Du Dich Stück für Stück selbst verbessern, um die gewünschten Informationen dann einfacher zu erlangen.
Doch Obacht! Für Deine Nachforschungen stehen Dir stets nur wenige Ressourcen zur Verfügung. Wie in nem Adventure alle Dialogoptionen einfach durchklicken ist leider nicht drin. Verärgerst Du einen Gesprächspartner oder machst ihn misstrauisch, endet das Gespräch und das vielleicht sogar für immer. Blöd gelaufen.

Also wähle Deine Worte weise und betrüge was das Zeug hält. Lüge und intrigiere, schleime Dich ein und schließe Pakte zu Deinem Vorteil. Frage aus und setze die Puzzlestücke nach und nach zusammen.

Und das macht einen Riesenspaß. Auch wenn mal etwas schiefgeht und das wird unweigerlich des öfteren passieren, ist noch nicht gleich alles verloren. Dann muss eben um die Ecke gedacht werden, oder einfach ein anderer Weg beschritten.

Das Spielprinzip greift richtig gut, die Atmosphäre stimmt, alles wirkt von Grund auf mysteriös, schaurig und doch irgendwie verlockend fremdartig.
Es liegt ein ganz eigener Zauber über der Szenerie und der Handlung. Die Charaktere sind verschroben und schrullig, dennoch nie unglaubwürdig oder überzeichnet. Im Gespräch mit dem jungen Napoleon vergessen wir schnell, dass dieser Mann in der realen Welt ein ganz Anderer war.
Cinematographie und Storytelling sind fantastisch, der Sound und die Vertonung der Figuren ist über jeden Zweifel erhaben und so wirkt diese kleine Welt auf der unheimlichen Insel dicht gewoben und beinahe physisch greifbar. Einfach klasse, so sähe der perfekte interaktive Film aus.

Nur dass Du wirklich viel Einfluss nehmen kannst, das Rollenspielsystem kommt zwar nicht an Path of Exile ran, aber je nachdem, in welche Richtung Du Dich in Louis Haut entwickeln willst, wird auch die Handlung sich verändern. Und zwar nicht nur in Nuancen, sondern wirklich gravierend und das fühlt sich sehr, sehr gut an, soviel Impact auf das geschehen zu haben mit dem eigenen Tun.

Dass das ganze damals nur in Kapiteln mit einer leider langen Wartezeit dazwischen erschien, braucht Dich heute zum Glück nicht zu kümmern, dass es insgesamt doch eher leicht ist: Geschenkt! Das Ganze braucht kein Dark Souls zu sein, es macht einfach zu viel Spaß, die Geschehnisse voranzutreiben und am Ball zu bleiben, während um Dich herum alles zu einer Lawine aus unvorhergesehenen Katastrophen heranwächst.

Und vielleicht kriegst Du ja am Schluss ein tolles Happy End zustande, wer weiß?

Und wenn nicht, auch nicht schlimm, dann starte halt noch nen Durchlauf und versuchs nochmal von vorn und mit komplett anderem Ansatz. Und wenn man darauf wirklich Lust hat, ist das ja ohnehin ein tolles Kompliment für ein Spiel, oder?

Also auch ab in die Welt der Intrigen und Mysterien, rätsle und schachere um das Schicksal der Welt, finde endlich die arme Mutti wieder und wie immer wünsch ich Dir dabei...

... viel Spaß ;-)






Und hey, wenn´s Dir gefallen hat, ne Runde von mir zu lesen, dann klick hier
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41622336/
und da gibts mehr von mir auf meiner Curator Seite. Schmökern for free: Also stell Dir nen Tee bereit und viel Spaß beim lesen...
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204 Produkte im Account
47 Reviews
Nicht Empfohlen
789 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 04.02.22 18:16
The first three episodes were really good, the 4th was weird, the 5th is utter garbage.
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291 Produkte im Account
74 Reviews
Nicht Empfohlen
952 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 09.12.21 22:01
Es fing so gut an.....leider stimmt was man schon oft gelesen hat...nimmt mehr und mehr ab und das Ende ist eine Ohrfeige für die knapp 16 Stunden Investiert.
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211 Produkte im Account
1 Reviews
Empfohlen
766 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 16.07.21 14:29
spannend
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135 Produkte im Account
8 Reviews
Empfohlen
1319 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 06.05.21 16:31
Großartig! Ruhig und atmosphärisch mit interessanten Rätseln, die aber nicht zu fordernd sind.
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125 Produkte im Account
17 Reviews
Empfohlen
1313 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 22.03.21 19:14
★ Worum geht’s? ★
Wir befinden uns im Jahr 1793 und spielen Louis de Richet, Mitglied eines Geheimbundes, der von dem rätselhaften Lord Mortimer auf seine Privatinsel vor der Küste Englands eingeladen wurde. Auf dieser Insel sollen wir dem Verschwinden von Louis Mutter auf den Grund gehen.

★ Positiv ★
➝ interessante Story mit historischem Charme (wir begegnen verschiedenen historischen Persönlichkeiten, es behandelt geopolitische und okkulte Themen)
➝ nett gestaltete Umgebung, in der es viel zu entdecken gibt
➝ klasse Gameplay (überzeugende Fortschritts- und Entscheidungssysteme)

★ Neutral ★
➝ am Anfang ist die Geschichte interessanter und durchdachter, was zum Ende hin leider etwas nachlässt
➝ die Grafik ist eher durchschnittlich, aber dennoch angenehm anzusehen

★Weiterempfehlung! ★
Ein interessantes Spiel, was besonders für Fans von episodischen Abenteuern mit gewisser Entscheidungsfreiheit einen Blick wert sein könnte. Es hat dennoch ein paar RPG-Elemente (wie z.B. die Skillung von Fähigkeiten oder das Inventar), was nochmal mehr Freiheit bietet.
(ʘ‿ʘ)
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269 Produkte im Account
31 Reviews
Empfohlen
1796 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 13.03.21 13:49
Telltale trifft Cluedo - im narrativen Mystery-Adventure The Council stoßt ihr nicht nur auf schillernde Persönlichkeiten der Weltgeschichte (George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte), sondern müsst euch gleichzeitig durch ein wirres Geflecht an okkulten Ereignissen, Lügen und Intrigen wühlen.

Story:
Die Geschichte von The Council dreht sich um Louis de Richet, einem französischen Aristokraten, im Jahre 1793. Er und seine Mutter Sarah sind Teil eines Geheimbundes. Als seine Mutter bei einem Zusammentreffen der Elite auf der Insel eines gewissen Lord Mortimer verschwindet, begibt sich Louis ebenfalls dorthin, um sie zu finden. Doch zunächst muss er den Geheimnissen der anderen Anwesenden auf die Spur gehen. In diesem Szenario schlüpft ihr in die Rolle von Louis und versucht mit euren investigativen Fähigkeiten, Nachforschungen anzustellen.

Klassenwahl:
Dieses Klassen- und Fertigkeiten-System ersetzt die in so vielen narrativen Adventures beliebten Quick-Time-Events und das auf hervorragende Art. Relativ am Anfang werdet ihr von einem der NPCs, gefragt, was ihr denn beruflich macht. Das öffnet das Klassenfenster und ihr wählt zwischen Diplomat, Okkultist und Detektiv. Zu jeder Klasse gehören fünf Fertigkeiten, die weiter unten zum Überblick aufgeführt sind. Je nach dem, welche Klasse ihr wählt, werden deren fünf Fertigkeiten auf Stufe 1 angehoben, sodass ihr sie im Spiel direkt verwenden könnt. Aber keine Sorge, die anderen Fertigkeiten bleiben euch nicht verwehrt. Auch sie schaltet ihr frei, nämlich indem ihr am Ende jedes der fünf Kapitel erhaltene Punkte verteilt. Entweder auf bereits freigeschaltete Skills, oder die, die es werden sollen.
Aber was bringen diese Skills und Klassen denn überhaupt? Nun, sie eröffnen euch vor allem neue Dialog- und Handlungsoptionen. Wenn ihr Heimlichkeit freischaltet, könnt ihr beispielsweise Schlösser knacken. Wenn ihr Aufmerksamkeit skillt, bemerkt ihr kleine Auffälligkeiten im Verhalten von Gesprächspartnern schneller und könnt dies gegen sie einsetzen.

Reaktionstests und Konsequenzen:
Ab und zu kann man bei tickender Uhr auch spezielle Punkte seines Gegenübers näher betrachten, hat dabei z.B. die Wahl zwischen den Augen oder der Hand, dem Mund oder einer Kette - je nach Wahl bekommt man dann Hinweise darüber, ob derjenige gerade gelogen hat, eitel oder überrascht ist. Zu den kreativen Spielmechaniken gehört auch die Konfrontation: Das sind die für die Story entscheidenden Momente, in denen man in mehreren Phasen eine Situation meistern muss, indem man seinen Gesprächspartner überzeugt - auch das geschieht manchmal unter Zeitdruck. Die Konsequenzen sind teilweise sofort sichtbar und drastisch (eine Person wird ermordet bzw. redet mit einem nicht mehr) oder versteckt und man sieht/bemerkt die Konsequenzen erst später.

Kunstgeschichte:
Mir gefällt sehr gut, dass man sich so viel Zeit für Künstler und Motiv nimmt! In vielen Spielen werden Bilder einfach so an Wände geklatscht, ohne dass es eine Interaktion gibt. Wenn Louis hier eines der vielen Gemälde in den weiten Fluren und prächtigen Sälen betrachtet, wird man durch seine inneren Monologe dazu nebenbei auch kunsthistorisch von Caravaggio bis Michelangelo aufgeklärt - dabei klugscheißt er keine Fakten, sondern sinniert über Motive und Gründe. Hinzu kommt, dass man diese auch in die Rätsel eingebunden hat.

Rätsel:
Zwar gibt es nicht viele, doch manchmal muss man richtig die grauen Zellen anstrengen. Ihr schreibt einen Brief, der einige Kriterien erfüllen muss. Diese müsst ihr anhand von Text- und Bildhinweisen herausfinden. Oder Ihr müsst in einer Bibel versteckte Notizen finden, diese sind in den Kapiteln und Versen der Bibel versteckt, man könnte in den Bilder an der Wand nach Hinweisen suchen um die einzelnen Stellen zu finden (oder man liest die Kapitel der Bibel einfach alle durch). Die Logik dahinter kommt wohl aus dem Gehirn eines Genies. Knifflig ist ja schön und gut, aber komplett durchgeknallt? Das frustriert schon ein wenig

Steuerung:
Die Steuerung funktioniert auf dem PC mit Gamepad und Maus/Tastatur flüssig.

Grafik:
Auch technisch kann The Council leider nicht völlig überzeugen. Einzelne Grafikoptionen kann man nicht ändern, nur in der Gesamtheit (niedrig/mittel/hoch) lässt sich die Grafik ändern. Zwar ist die Spielwelt schön und detailliert designt und auch die Charaktere haben einiges für sich, dennoch sind die Gesichts- und Bewegungsanimationen hölzern und steif. Und auch Clipping-Fehler sind an der Tagesordnung.

Synchronisierung/Sound:
Zur Synchronisierung, es gibt keine deutsche Synchronisierung, nur Untertitel. Was im ersten Moment etwas Schade ist, aber auch wiederum gut, weil die englischen Sprecher teilweise einen hervorragenden Job machen.
Auch hat das Spiel mit Tonproblemen zu kämpfen: Oft ist die Musik zu laut, setzt einfach aus oder die Vertonung passt nicht auf die Animationen.

Fazit:
The Council schafft in fünf Episoden, was so manch ein AAA-Titel nicht in 60 Stunden auf die Reihe bekommt und liefert eine runde, gut ausgearbeitete Geschichte, die einem packenden Spannungsbogen folgt. The Council hat viele spannende Ansätze. Die Geschichte ist interessant und gibt auch ein wenig geschichtliches Wissen zur Zeit der französischen Revolution preis. Die Charaktere sind überzeugend, aber natürlich auch ein wenig überzeichnet. Zu Anfang sind ihre Intentionen noch nicht klar, doch je weiter im Spiel, desto mehr bekommt jede Person ihre eigene Agenda und Hintergrundgeschichte. Was als düster-politischer Krimi beginnt, wandelt sich zu einem abstrakten Thriller, der tief in die Nebel des Okkulten vordringt und euch dabei einiges an Hirnschmalz und Nerven abverlangt. Die Mischung aus Persönlichkeiten der Weltgeschichte und einem sich stetig weiterentwickelnden Protagonisten hält über die volle Laufzeit bei Laune und scheut sich nicht vor radikalen Wendungen. Einziges Manko dabei ist die Präsentation, denn Gestik und Mimik der Figuren sind teilweise ein absoluter Graus, während die Optik nur Mittel zum Zweck bleibt.
Solange bei euch Geschichte vor Gameplay kommt, empfehle ich euch das Spiel.
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80 Produkte im Account
1 Reviews
Nicht Empfohlen
830 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 29.12.20 13:08
Dieses Spiel scheint zunächst wie ein nices Storytelling-Detektivgame. Die ersten 3 Episoden machen wirklich Spaß. Allerdings kommen danach sehr wilde 180°-Wendungen im Spielverlauf, die auch absolut nichts mit dem ersten großen Teil des Spiels zu tun haben. Am Ende findet man sich in einem großen, weirden Finale wieder, das man evtl (je nachdem, wie man spielt) nicht mehr gewinnen kann.
Alles in allem würde ich das Spiel nicht empfehlen, wenn man ein herkömmliches Story-Game erwartet. Falls ihr aber wilde Twists mögt, wäre das Spiel vielleicht was für euch.
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157 Produkte im Account
3 Reviews
Nicht Empfohlen
751 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 26.04.22 09:56
It is sad to see such a good idea of dialogue heavily influenced by skill system blown away by such poor execution. The crucial point for this game, which is the story, starts off quite interesting in the 1st episode, then gets a little boring through 2nd and 3rd, and by the beginning of the 4th episode it loses any coherence and sense. Add to it the ugly character models, wooden animations, awful voice acting, boring dialogues, poor optimisation and you have a recipe for wasted potential.
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785 Produkte im Account
328 Reviews
Nicht Empfohlen
75 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 24.04.22 17:21
Low-fps-uncanny-valley-frustrating discussion simulator.
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19 Produkte im Account
1 Reviews
Empfohlen
750 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 19.04.22 00:42
Enjoyable mystery, the game is more about the story but I'm intrigued 3 hours in and having fun
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133 Produkte im Account
52 Reviews
Empfohlen
753 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 09.04.22 14:18
Good Story with many choices and hard riddles. Has some technical Problems.

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Love it.
☑ Good (Movement feels a little clunky)
☐ Okay
☐ Bad
☐ It hurts.

---{ Story }---
☐ It'll replace your life.
☑ Good (Many choices depending on your skills)
☐ Average
☐ Some lore
☐ No Story.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is.
☑ Good (The Manor looks great, just Faceanimations are not good)
☐ Okay
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it.

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm.
☑ Good (Music is good, Some Voices are just okay)
☐ Okay
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf.

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Only check if you can run paint.
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☑ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer. (Always low FPS)

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of.
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ Bugthesda
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs.

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ You can choose.
☐ Difficult
☑ Dark Souls (Really hard riddles: used Guides)

---{ Game Time }---
☐ To infinity and beyond.
☐ Long
☐ Average
☑ Short
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee.

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price.
☑ If it's on sale.
☐ If u have some spare money left.
☐ You could also just burn your money.

---{ 7 / 10 }---
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355 Produkte im Account
60 Reviews
Nicht Empfohlen
558 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 01.04.22 03:54
There's no way to explain why this game made me so angry without getting into spoilers. Especially since I loved it up until the twist at the end of part 3. This kind of conversational combat is exactly my jam.

[spoiler]Demons are real. And all the horrible things your mother did were to try to exorcise demons. When she gave a ten-year-old a hysterectomy? That was part of a failed exorcism. Every torture and mutilation was justified and heroic.[/spoiler] Holy shit, literally.
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173 Produkte im Account
5 Reviews
Nicht Empfohlen
925 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 27.03.22 20:32
I really want to like this game. But it is not playable.

The game punishes the player for trying to explore and investigate as much as possible. You can spend hours trying to find all the little clues, but if you click the wrong thing you will spontaneously end that section of the game. It saves immediately, even if paused. It overwrites your previous save so that you cannot go back.

The game is just an exercise is frustration. That frustration has nothing to do with the gameplay and everything to do with the poorly designed interface.
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87 Produkte im Account
4 Reviews
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403 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 04.03.22 17:22
Amazing game with lots of puzzles and choices that matter.
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25 Produkte im Account
21 Reviews
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184 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 02.02.22 21:08
Play if you want to get a panic attack from talking to video game characters.
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40 Produkte im Account
34 Reviews
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196 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 30.01.22 16:32
Вмэрліки не вміраюць
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151 Produkte im Account
32 Reviews
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871 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 29.01.22 06:43
A very intriguing game. The mechanics are simple enough, yet you are kept on your toes. It is easy to miss an opportunity if one does not pay attention... like in real life.

A refreshing game where your ability to hack and slash or destroy things are unimportant in the game play.
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321 Produkte im Account
29 Reviews
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1199 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 23.01.22 16:48
I have enjoyed this game a lot. The 18th Century history, combined with the occult conspiracy elements have made for an intriguing story and there seems to be a C'thulhu Mythos element to the story as well. You play a young Frenchman whose mom is head of the French chapter of the Golden Order (might as well be the Illuminati), and she has gone missing on an island owned by a reclusive but extremely influential English nobleman, who has visitors as diverse George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte. Your mother went there chasing down leads concerning a grimoire, and has now disappeared, and you are summoned to help find her. I haven't finished it yet, but I strongly suspect this will all end in tears. The interiors and artwork are very period, and quite lovely. The dialogue is well voiced and well written. There are plenty of puzzles to solve and it seems to largely be a puzzle solving game, but there are also 4 types of resources and 15 skills you need to develop to specific levels to unlock things as you go. The resources you find need to be shepherded so you don't run out and dead end yourself. It isn't a combat game so far, and I don't think it needs to be. Finally, each episode can be replayed to test the various options you chose versus those you didn't. This game is very well produced and deserves a lot more attention than it seemed to receive imo. Imagine Myst or Riven with added conspiracy theory politics set during the French revolution with the threat of C'thulhu waiting in the wings. I could nit-pick a few minor things, but I won't because my experience of this game has been overwhelmingly positive.
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484 Produkte im Account
103 Reviews
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1019 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 08.01.22 01:28
Bought this on the winter sale for about 6€. Money well spent.

Animations and voice acting is a bit questionable but the story is really good. Did not expect it to be as good as it was. Choices throughout the game matter and even small details can have an affect on the outcome. The game also features historical characters such as Napoleon Bonaparte and George Washington which made the game more interesting. The game also has a Christian theme which is pretty based.

KEEP IN MIND: This game requires you to be thoroughly engaged in the story and to pay attention to details, like a true detective. Playing the game without paying attention will make you fail

Great story game. Buy it
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112 Produkte im Account
48 Reviews
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226 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 03.01.22 12:37
intriguing at the start but completely goes off the rails later, which is a shame bc I feel like the concept had potential
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97 Produkte im Account
24 Reviews
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1219 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 02.01.22 20:56
I really enjoyed The Council. It's a choices matter game with an interesting storyline with good character development.

The game is split in to 5 episodes and plays out as investigation with both RPG and decision making systems. The story is engrossing and the historical figures used as the game's main characters are an excellent touch. You really get a sense when playing the game that your choices do matter and will affect the rest of the story (which they do).

It took me around 16/17 hours to complete the game and then a few more hours to go back and ensure I picked up all of the achievements.

I'd rate The Council as 4 out of 5 stars.
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50 Produkte im Account
4 Reviews
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2723 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 02.01.22 10:36
Strongly recommended! One of the best games ive ever played.
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21 Produkte im Account
1 Reviews
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1547 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 01.01.22 14:46
Fantastic storylines! In my opinion, it's one of those few games where there are truly vast options of how the story could play out. It's one of those games where ANY choice made in-game can affect the development of the story substantially enough.
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222 Produkte im Account
54 Reviews
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958 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 01.01.22 13:28
The story is intresting but from time to time they just cut off the story and change directin very quickly. Unfortunately characters faces are not able to show emotion very well so it all feels wooden. In short I played much better story/detective games. If you are tolerant and can stand many glaring mistakes in a game go for it but I prefer more polished pieces.
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13 Produkte im Account
5 Reviews
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1993 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 30.12.21 22:41
Amazing game where each choice counts!
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804 Produkte im Account
172 Reviews
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1847 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 30.12.21 22:11

Société d'élite



Imagine a group composed of ones of the most influential individuals in the world, people who either directly or indirectly steer the world politics towards their common interests, and you are invited to join their midst and take part in their next world-changing decision making conference. You come over with your own agenda, but fulfilling it is not so easy as it seemed at first. The place, where The Council is held, is filled with mystery, there is deception on every step and politics, deduction, knowledge and other soft skill play vital role in your advancement in this place.

The Council is a great story-rich adventure game and I really pleasantly surprised how well the game masters grabing my attention and holding it until the very end of the game. With every hour played I wanted to know more and more about everything in the game, I went through every little corner, talked to everyone about everything just to know more about this. About high society of the world at the end of the 18th century, about influential art pieces from this and previous time periods, about individuals met in the game such as Manuel Godoy, Napoleon Bonaparte and George Washington.

One of the best parts of the game, in my opinion, is how well crafted the conversations were and how many possibilities there were on how to deal with them. This was also masterfully combined with skill tree, which had three main branches - Occultist, Detective and Diplomatic skills. One thing I also would like to mention is that the game is not that easy, some of the puzzles are a really hard nut to crack, which was a pleasant change in contrast with other games of this type.

Summary



Pros

Immersive story
Sophisticated and very engaging conversations
Detailed environment
Symbolism
Choices matter - decisions and actions have real consequences
Great skills/skill tree usage
Extraordinary puzzles
Atmosphere
Impeccable voice acting - I love usage of accents in the game (especially Napoleon)

Cons

Camera position was not optimal for me, and there was no option to change it (zoomout)
Animations are not of the highest quality
Story ending was a bit rushed, but still enjoyable to play

9.5 /10

As other reviews mention the game worsens towards the end, but still it is an amazing experience and it is definitely worth playing.
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176 Produkte im Account
4 Reviews
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692 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 27.12.21 22:42
One has to commend The Council for its ambitious narrative. From what I can tell, there is not just the mere illusion of choice we've come to known from Telltale Games (RIP), but there are multiple actual, meaningful decisions throughout all episodes.

Sadly, it seems that the game ran into budget constraints on the later episodes. While the plot itself and the puzzles keep their high quality throughout, the storytelling and the direction of the cutscenes and cinematics start falling flat more and more.
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92 Produkte im Account
2 Reviews
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10 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 24.12.21 01:06
I shut the game off after 15 minutes. The dialogue and acting was absolutely terrible.
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82 Produkte im Account
6 Reviews
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412 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 18.12.21 08:59
I spent a month trying to get past my issues with this game, ultimately completing Episode One, and I won't be continuing. I don't know whether it's the writing that's bad or the translation; if the latter then I would've preferred the French with subtitles by a mile to this torturous experience. The dialogue is rough, the dubbing awful and there are incorrect pronunciations (e.g. 'quay' spoken as 'kay'). Perhaps I could've overlooked this except the main character is a mess. He's wildly anachronistic and his American accent is immersion-breaking in the context. His poor voice acting and painful dialogue actually made me play him as an idiot as it seemed the only realistic option (I unlocked 'tactless' and 'dubious' quite by accident). Sometimes you can choose his dialogue but it doesn't always match his demeanour in the cinematics, leading to a disconnect.
Other problems were janky animations and being so assailed by new mechanics that I couldn't remember what all the icons represented. And why they dressed a duchess in the outfit of a prostitute, I have no idea. Maybe it's explained later in the game but I'll never know as the final, ridiculous straw occurred at the beginning of Episode Two when the player character, [spoiler] having been accused of murder, is instructed to investigate the crime himself! [/spoiler]. At least I got it on sale.
Oh, the scenery is lovely, for what it's worth.
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198 Produkte im Account
18 Reviews
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507 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.11.21 18:06
This game had a really good potential. First two episodes I was really into the game. From the third episode the story got increasingly bizarre and lost its reality.
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217 Produkte im Account
6 Reviews
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979 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 18.11.21 02:00
This game started off with an incredible amount of promise. Everything from the art style, the character design, the setting, the premise of the game, the actual gameplay design, are all fantastic. I was completely hooked for the first half of the game.

Then, tragically, the game jumps the shark in the most laughably absurd way I've ever seen. The story writers let down everyone involved in this project, and should be ashamed of wasting everyone else's expertly done hard work.
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805 Produkte im Account
34 Reviews
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763 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 17.11.21 06:39
Convoluted pseudo-intellectualist rubbish.

Gameplay consists of discovering a new room and walking in ever decreasing circular paths to find a hidden object. Characters are bland, story unfolds like after every Episode released they didn't know what the next one would be like. Some voiceactors sound as disinterested as Fiverr contractors. Neo-classical paintings everywhere for your dilettante character to remark on them. I got to the part where you need to read HALF THE BIBLE FOR CLUES TO OPEN A DOOR. I'm sure other players just looked it up, for me, that's my cue. I'm out. I regret buying/playing this.
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99 Produkte im Account
4 Reviews
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1186 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 05.11.21 03:09
Almost becomes so-bad-its-good at time but is overall pretty dull and tedious. Starts it promising but quickly fizzles out after the first episode. Some of the voice acting is solid. Some of it is comically bad. The animations can be amusingly stiff and awkward with some very choice facial expressions. The final act of the game lacks intrigue as all of the mysteries have been rather anti-climatically revealed. It also gets more railroaded the further you progress. Play the first episodes for free for some laughs if that's your thing but I wouldn't recommend buying the rest of the episodes.
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972 Produkte im Account
59 Reviews
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1388 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 31.10.21 21:25
It's pretty unique.
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166 Produkte im Account
12 Reviews
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1026 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 26.10.21 19:02
Tried the first episode for free and then bought the entire game on sale. The plot was really interesting, however the ending I got didn't give me goosebumps. I really liked that some historical characters were involved in the story.
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42 Produkte im Account
18 Reviews
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1073 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 04.10.21 14:26
Great game. Recommended for people who also like Sherlock Holmes: Devil's Daughter or L.A. N o i r e.
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1383 Produkte im Account
70 Reviews
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984 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 12.09.21 22:16
Pro Tip: Just play yourself without guides the first time. A living story to tug and twist on great replay possibilities.
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216 Produkte im Account
200 Reviews
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3444 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.08.21 01:41
Quite good. Go for it.
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181 Produkte im Account
6 Reviews
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1468 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 20.08.21 14:15
Truly intriguing political games! An amazing story in the spirit of that time! A lot of politics, a lot of art, a lot of drama and intrigue. Gorgeous and rich filled characters! Nice plot twists! Interesting riddles to think about! The game has 3 classes with different skills for passing, and several options for finals, which is impossible to learn the first time!)
Play? Yes, yes and again yes!
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393 Produkte im Account
21 Reviews
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836 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.07.21 21:54
It just gets worse the more the game goes on. I couldn't bring myself to finish it.
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389 Produkte im Account
19 Reviews
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2282 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 24.07.21 23:13
This visual novel is beautifully done. The animation is great (minus a few bugs with the mouths not moving when they should) and the story is quite interesting. You are looking for your mother in this political and occult story. Your choices obviously matter. I got all the achievements in two playthroughs. Once you fully beat the game (no matter the outcome), you can use space to skip most parts (not the choices) in your second playthrough. Be careful as the point of a second playthrough is to make some choices differently and to hopefully obtain different results. I did my first game without any guides and I played my second game with a guide. A guide for your second game shouldn't ruin too much. The story will mainly remain the same, but you will see a few different cutscenes. You can have a different ending and save or have certain people die/do the opposite from your first game.

TIPS: Walk around holding the E key. It highlights and picks up anything that you can interact with. Do not be afraid to restart a chapter. I restarted them more than once in my first playthrough because I hadn't chosen the proper skills to get the information that I wanted/to achieve what I wanted. Once you've reached a chapter, you can restart it at any time or replay any previous chapters.
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3226 Produkte im Account
181 Reviews
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723 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 12.07.21 16:36

tl;dr


This marriage of convenience between point & click adventure and RPG ended up more favorably in my books than it perhaps deserves or would to other people primarily because it was what I yearned for. Story centered on mystery about a young man looking for his mother as she goes missing during an island conference quickly turns into a plot to change the world as we know it in a long play for power. Character skills influencing what Louis can and cannot do are the biggest draw in this dialog-centric game where you end up trading repartee with historical figures the likes of George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte. Uneven vision in both the narrative with last two episodes and gameplay hampers what could have been an outstanding game down into merely a decent one.

Full Review


Being my favorite genres I've waxed nostalgic for, one of the points that's nagged at me was always “how come adventure games and RPGs never had a closer relationship?” and appropriate answers failed to materialize. I'm talking about your Quest for Glory variety where character building has an impact on point & click adventure side of things. One glance at The Council and you may think it's a Telltale copycat, but I'm pleased to report game is more along the lines of what I wanted. Some production caveats notwithstanding.

Premise we're working with is an ingenious one that seems rather obvious initially, but the more you think about the setup the more you realize how well it all feeds in synergistic fashion where narrative and mechanics reinforce each other. Babbling aside – nearing the end of the 18th century Louis and his mother Sarah de Richet, Golden Dawn members who just dealt with the crisis of a certain occult tome, find themselves invited to Lord Mortimer's mysterious island where fate of the world seems to be decided every so often by some of the most prominent figures. Or should I say Sarah is invited, promptly goes missing not long after arrival and so her son receives an invitation in follow-up. Not necessarily to get involved in the talks themselves but to just find out what happened to his spry mother while putting some investigative skills to good use. There's more to the island than meets the eyes, though.

Historical figures game makes use of liberally were probably the biggest draw for me because while their fates are set in stone to follow actual history they're certainly flavored in particular fashion. This also means the whodunit story is somewhat compromised by character limitations, but made up figures balance out that package. Amusingly, George Washington's tooth aches even made it in. The Council is working with limited cast, and some have more screen time due to immediate introductions, so you better not end up disliking many of them.

While I'm on the narrative side of things, which is an overwhelming part of the draw in a game like this, it would only be fair to mention what I perceived as noticeable drop in direction and quality starting with episode four. I'm not sure what went wrong there to make the writers stray from established ideas and regular politicking, but their decision to upset the game board to such a degree made me audibly react when the non-existent TWEEST was revealed. It is truly Shyamalan worthy and it pains I can't discuss it due to spoilers. Penultimate and ultimate episodes were overall much shorter and more focused, something I won't hold against them because The Council made the exact opposite mistake in earlier ones due to non-narrative reasons. Which leads me to...

Gameplay, where you might be pressed to say something along the lines of “it's a point & click adventure game, what GAMEPLAY is there to be had beyond clicking on hotspots?” and surprisingly enough you'd be wrong.

Doing away with classical pixel hunting, substituted to a degree by collectible coin hunting if that's your thing, majority of The Council is spent mastering the game's dialog system and when to use your considerable skills vs limited resources Louis has access to. Entire game is presented in third-person, but there are very few classical puzzles you may be lead to expect considering the genre. That's not to say there aren't other obstacles in the way.

While we're on the subject of dialog and given its importance I should point out how some systems work in the game. At the very start you get to choose some starting skills fitting into one of the three archetypes: Diplomat, Occultist or Detective. No worries because you can pick and choose from all three as you level up throughout the game on per-chapter basis and depending on how many things you managed to accomplish (find items, discovers information about characters, make choices, etc). In an interesting turnaround all of fifteen skills have foremost dialog uses on top of your regular interactions. Game commonly has alternate routes and solutions to accommodate freedom in character building. For example, something like Linguistics can be used to straight up translate an ancient text and to converse about languages. With so many skills I'd be hard pressed to single out any that felt shafted or downplayed, and that is to game's credit. Skill rank also matters because it lowers the Effort cost required to use said skills and if you're spread out too much Effort becomes the bane of your existence since you're tempted to do everything while slowly nipping away at your reserves. Fortunately this is why The Council has restorative items meant to sustain yourself with, make the next skill use free, detect character' weaknesses to make better skill calls, etc.

I got my ending and settled for it, but looking things up after the fact does reveal developers don't subscribe to Telltale school of smoke and mirrors. There ARE tangible choices to be made and I can't allow my letdown closure to tarnish what's being offered. Just keep something in mind – play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Problem seems to be more along the lines of developers' inability to commit to that initial story hook so certain episodes bring very little of long term consequence in terms of choices. Peak action comes in the form of dialog Confrontations that could've been better realized had they not boiled down “reference my journal for character traits = exploit”.

Earlier I hinted at some non-narrative issues game has in earlier episodes. I was referring to episodes two and three where developers decided to go full puzzle mode which puts these episodes at odds with the opening and remaining ones. Problem? The Council doesn't actually have many “use X on Y” puzzles and instead goes for cross-referencing and information gathering to make your own calls. With no manual saving and one save per file this ended up being infuriating and I would not be at all surprised if you just decided to look how to open up a certain circular door starved for hands, for example. My point is where later episodes jumped the shark narratively these two episodes ground the game to perfect standstill with their “puzzles”. For added effect you have to take into consideration game doesn't let you skip lines until you're replaying episodes.

If there's one aspect of the game for which I have nothing but praise it would be the presentation. Game obviously doesn't aim for realism with character models and I think it nails the slight caricature look. Levels, as limited as they are in number and exhausted by the time you're halfway through, are breathtakingly realized with some of the densest and vibrantly decorated interiors I've ever seen. You're absolutely transported to this island mansion above worldly matters. Soundtrack suffers from general weariness after hearing the same offering while you trudge across the same half dozen rooms, but tracks themselves are very fitting. Plenty of piano pieces.
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94 Produkte im Account
7 Reviews
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20 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 12.07.21 04:09
I wanted to like this game, but with the abysmal frames due to poor optimization, I was barely getting 40 FPS even with an RTX 3080 and i7-9700k at 1440p. While you obviously don't really need anything past 60 for this type of game, anything below 60 and my eyes start hurting. If you don't mind the optimization issues, I'm sure it's probably a great game. I just couldn't deal with that.
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73 Produkte im Account
4 Reviews
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1187 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 09.07.21 08:07
for me one of the best games is the one that makes the player sad when the story ends and have to part with the characters. the story, the connection to real history, and the emotional connection amazed me. sad that the story had to end and I'm the type of person who wouldn't replay a Choice Matter game. when it end, it end. i dont really care if my decision really effect the story line or not, i choose and i enjoy. farewell.

oh and the puzzles are awesome, i solved some of them by reading history on internet. crusades to be exact.
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45 Produkte im Account
2 Reviews
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1224 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 24.06.21 16:07
Did not like the ending so much wish I had not played
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351 Produkte im Account
123 Reviews
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1011 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 24.06.21 00:27
Don’t let the high Steam % recommended fool you: the thumbs up/thumbs down rating system is pretty misleading when it comes to games that fall under the category of “okay, but not great”. I give this game one non-committal hand wave. Over the course of all episodes, it goes from terrible and cheesy to being decent for about two episodes and then concluding in a Game of Thrones-level disaster. In a word, I would call it “audacious”.

The setting feels like historical fanfiction written by a kid with only surface level knowledge of what he’s talking about. You’re hanging out at the Illuminati clubhouse with George Washington, Napoleon, etc while they help you steal the Declaration of Independence (something to that effect, anyway). The reliance on popular history and surface-level information makes historical errors that much harder to ignore. There’s a reason most historical fiction tries to latch onto niche events rather than indulging in 5th Grade History: Greatest Hits.

It’s also clear that someone on the dev team really likes neoclassical art - in fact, it seems like the entire game was devised as an excuse for them to rub the player’s nose in their special interest. So maybe it bothers me more than it should that there is a very well-known Goya painting from a century in the future hanging front-and-center in the main hall which your character can even interact with. (In case you’re wondering, Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Time-Traveling Painting is one of many cases never resolved in this game.)

The gameplay varies wildly in quality. There are a lot of minor irritations, like not being able to skip through the terrible voice acting when you accidentally select a dialogue option you’ve already heard. (Side note: the main voice actor is *clearly* capable of pulling off a French accent, so why does his default voice sound like a dumb American?) The perks system is unnecessarily dense and most of these features don’t add anything to the game. It’s also pretty frustrating playing a detective game where your character has an encyclopedic knowledge about art history but seems to conveniently acquire memory loss when it comes to piecing together basic information about current events. His intellectual shortcomings are an annoying way of padding the game with a few extra minutes of hunting for clues to catch him up to speed with what the player has already figured out. Thankfully, this improves in the later episodes, as did the writing quality and puzzle difficulty.

Overall, I don’t regret putting time into this game. It was nothing if not over-the-top, and thankfully I am into that sort of thing. The trainwreck of an ending is what tipped me into “not recommended” territory, but overall the game still offered some interesting puzzles and unique experiences.
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87 Produkte im Account
17 Reviews
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523 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 18.06.21 19:41
I am sorry, I really really wanted to like this game. I haven't finished it yet but I am also not keen on doing it anytime soon, probably gonna rush through just to see if the story is at least worth the time spent. The graphics are great, the interior is incredibly beautiful and I love the detail our character gives about paintings, books and other objects he finds.

However... the story seems quite tedious to do. Unlike Telltale / Life is strange, there really isn't much action at all. I mean, yes, it's a narrative game, but if it's just talking and talking and talking, better go watch a series. Which brings me to the real issue why I don't really recommend this game, the acting is... mediocre at best and the lip syncing is horrid. Facial animations are worse than Andromeda had on launch. The game really isn't worth it unless you get it for very cheap on steam sale and if you're not into narrative games, then you're better off not playing it.
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3708 Produkte im Account
382 Reviews
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2241 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 18.06.21 06:34

“Mr. president, are you a killer?”
~Keir Simmons



For whatever reasons out there, “choose your own adventure” games, in which you make your way through the story by making certain choices, become more and more popular nowadays. I mean, we had quite a lot of those back in the days. Brilliant Digital Entertainment alone released tons of such games back in nineties, but somehow, even though they've made games based on such popular names as Superman, Popeye, Xena and even Ace Ventura, those games were never popular. Heck, most of the people nowadays don't even know about the fact that 7th Level's Ace Ventura game wasn't the only one out there. Nowadays, on the other hand, we have all sorts of popular games of that kind. From Detroit: Become Human to Until Dawn / The Dark Pictures Anthology and Life is Strange. People love that stuff. So... yeah. Here comes another one of such games. Can't call myself a big fan of the genre, though. Personally, I prefer proper Point-and-Click or puzzle experience, while “choose your own adventure” is something I prefer in the books, but... you know how it is. I don't mind such games as long as the story is interesting, the choices are satisfying and they're well-written. So... let's have a look at The Council, shall we?

First of all, I must admit that the game looks very promising at the beginning. For two reasons. First – the story looks very intriguing in the first episode (yes, what we have here is an episodic game, even though I won't bother reviewing every single episode separately and just write the review for the entire season, bear with me). And the way it's done? It's very Agatha Christie. I mean, you know how it is about Dame Agatha. The best thing about her works is that she doesn't just try to surprise you. She always gives you the keys. All the clues and hints are there, you just need to look for them very carefully. Same thing with this game. You can just rush to the main objectives or you can take your time and investigate. Not only you'll collect more data that way, it'll actually make an impact on what will happen with your character later. Which is pretty cool.

The second reason is the fact that this one is more than just “choose your own adventure”. Remember dialogues in Mass Effect? That's pretty much what we have here. The choices are pretty simple (don't expect a lot of text from Baldur's Gate times), but your stats will make a big impact. Yes, I said “stats”. Because in this game you'll be able to level up and choose between three groups of skills. You can become either smooth-talking diplomat, all-knowing occultist who can manipulate the others and even act like a thief, or the detective, the master of logic (I'M BATMAN!!!). Sounds awesome, right? And guess what? The more you'll investigate and interact with the world – the more experience you'll get. Be careful, though, since aside from positive traits, there are also the negative ones. By making some really poor choices, your character can get some permanent damage and even lose a limb. Pretty cool stuff.

Unfortunately... that's where the good things end and the disaster begins. First of all, the game... doesn't look good enough. The backgrounds are fine, but the character models are awful. And with no motion capture, they feel like something from 20 years ago. Remember games like Dead Reefs? Well, the character animation in The Council can actually be even worse. Even though Dead Reefs was released in bloody 2007. “We are veterans of the video game industry” says the developer's official website. Feels more like a bunch of old geezers who don't know a thing about modern technologies. Or even optimization, since I had surprisingly poor FPS even on the machine that can easily run Cyberpunk 2077.

But OK, who cares about graphics? What's about the actual game? Well... let's just say that it's far from being good enough either. For example, the story here is a mess. The game just can't decide what kind of story it wants to tell us. Most of the time, the characters will just talk about politics. That's right. The Council is pretty much a game, in which ten people are talking politics. For about 15 hours. You don't think it's fun? You should stop reading this review and remove The Council from your wishlist right now. But it's not like the politics are the biggest problem here. Even though yes, most of the people would probably find it boring, the biggest problem is... well, like I said, the game just can't decide what kind of story it wants to tell you. First – you're looking for your mother, then you're investigating some murder and ask people about their alibis and then boom! Forget about your mother and the murder, let's talk about something entirely different. The game just keeps trying different things and none of those work. Even gameplay is like that. The entire episode of talking is followed by the entire episode of pretty poor puzzles. The only thing that will remain constant is the characters. But it's not like the characters are interesting enough either. Sure, we've got one heck of variety. We've got Cardinal, duchess and even historical leaders like Manuel Godoy, Napoléon Bonaparte and President George Washington. Unfortunately, neither of them is well-written and as usual in such cases, using such big historical figures in a game only makes things to feel cheesy as f.

Don't expect much space for the investigation either. The entire game takes place in a single mansion. And no, I'm not talking about some big and complicated mansion. Don't expect any Resident Evil stuff here. We've got a main hall, a dining hall, a library, a study, a garden, a crypt, a conference room and a personal room for every guest. That's pretty much it. That's the entire game. In all the episodes. You won't see anything else. All you'll do in this game is walking from one of those rooms to another. And that's it. Which is... well, not as lame as you may expect, since you'll still be busy investigating all the time, but still, it's pretty lame. Especially since the game will close the doors all the time to make things more corridor-like. It's not a right time to enter the certain room? The door is closed. Now is the time? The door is opened. Lame...

Even the RPG element here doesn't work nearly as good as you'll hope. Unlike the RPG titles like Mass Effect, in this game it's impossible to tell what kind of skill you'll need the most. And as the result, you'll either use the guide, which will ruin all the fun, or pick up the skills blindly, hoping that you made the right choice. Which... isn't really fun, since usually, you'll regret your choices right away.

So... yeah. On paper, The Council is a pretty interesting project. A “choose your own adventure” game with the RPG element, done in Agatha Christie's way, with a slight occult aftertaste. Unfortunately, in reality... it's a mess. With only a few rooms to explore, cheesy characters, messed up story that doesn't know what it wants to be, painfully bad character animation and confusing choices? Let's just say I can't recommend this game to anyone. Even during your second playthrough when you'll know exactly what to do, how the things work and how to avoid the traps, the game still won't be fun. I mean, heck, you can't even skip dialogues here, so... yeah. Be ready to listen to all of those slow and boring talks all over again... There's certainly something about this game. But somehow, the game never grew up into what it was intended to be. Dixi.
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32 Produkte im Account
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59 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 13.06.21 11:19
Some interesting mechanics I have ever seen in this game for this genre. The skill tree in this genre is really unique. Things could have really worked out if the voice acting was a bit better. Even if I look away from voice acting from a story-driven game, the worst lip-syncing is the final nail in the coffin.
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891 Produkte im Account
21 Reviews
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982 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 06.06.21 23:43
Fun tell-tale-style narrative game with RPG elements. I really enjoyed this game. Really interesting story with many twists and turns. Hope there's a sequel.
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404 Produkte im Account
14 Reviews
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222 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 05.06.21 17:54
Tried many things, different settings, resolutions, refresh rates, v-sync, enhanced sync, Freesync on/off, limit to 2-3-4-6 cores, disabled SMT, enabled Game Mode, even registry tricks and whatnot... nothing works, this game just runs like crap with extreme jumpy frame times (like from 12 to 60ms). And no, it's not a crappy system, a TR3960X with a RX 6900XT are powerful enough to run three instances at once without sweating...

The game does look good and the gameplay so far is nice, though I don't know much about the consequences these might have, because I just couldn't play it for long until I have to quit, because it runs so f...ing rough, with stutter and flickering lights.
And all that, while the graphics card is bored like heck, have a look for yourself:
https://youtu.be/Z61LmHmyGxg

These 3,7 hours were 3 hours troubleshooting... please, devs, fix this game!
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23 Produkte im Account
5 Reviews
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852 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 02.06.21 11:22
I absolutely loved this game 100%!! The graphics and visual fluidity or quality are what really holds this game back. It doesn't run well. The story, the depth, the choices, puzzles, scares, and even plot twists are AMAZING! This game really was ahead of its time, and i'd love to see what they would have done if given the voice acting, budget, and time that most of the bigger games have. I'd love to see what they do in the future. 100% love this game, again. A MUST play.
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131 Produkte im Account
15 Reviews
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802 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 18.05.21 12:42
The Council is a very entertaining singleplayer game that successfully mixes elements of point and click story games and RPGs. You have incredible control over the protagonist, Louis de Richet's, actions. You choose what he says and how he acts, this really allows the player to get immersed in the story and invested in his struggles. This game is very heavy on dialogue on that is it's greatest strength. It's entire cast of characters is very well developed with many layers. You must be attentive to details as the developers packed them into the plot and leave it up to you to accomplish the mission. Not a single character or section of the story is wasted, everything contributes to the greater mystery and conflict. The music and art style does wonders for the atmosphere as you explore the island, discovering clues. The finale of the story is full of drama and is very well written. I was very satisfied with this game. It is highly ambitious and in my opinion, it achieves it's goals in creating an intriguing mystery for the player to get wrapped up in.
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87 Produkte im Account
5 Reviews
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2680 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 14.05.21 20:09
Very good game with GOOD story
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31 Reviews
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2333 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 05.05.21 20:33
Interesting game with different ways of solution. Worth playing at least two times.
https://youtu.be/IX2JzGWS4wE
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374 Produkte im Account
49 Reviews
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199 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 02.05.21 12:56
Not a master piece to be honest. Entertaining and intriguing plot with alternative outcomes and consequences. Detective game with three-branched rp-skill-progression. Animation is mostly tolerable. Horrible at times. First episode is free-to-play and after that you may decide whatever to buy the rest 4 episodes.

7/10 judging by the first episode.
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377 Produkte im Account
16 Reviews
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1015 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.04.21 18:42
Ενα πολυ ιδιαιτερο adventure με αρκετα rpg στοιχεια απο το Big Bad Wolf studio με τεραστιο replayability. Η ιστορια θα μας παει στο 1793 ο χαρακτηρας μας ειναι ο Louis De Richet ο γιος της διασημης Sarah De Richet μιας γυναικας μελος μιας μεγαλης οργανωσης που αποφασιζουν σημαντικα θεματα για το πως θα εξελιχθει ο κοσμος. Αναμεσα της θα βρουμε διασημους χαρακτηρες της πραγματικης μας ιστοριας οπως George Washington ο πρωτος προεδρος της Αμερικης, Napoleon Bonaparte αυτοκρατορας της Γαλλιας, Manuel Godoy πρωθυπουργος της Ισπανιας. Το μεγαλο κεφαλι που διοικει την οργανωση ειναι ο William Mortimer. Εμεις καταφθανουμε στο νησι που εχει το καστρο του ο Mortimer ψαχνοντας τη μανα μας που χαθηκε στο νησι πριν λιγες μερες. Το μυστηριο κυριαρχει απο το πρωτο λεπτο που παταμε το ποδι μας στο νησι. Ενδιαφερον διαλογοι πολλες επιλογες με paths που οντως αλλαζουν ολη την ιστορια και υπαρχουν επιπτωσεις για οτι καλο η κακο κανουμε πολυ ομορφα γραφικα και δυσκολοι γριφοι φτιαχνουν ενα παιχνιδι με βαθος που προσπαθει να φερει αρκετα νεα πραγματα στο ειδος και τα καταφερνει μεχρι ενος σημειου. Το παιχνιδι ειναι χωρισμενο σε 5 επεισοδια δεν κανει κοιλια καπου αλλα καποιοι γριφοι θελουν αρκετη προσοχη για να βγουν. Τα rpg στοιχεια που ανεφερα ειναι για τον χαρακτηρα μας το παιχνιδι μας δινει την επιλογη στην αρχη να εχουμε στοιχια ντετεκτιβ/πολιτικης/μυστικισμου το καθε τμημα ανοιγει αλλα επιμερους χαρακτηριστικα που θα αναπτυξουμε στην πορεια ωστε να μπορουμε να κανουμε πιο εκλεπτισμενους διαλογους και να αποκαλυψουμε τι πραγματικα συμβαινει. Δεν θα γραψω αλλα για την ιστορια γιατι εγκυμονει ο κινδυνος του spoiler και πρεπει ο καθενας να διαλεξει το δρομο που θελει. Το παιχνιδι πεφτει σε καποιες μικρες παγιδες οπως το πλατιασμα καποιων διαλογων και ο αποπροσανατολισμος του παιχτη στο κυριο μελημα του χαρακτηρα. Αυτα ομως δεν ειναι αρκετα για να καταστησουν το παιχνιδι ουτε καν μετριο. Στο διαταυτα εχουμε ενα αξιολογο παιχνιδι με μια ιστορια με πολλα νοηματα ενδιαφεροντες χαρακτηρες ιδιαιτερο gameplay για το genre με πολυ ομορφα γραφικα και ελπιζω να δουμε και αλλες παρομοιες προσπαθειες λιγο πιο ισορροπημενες ωστε να φτασουμε απο το καλο στο πολυ καλο η και στο εξαιρετικο. Οσοι αγαπατε τα adventures παιξτε το προσωπικα θα κανω ακομα ενα playthrough στο μελλον μιας και εχει παρα πολλα paths και θελω να δω και μια αλλη τροπη των γεγονοτων για τους χαρακτηρες και εμας. 17 ωριτσες μου πηρε και για τα 5 επεισοδια καποιοι γριφοι ηταν αρκετα δυσκολοι και ηθελε πολυ προσοχη. Ενα τιμιο 7.8/10
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4 Produkte im Account
1 Reviews
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1743 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 24.04.21 05:54
still my top 3 best RPG. The Art,Story,Characters. THE Perfect RPG game, i wish they make a sequel or something close to this game.
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453 Produkte im Account
17 Reviews
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1284 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.03.21 16:16
I definitely would recommend the game, especially for those who like the mix of historical moments and occult!

Want to start with the things I like:

- The story: [spoiler] The writing is good enough. Twists and revelations about supernatural staff, historical persons, and moments that intertwined to the main plot and the world of the game - I like it a lot. And I was glad that it's not just about some mysteries and cults that have 'real' explanations but that the story based on occult and supernatural staff, and we face it in some way. [/spoiler]

- The choices: at some point, the player would make a choice. There are different situations and different outcomes and consequences. Some of them not significant while others are big enough. Though don't expect something that will turn upside down the whole playthrough. It will differ, but not so much.

- The music helps to feel the atmosphere, the design of the locations and the characters. It all helps a lot to feel the mystery around and some romance feeling in the air as well as the historical period of time.

- Gameplay: I like that it's not just an adventure-quest but with many interactions, many collectibles, and things to explore, to find, to read. There is a progression system, and you can choose what you will be specialized to help unveil the secrets of the story and the game. It will affect the way you will do it and I like that there more than talks in the first place. The game offers several puzzles and they are awesome and interesting!

Now, want to point some weak moments of the game:

- First, the audio bug: when the dialogue ends there is some sound and then start the other dialogue like the audio tracks are interrupted by something and don't properly connect or else. It was really irritating, and I found several topics about it but no solution.

- I understand that it was the idea of the one island and one location and that some rooms (or else) open later with the new chapters. But... The previous locations not changing much (if changing at all) and there are not many of the new places to see. I would like to have at least two big main locations if you want to follow such an idea, to see something different and not to walk around all the same place.

- The ending and the last chapter. It's not bad, but it feels rushed with too little explanation. It breaks the pace of the previous storytelling and there are too many secrets was left till the last moment and the answers that were given are not enough. And it's not only about answers for me, but the finale is too short and not-exciting. We face without spoilers let's say 'IT' and... The end. I was a bit disappointed and didn't have a proper feeling of satisfaction at the end of the journey.

However, I like the game, and it's one of my favorites, despite some negative impressions and moments. A good and interesting story and with enough gameplay and features behind it.
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46 Produkte im Account
4 Reviews
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297 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 24.03.21 04:01
REALLY liked this game so far... but can you please let us buy the episodes separately :(
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116 Produkte im Account
6 Reviews
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911 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 21.03.21 23:11
Very nice, heavily story-driven game with a feel for the occult and secret societies. Still haven't played until the end, but I do like the vibe. As a fan of Lovecraft and the likes, this is definitely a go-to. The characters are well written and the athmosphere is rather tense. The only flaw is the character's facial animations. For a game, which heavily relies on dialogue, these are pretty poor. But it's not that bad and I really recommend the experience, if you're a fan of this type of games.
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682 Produkte im Account
17 Reviews
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1625 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 09.03.21 22:49
soooo good, unique interactions with a very intriguing story. binged through this last year and just re-installed to take another journey. have yet to play anything quite like it.
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20 Produkte im Account
7 Reviews
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842 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 01.03.21 01:01
This game is an absolute cringe festival. Absurd, and never answers a big question that they building up during the game. Game mechanics are poor, and dailogs have one on of the worst transitions I've ever seen. Also, a lot of bugs. If you like a mediocre story based game that start promising and goes downhill then this is the one.
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257 Produkte im Account
42 Reviews
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2740 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 13.02.21 14:37

Есть нечто странное в том, что незнакомые люди вынуждены проводить многие дни вместе. Хотя их объединяет лишь желание переместиться из одного места в другое. Скука плюс анонимность и плюс ритмично-мягкое покачивание.



Детективный мистический квест The Council начинается с того, как молодой Луи де Рише пребывает в загадочный замок на неизвестном острове в поисках своей пропавшей матери. Благодаря особым обстоятельствам в этом месте собрались самые властные и влиятельные люди со всего мира, а вот хозяин таинственным образом не удосужился появиться. Пронизывающая атмосфера остросюжетного приключенческого детектива, приправленная научно-фантастическими элементами с толикой сверхъестественного чувствуется с первых минут геймплея. А вот как взглянуть на этот мир и на эту историю - выбирать тебе. В самом начале ты можешь выбрать через какую призму ты хочешь расследовать это дело:
быть дипломатом, знатоком этика и лингвистики, человеком убедительным и привычным к политическим интригам;
детективом, искусном сыщиком, ловким и внимательным, который подмечает все странности и задает нужные вопросы;
или же оккультистом, мастером не только манипуляций и эзотерики, но и эрудированным ученым.
Выбор повлияет на твои врожденные способности, однако для прокачки всегда доступен полный набор умений, да и по ходу истории ты сможешь найти множество книг и манускриптов, которые также повышают определенные навыки.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2246117856

Code У меня есть преимущество: я вижу мир исключительно таким, каким он должен быть.


Способности в этой игре очень буквальны - хочешь узнавать тайны людей? Тебе понадобятся манипуляция и убеждение. Хочешь прилично вести себя и уметь поддержать беседу о художниках 18 века? Тогда углубляйся в этикет и эрудицию, и, показав себя всезнающий эстетом, возможно другие начнут доверять тебе больше и поделяться своими секретами. А хочешь достать целительный нектар с верхней полки книжного шкафа? Придется прокачать ловкость.
Однако у всего есть своя цена, и каждая использованная тобой способность, ментальная или физическая, будет стоить очков действия. Однако Луи зачастую не прочь отведать целительного маточного молочка, закинуться золотым эликсирчиком и пригубить парочку шипов дьявола, запив все это дело кармелитовой водой. Все эти лакомства помогут применить больше способностей, снизить их цену или даже применить следующий навык бесплатно. А особенно полезны они будут в конфронтациях с другими гостями этого совета. Эти конфронтации представляют собой многоэтапные споры, когда вы пытаетесь убедить/обмануть/отвлечь/подговорить/отговорить кого-либо от чего-либо. У каждого персонажа есть свои сильные стороны и слабости, так, искусным в политике графом тебе вряд ли удастся манипулировать, но ты всегда можешь попробовать надавить на его суеверную сторону. Герои в этой истории запоминающиеся и исключительные, каждый из которых преследует собственные интересы, из-за чего расследование запутывается в паутине политических хитросплетений и крупномасштабных интриг.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2253877088

Code Мне всегда хотелось верить, что человек — существо рациональное и цивилизованное.


The council - это для своего жанра уникальное произведение, где выбор действительно имеет вес [spoiler]привет telltale[/spoiler], и хотя игра не обделена и проблемами, она умеет если не заставить закрыть на них глаза, то отвести внимание. Простейшие примеры - графика, местами совсем слабая, умеет компенсировать все приятным, драматичным освещением и акцентированием; диалоги, порой невероятно банальные и скучные, но как часть общей интересной истории, не вызывают пререканий. Но, пожалуй, главный для многих минус игры - это сама история.
Следует понять, что хотя ты и начинаешь с претенциозным детективным направлением, но в какой-то момент сверхъестественного и фантастического в сюжете станет намного больше, чем рационального и цивилизованного. Такой уклон может нехило так подбить всё впечатление от игры, так что перед покупкой стоит поразмыслить как бы ты отнесся к кроссоверу Шерлока с Американским Вампиром.

Code Что бы люди не говорили, но есть хорошо и есть плохо, между ними нет ничего.


The Council - очень необычный проект, который почему-то обошел известность стороной и предпочел просто находиться в уютной комнатушке со своими исключительными фанатами. И хотя это игра не без изъяна, но в конце концов это квест, с основной ориентацией на сюжет, и тут, он справляется наверняка. По скидке всю эпизодическую коллекцию можно урвать за очень приличную цену, так что не пугайтесь вычурного мистицизма и напыщенных скриншотов, а лучше дайте шанс действительно любопытной игре.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2253877314

Самое сложное — не поиск истины, а как поступить с ней, когда её найдешь.

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515 Produkte im Account
12 Reviews
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22 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 10.02.21 17:40
The only way I got the game to run with more than 40-odd fps was by enabling 'fast' vsync in the nvidia control panel and even then it was a stuttering mess. You'd imagine an RTX 3080 would have no issue running this game, but nothing seems to work.
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776 Produkte im Account
312 Reviews
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1074 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 03.02.21 23:30

Such is the way of conspiracy...



I didn't think I'd like the game at first simply from the premise, I don't really care for stuff about secret societies or the Illuminati — quite a trite concept in my estimation — And I don't particularly care for history. But after playing the free initial episode, I really enjoyed it.

Premise: You'll embody Louis de Richet as the main character, a member of the Golden Order. Responding to an invitation to a manor by one Lord Mortimer for a conference. There are a number of sub-plots you might pick up on. However, in Episode 4 there is a very large shift in tone and theme. It's a polarizing theme twist for certain.

How to lose friends & alienate people — Gameplay:


The Council is essentially a modern take on the point and click adventure. You might say TellTale-esque. In essence, the entire game is a succession of dialogue trees.

Possible influences: LA Noire, Detroit Become Human (Quantic Dream in general) Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter. TellTale. I got a little bit of a Vampyr vibe, though that came out at a similar time and this doesn't have any combat.

The Council further “modernizes” the genre by adding RPG elements.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2383475108

You'll level into skills by performing tasks set before you. How you level dictates further dialogue options or choices to be made later on. Traits and talents are acquired through actions taken within the game. But you need to level into things to take some actions in the first place or have dialogue open up in that direction.

Chosen class simply makes skills within that tree cost less to obtain.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2383475058
The way you level will make more difficult actions cost less. Provided they're within that skill-house. Even some outside of dialogue, such as subterfuge to open boxes around the manor.

Confrontations require action. You're only allowed so many “blunders” as the game calls them. They remind me anecdotally of the dialogue challenges from Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Failing confrontations is possible, sometimes resulting in new traits. Having implications such as skill choices requiring more effort.

Finally! A game that realistically depicts talking with people! —
When met with obstinate people regarding some subjects, Louis will become exhausted or discontent. Much like in real life! In game, these act as status effects that either make certain decisions cost more effort points or remove the visibility of the reaction timer, for example.

Every character has their own personality traits. It'd prove prudent to find out immunities and vulnerabilities as doing so can reduce the cost of actions that use effort points. Because as I experienced early on without saying the instance specifically, I had leveled into psychology which reduced one action from 3 to only 1 effort point, but it turns out the subject was immune to the trait, so they just got really angry. This resulted in my character becoming “exhausted” which decreased the maximum number of available effort points I could hold.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2383475093
This will matter later on when puzzles become more obscure.

Exploring the manor will let you both find clues as well as pick-ups such as Royal Jelly that refills effort points. There are 3 other active use items you can find; carmelite water, which gives you one free use of a skill choice, Golden Elixer, which removes all negative effect currently held and Devil's Thorn, an item that allows you to temporarily see vulnerabilities and immunities. You're able to use any of items, provided you have them, during dialogue. So you don't have to preemptively consume them in case of unforeseen altercations. You're also able to interrupt dialogue and check your journal for these immunities and vulnerabilities. Do mind consuming too many, wouldn't want to become intoxicated.

“All time is time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I've said before, bugs in amber.”


— Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

The Council is published by both Focus Home Interactive and Cyanide studios. Cyanide is actually a subsidiary of Nacon, formally Big Ben Interactive, they also own “Spiders” — the devs behind games like Greedfall and Mars: War Logs. Focus Home and Nacon seem to have some sort of loose relationship with each other. That is isn't really relevant, but Cyanide studios also develops “Styx: Master of Shadows”, a series that uses “Amber” as magic. In “The Council”, you can collect amber fragments to increase your effort point gauge. I thought this was a very nice homage; though I doubt the worlds are connected.

Grievances:

  • You cannot skip dialogue making some puzzles slightly obnoxious after trying repeated solutions and needing to hear the character's preamble into the puzzle. Another issue that because the dialogue is so skill check heavy, it makes you want to choose those options when they aren't always the best or even suited towards how you actually might want to react. It'd be interesting to be able to remove extra information from the dialogue choices. But the actual options in-game are very limited.
  • Skill check options sometimes only make puzzles slightly easier. Where Louis typically voices a part of the solution. A few of the puzzles use Religious imagery and Bible verses. So, be wary if you're into sort of thing and it might affront your sensibilities. I found those puzzles specifically very convoluted, I gave them a few shots. But I've no shame in admitting I simply looked up the solution.
  • Putting what this game is actually is about upfront I feel would have served it better in the end. If a sequel is ever to come, I'd imagine the plot twist would be revealed in the title or discovered in just a cursory glance.
  • It's got a whimsical soundtrack, slightly jovial. Doesn't always seem to fit the semi-serious nature of the game. Perhaps to create dissonance or suggest dubious endeavors.


The Gist:


It's a really interesting take on the genre, though I find the twist near the end to be... well, expected given the nature of the theme. Fairly natural extension if I may be so bold.

I'd like to see more adventure games employ this sort of role-playing system. Rather than be the illusory sorts of affairs the genre has come to be known for. I can recommend to adventure or RPG fans of any level. But I'd wait for a sale, personally. As the last 2 episodes are kind of... well they're quite honestly dumb. The first 3 episodes are really good, though. The plot twist is a point of contention for many.
Zitat:
If you've read this far, consider following my curation — Station Argus


I do enjoy the art, it's not hyper-realistic but mildly stylized. Gives the world a bit of a surreal tone. (This will also age better.)
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1843 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 01.02.21 02:40
If you enjoy stories like In the Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco or The Da Vinci Code then you are liable to enjoy these cinematic conversations with puzzles. The art assets in the game are gorgeous. There are several branches to the story offering replay value. The paintings and historical references like the black cube and Saturn require a monocle, top hat, fine cigar and vintage wine paired with the stinkiest cheese platter for maximum gaming pleasure.
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256 Produkte im Account
14 Reviews
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713 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 04.01.21 17:28
To enjoy this game you're going to have to accept a few things.
Despite the game's characters and setting insisting with zeal that you and your mother are French, you will find yourself hard pressed to believe it from their English voices and dialogues.
Sometimes mouths Just Don't Work.
Sometimes Sir will find that Sir has already selected this dialogue option and Sir did try to not select it again, but unfortunately, Sir did select it, and now Sir must hear the entire spiel again as Sir has learned the reality of no dialogue skip option.

If you can get past that, the gameplay is interesting, the story is cool and its a fun investigation experience. I particularly like skilltrees and the options they bring in conversation. I will however, never have enough effort points to do what I want, so I'll keep simping for rosewater or whatever random alchemy drug bottle I found under the couch to give me freebie tries at climbing a bookcase onehanded.

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38 Produkte im Account
6 Reviews
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1143 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 29.12.20 18:18
I've enjoyed playing it overall but the last chapter is weird and surreal. It's like the devs didn't know how to end it and went with as weird as possible. Still worth a play through though if you have 10-15 hours to kill and like story/puzzle games.
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1 Reviews
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1120 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.12.20 20:37
Heavy story driven game based off mostly dialogue. Some minor physical challenges like searching for clues and loot. The plot and story are very well written and seem to be based in some pretty realistic historical characters. There is a good possibility the plot and setting may be real. Either way its a great change of pace from shooter/looters or survival games right now.
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105 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 21.12.20 20:05
Does this game have (. )( .) in it YES!
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915 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 20.12.20 16:45
I highly recommend this as a narrative adventure game. No matter what you will experience the same *events* each time you play, but the context of those events and the options available to you will change depending on your decisions and so will the outcome. A lot of times, the outcome is different dialogue which might just seem like flavor, but picking up on certain knowledge as a player could save your life later in the game and the game never tells you. I really respect that.

The complexity of the systems at work shows itself occasionally in broken dialogue or sequences of events (For example, one time I literally ended a conversation by DECKING a dude; next time I saw him, he still didn't like me, but he didn't bring up me literally laying him out on the floor and just told me to leave. Which doesn't make sense considering his motivations and what he thought was at stake; he had a very good reason to stop me), but it's not super common. There is one bit in Episode 3 that is completely and utterly broken; the writing takes a huge dip and sentences seem patched together, like a lot of content was cut and they just tried to make do. And that might be what happened, I don't know; however, on the whole the writing is pretty good and the voice acting is excellent. Some of the accents are a bit overbearing but since I have no idea how Frenchmen spoke in 1793 I can't criticize it.

There is one mechanic introduced late in the game which is incredibly fun, but underutilized. There are a few conversations where it is absolutely crucial, and a few conversations where you're not allowed to use it, and a few conversations where the game suggests to you that using it would be unwise. As a result, I rarely used it after the first couple confrontations where it was used heavily. If there's ever a sequel or spiritual successor I would love to see this expanded on.

In summary, the game has an interesting plot, variable quality writing, well developed characters, poor animations, good visual design, excellent voice acting, some underdeveloped mechanics, and an average soundtrack. I will warn you that the worst section of the game is Episode 3. If you notice the quality dipping in Episode 2 and start to despair in Episode 3, have no fear the game does recover in Episode 4. It won't set your world on fire, but I think it's worth a playthough; took me 15 hours, so it should last you at least 10-12.
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927 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 19.12.20 21:04

★★★★☆


Despite a few things that bothered me a bit, The Council is a fine example of an investigation game done right.

[+]⠀First, I really enjoyed the setting. Taking place on a secluded island at the end of the eighteenth century, you very quickly get the feeling of walking into a trap. Wandering about the manor, I often stopped to look at the detailed furniture, statues and various paintings. The inclusion of historical characters is definitely a good idea (and a necessary one for the story) and Bonaparte's voice acting is a delight to listen to. I also really enjoyed the weight of the choices knowing you must live with the consequences. The inclusion of RPG mechanics was very welcome, giving the game even more replayability.

[-]⠀The story was great until episode 4 where a major plot twist left me a bit underwhelmed and that feeling lasted until the end (I got a good ending though). On a technical level, performance was uneven, the animations are sometimes stiff and the characters tend to have difficulties focusing on each other's eyes.
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853 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 06.12.20 01:19
The atmosphere is nothing short of magic
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78 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 04.12.20 21:42
I did not finish the game nor do i plan on doing so. I didn't even finish the first chapter due to personal issues with the game rather than mechanics or difficulty. The mechanics are standard for this game wonder around find all the clues, this game highlights everything of interest if you get close enough making it easy to find everything if you're diligent. It has a leveling system which you but points into different categories which affect dialogue and exploration. If this game has combat I did not see it, so I cannot say if leveling affects the combat. The game play and mechanics are standard for this game. The story that I saw was interesting enough and seemed to have hooks hooks for reply. Based on game play and story if it continues at the same strength throughout the rest of the games I would recommend it.

Now what follows my seem pedantic (and kind of is) but given my love and knowledge of history mixed with the fact this is a narrative heavy game with a focus on spoken dialogue, I hope my grievances are understandable. Normally I don't really factor voice acting in to a game review like graphics it can make the game more appealing but isn't necessary for a good game. This however is dialogue heavy game so it comes far more into play than most other and it being a historical fiction game being rated by a history nerd means I have to talk about it. The voice acting is what stopped me from finishing the game. Four characters have a modern american accent. The main character and his mother who I believe to be from France or Holland. The Duke who is British that owns the island and former American President George Washington. This would not be a problem if they had the other people from Britain speaking in a similar accent, after all the modern America accent is closer to what would have been spoken in Britain at the time the game is set then a modern British one. However all other British characters have a British accent. This is me completely nitpicking but Napoleon was born in Corsica and moved to mainland France around the age of ten so I imagine his accent would be a combination of French and Italian when speaking English so him speaking in a straight French accent is kind of weird.

Historical anachronism, I know it's historical fiction but you need to have the basics right and major changes explained, otherwise its just fiction. At the very start of the game the protagonist and his mother are being tortured for information. Their torturer has a German accent and Von in his name, Von when in a German name is a noble title. It makes no sense as to why a German noble is torturing two people in a luxury apartment by himself. As if he wouldn't have had his minions or hired thugs grab them off the street and torture them in some shitty basement or dungeon and he certainly wouldn't be the only one in the room while doing so. I guess he could be Dutch (Von isn't a tile in Dutch) but then why give him a German accent. The biggest historical mistake is the fact that Napoleon is called Empreror a title he received in 1804 however George Washington is here who died in 1799 but given how sudden his death was maybe this is explained later in the game.

Overall all these things were mild annoyance's but when combined together and with no end to the annoyance's in sight and all most certainly more to come made me stop playing. However if you like mystery games and don't mind historical inaccuracy it seems to be worth a play.
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1112 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 03.12.20 20:29
Just as a warning, do be prepared that the first Chapter is the best Chapter of the story, and be prepared to be slightly let down in the rest of them!
Which doesn't mean they are bad at all, I actually enjoyed the game quite a lot, although I got a bad ending somehow... nevertheless, I think the graphics were really great and despite its realism, it doesn't cross over to uncanny valley territory at all, as it is still quite beautifully stylized.
The story is interesting, but I admit that the plot twist that happens in Chapter 4 seems a bit forced and rushed. Why introduce such a plot twist so late into the story...?
Music was really nice in parts of the game as well~!
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4697 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 30.11.20 00:20
100% one of the best games I have ever played. I love puzzle, and choice based games, with different outcomes, allowing you to replay and find out different paths and endings. You could play this game for weeks and still not get all scenes. The only complaint is the save process, Instead of pausing and saving wherever, you have to either continue to play out a long situation, or quit and accept you will be starting over and lose progress. Otherwise 11/10!
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34 Reviews
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224 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 28.11.20 16:25
---{Graphics}---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{Gameplay}---
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☑ It‘s just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{Audio}---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{Audience}---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ All

---{PC Requirements}---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{Difficulity}---
☐ Just press 'W'
☑ Easy
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{Grind}---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isnt necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You‘ll need a second live for grinding

---{Story}---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It‘ll replace your life

---{Game Time}---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{Price}---
☐ It’s free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{Bugs}---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
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563 Produkte im Account
70 Reviews
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1070 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 24.11.20 19:23
Did I expect this game to be ... what it is? Intense, choices really mattering and it to have such a long and rich story? I did not. I was indeed quite bamboozled!

Highly recommend it!
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306 Reviews
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996 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 22.11.20 01:40
Absolutely charming experience, if you like closed island mysteries. Hell even if you don't like them, this game is incredible episodic adventure with Interesting characters. Plot is revealing more and more unthinkable things with each episode. This just never stops surprising until the end. I sank through all 5 chapters in a week of regular play. I would say performance issues are sometimes annoying. No options menu and graphic clipping, although these mostly happen only outdoor with more lightning effects.

Mood and story comes together in a great way. With each chapter depending how many tasks get completed, we may acquire more experience and skill points for additional options of persuading. Our character evolves during the game and it's clearly visible. It's not just talk through game, we are thinking about rpg elements building up our character and spending consumable resources. Unlike other episodic adventures it's not leading you by the hand. Failing a riddle is making you progress anyway until you see consequence of that choice. It's cool, I like the freedom of visible choice and results that keep the game fluent.

The Council is a bit bizzare game, but that's why I will remember it for quite a while. Putting together details along with reading the mood is something they've done well.
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426 Produkte im Account
2349 Reviews
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746 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 17.11.20 18:17
The Council is pretty good, mechanically I really enjoyed what the game had to offer. The different skill trees that influence your dialog and investigation ability really make for an interesting experience, and is well-rounded enough to allow for a few ways to play. I would like to see more of these types of games use RPG mechanics in this way.

The game starts strong in my opinion with an interesting story that starts to build fairly quickly. My first noticeable negative with the game also comes up quickly. I found the main characters voice acting to be grating at best. I came to tolerate it on my play through and enjoyed the game as it was up until about the half-way point in the game, it was around episode three that I started having doubts about the overall quality of the game. Without spoiling it I felt that the game really jumps the shark towards the end, really by the time I finished all five episodes The Council seemed like a parody of itself.


With all that being said I feel like I can conclude that the council was an overall mixed experience that starts as a 8/10 but ends at a solid six, seven at most. The game ran me about ten hours for one playthrough, and I feel like I got my moneys worth.
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649 Produkte im Account
84 Reviews
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885 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 08.11.20 19:03
This is going to be a mixed review. I enjoyed most of this game - it's got a unique skill and trait system, with you earning new perks through your actions. There is a lot of choice and consequence and characters can die. There's definitely a lot of replayability here. I loved the first 3 chapters, and fully intend to do another playthrough.

That said, there are some issues:
- Much of the voice acting is truly awful, especially the main character and his mother.
- The majority of facial animations are really ugly to look at, which is at odds with the environments which are gorgeous. Makes conversations (a very significant portion of the game) visually displeasing.
- The last section of the game goes off the rails completely - it goes in a totally unexpected direction and becomes incredibly bizarre, with confusing and contradictory sections. The end is a mess of boring and annoying puzzles.
- The story gets very convoluted and I struggled to follow it (usually not an issue at all), with the player character sometimes announcing information as fact that I am pretty sure I was never told at all.

Despite the criticism, I would recommend this. The game mechanics are completely unique and there's a lot of replayability. I don't know what they were thinking with chapter 4 and 5, but it's like it's a different game entirely. If they'd stuck with the investigation game elements (the best part of the game), I'm sure the reviews would be better.
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48 Produkte im Account
6 Reviews
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1800 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 31.10.20 11:38
I just completed the final chapter of The Council, and am so glad I took the time to invest in this game. I had a wonderful time playing this, and found myself fully absorbed in this world and it's characters. This game is different to many others. I love so much the impact of the actions I made as Luis, as well as the mystery and story that unfolds, the beautiful artwork, and puzzles to crack. My thanks and gratitude to everyone who developed this game <3
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53 Produkte im Account
6 Reviews
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1326 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 30.10.20 20:14
So much fun to play this game!
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87 Produkte im Account
1 Reviews
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79 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 20.10.20 21:57
Interesting story mechanics but absolutely terrible writing and voice acting. For a game that leans so heavily on its story, the characters are just stiff and fail to inspire the player care at all what happens. Most of my time was spent waiting around for people to finish talking in scenarios that felt all together very forced.
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163 Produkte im Account
13 Reviews
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796 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 19.10.20 19:23
+ Impressive story
+ Interesting from both historical and mystical perspective
+ Very famous historic characters
+ Ancient art is brought back to life
+ Broad skill systems, game offers replayability and has many outcomes which depends on your choices
+ The atmosphere of the manor and the island is unforgettable

- Sometimes game feels a bit repetitive and slow paced

8/10
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499 Produkte im Account
44 Reviews
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953 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 11.10.20 02:11
Very good - a sort of cerebral, oddly relaxing adventure of intrigue and manipulation, in the disorienting 18th century setting of an ornate mansion filled with well-dressed dignitaries with powdered wigs shouting at each other against a backdrop of DaVinci Code style socio-occult conspiracies mixed with a baffling pinch of cosmic horror.

14 hours for the first playthrough if you're an explorer like me; I expect it has some replay value because of quite game-changing decisions throughout each chapter.

Would like more like this.
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174 Produkte im Account
27 Reviews
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574 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 10.10.20 16:01
This was a masterpiece, truly. Unique mechanics and storyline. Tough decisions. Great perk system. It's seriously like being an active character in a movie and so worth the money. It is quite a long game as well that you will not get bored with. Pure mystery puzzler. 5/5
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169 Produkte im Account
4 Reviews
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5214 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 09.10.20 11:33
More choices than in anything else ever.
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186 Produkte im Account
132 Reviews
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4872 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 07.10.20 16:12
Immersive
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24 Produkte im Account
5 Reviews
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1236 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 30.09.20 22:14
Love the story. The gameplay is good at triggering my adrenaline, as well as invoking my dillema, thus immersing me more into the story. I felt like I was just being initiated into a spiritual initiation when playing this. It has some few bugs/glitches though, but since I bought all of the DLCs during the sale, I dont feel the need to complain about it really. Overall, love the experience. Thank you for this game.
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226 Produkte im Account
111 Reviews
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1199 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 26.09.20 12:48
The Council is a 2018 political adventure game. The story focuses on a Council meeting where the top players on the political field have gathered to decide the world's future. Most of the events happen in a mansion in 1793. You will meet famous historical figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington, as well as some unknown units who are members of secret societies around the globe. Who needs the Freemasons when you can get The Golden Order?

Our main character is a messed-in-the-head, insecure mommy's boy who has to act for himself for what's probably the first time in his life. Sadly, it's in this company where everyone is powerful, deceitful and the big plays are at hand. His insecurities will help you get your groove on, as you too are (probably?) not an able member of a secret society who can freely bend others to his will without the needed trick up your sleeve.

The game has an RPG-style skills system which allows for unique gameplays and developments to be realised by the players. At the very beginning, you choose an essential skill set to be cheaper for you to grow during the game. I would highly recommend to NOT focus on the profile descriptions, but rather consider the actual skills within the build.

You will be using skills during quick events while confronting your allies and enemies, when you unlock locked boxes the keys for which you don't own yet (this is totally not a theft!) and so on. Choose wisely.

The only disadvantage of this game, and unfortunately I had a lot of issues with this, is the abysmal optimisation that the devs have made. Whenever there are multilayered items on the screen, everything staggers. It's quite sad because the game is beautiful and the story is a breath of fresh air. Of course, my computer is quite old already, but it's definitely not 12-fps-old!
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339 Produkte im Account
19 Reviews
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1016 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 18.09.20 18:36
Worth it for 6 Euros at a discount, but not worth it at full price. Highly recommended if you played Telltale / Quantic Dreams games.
It`s very janky and buggy but it has a lot of soul.
Your choices actually matter.
First 3 chapters are great, but it gets a really weird and abrupt turn in chapter 4. Some may like it, others might not.
It blends RPG elements with choices very well.

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77 Produkte im Account
11 Reviews
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1269 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 18.09.20 00:23
I have by now never been dumbfounded by the huge number of possible endings (ca. 15) a game such as this one offers. Amazing job. The narrative escalates very quickly in every probable way you choose for. Best to doublecheck your decisions before you progress. Handles political, artistic and societal affairs pretty well. Though, it may or may not intrigue you for the considerably large part of the story lies in supernatural concepts.
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739 Produkte im Account
333 Reviews
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889 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 17.09.20 13:17

Overview


The Council is a narrative adventure game with strong RPG elements set in the late 1700 Europe. Players impersonate Louis De Richet, a French young aristocrat and son of Sarah De Richet - one of the current leaders of the Golden Order, a mysterious secret society. Along with other prestigious individuals such as George Washington or Napoleon to name a few, they are all invited to attend a meeting that will shape a new world order. This already enigmatic reunion becomes even more unsettling, after a series of events plunges Louis into something unbelievable.

???? The Good Side
  • The future is NowThe Council's approach to narrative-adventure gameplay is rather unique for the genre. Along with common exploration sections, this title introduces a deep RPG-style skill system that is actively used in interactions, dialogues and verbal confrontations. Skills such as thievery, sleight of hand, logic and many more will dynamically apply to the current context. This system is further complemented by resource management, with different consumable types found in the world and usable to gain advantages. The choices, possibilities and outcomes of every chapter have lasting consequences, and are heavily determined by your skills and previous actions, with a depth not seen in almost any other game of this type.
  • Both gold and daggers glitter in the dark
  • This title offers a solid, realistic and detailed representation of late 1700 aristocracy environments, uses, costumes and practices. Each area boasts very detailed graphics with rich details, quality representations of real-world paintings and monuments. Same goes for characters, all wearing clothes in line with the time period and using vocabulary, mannerisms and behaviors consistent with their standing. In addition, the political and social environments of high courts is realistically depicted, with all the complexity of palace intrigues, plots and plans to eliminate each other's rivals or gain more power.
  • Ancient secrets
  • In addition to the deep dialogue / roleplaying system, the game offers some truly articulate puzzles that will require interpretation of multiple texts, paintings, decipher codes and remember past events - all at the same time in some cases. While skills can help making them a bit easier, they remain some of the most complex puzzles I saw in this genre for a long while.
  • The paths of destiny
  • With some 9 endings and a high number of story-changing choices in each chapter, The Council has a very good replay value which is not common for the genre. Some characters may live or die, be your allies or enemies in each playthrough, and this will lead to massively different situations each time. Once is simply not enough to see every facet of this complex story.


https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2229752798

???? The Bad Side
  • These nobles always seem so stiff!Animations and movement of all characters in general, always results very stiff particularly during action sequences. Sometimes models clip into their own clothes or walk and rotate in a very clunky manner. This can be quite immersion-breaking especially during dialogues or confrontations.


Rating: Excellent


Click here for the complete Rating Chart
It took me around 15 hours to complete the game, while taking my time to find secrets, secondary dialogues and generally explore everything in detail. For the current price of 25€ and excellent quality, I can recommend buying for full price.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2229849294

In-Depth Breakdown


???? Gameplay Analysis
Gameplay is divided into Exploration, Dialogues and Character Management.

Exploration
Is performed on foot, and there are no time limits or other deadlines, you can take your time. In the first phases, your exploration range will be limited as many areas of the island and manor will be closed off. Later on, the freedom will increase, with the late-game phases allowing you to go basically anywhere without limits. While exploring there are many items, interactions and consumables to find. Some of such interactions may reveal important information (such as a letter hidden somewhere), while gathering consumables will give you advantages when you decide to use them.

Dialogues
Are the most important part of gameplay, and can be either regular conversations or Confrontations. In the first case, you will be able to discuss a variety of topics depending on the situation - and use your acquired skills to unlock topics and branches otherwise not available. Each character in the island has its own Vulnerabilities and Immunities to some of your skills, for example a master of sciences will be Immune to your Erudition skill, but might be Vulnerable to Manipulation.

Consumables will give you advantages such as more Effort Points to use skills, or allow you to see Vulnerabilities for a small time. Confrontations are special dialogues often playing a major role in the story, in them you have a limited number of Blunders (failures) allowed: choosing the right sentences and skills is fundamental to succeed, while failure is also possible and often determines a bad outcome for yourself. A few of them might even result in your death and premature ending, but this is rare.

Your skill set also allows you to exploit Opportunities, which allow you to grasp detail of people's behaviors using psychology, knowledge of etiquette and other such skills, for example. The game saves after each dialogue, transition and important event, there is no reloading so you have to live with eventual mistakes and consequences of your actions.

Character Management
Is performed at the end of each Chapter, by allocating skill points gained and by choosing Manuscripts you found to read in the wait for the next day. These manuscripts bestow free skill points to certain abilities depending on their themes, finding them can give a decisive advantage. Consumables can be used at any time, but a maximum of 5 per type can be carried, some are more rare than others and may award permanent upgrades in the case of Amber, the most rare.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2230509360

Technical Breakdown


PC Specs: RTX2080Ti, Ryzen 3900X, 32GB RAM DDR4
  • Critical ProblemsNone.
  • Optimization
  • Not very good, the resource usage especially GPU-side is very high, even considering the high quality graphics.
  • Performance
  • Runs without issues in 1440p, 85Hz.
  • Bugs
  • No significant bugs to report.
  • Other Issues
  • If alt-tabbed the game GPU usage spikes to a constant 99%. Do not alt-tab.
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81 Produkte im Account
9 Reviews
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1071 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 15.09.20 16:58
This game is a little weird. It has a lot of issues. Your choices matter most of the time but sometimes characters talk as if you didn't make those decisions later in the game(nothing effecting the overall story but characters mentioned stuff i didn't chose to do as if I have done them). Also most of the time you don't know what is available in a story that you can do(I understand this is there for replayability but I don't want to play second time ) which makes you walk aimlessly everywhere after each conversation to find what can happen. At earlier stages game doesn't let you go to the places where you have nothing to do yet which was great but later in the game where most of the places are available to go even if there is nothing to do there. It was just annoying grind to find other possibilities. Also if you are playing an episode for the first time you can't skip conversations even if you chose them before which was super annoying. I enjoyed the game first few hours and after that i just played to finish the game since it became boring.(it was mostly walking simulator for me)
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514 Produkte im Account
51 Reviews
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45 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 12.09.20 19:03
Terrible optimization. FPS won't go higher than 45 even though CPU is 10 percent busy. Constant ambient sounds stutter. Ambient sounds starts and ends with a character sentences. Terrible lipsync -- i was in constant feel that voice and character on the screen are not connected or are not the same and the voice comes from some video opened in a browser.

Maybe there is some story told behind all this, but it is unpleasant to play.
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101 Produkte im Account
34 Reviews
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154 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 26.08.20 06:24
First 3 episodes are excellent. However, I highly do not recommend finishing the game as the last two episodes feel rushed and very disappointing. It honestly would be better to just cut the story and leave it on the cliffhanger after ep3.
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19 Produkte im Account
3 Reviews
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1625 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.08.20 19:33
The Council attempts to replace the combat we are used to seeing in most games with verbal sparring and succeeds spectacularly. There is intrigue, betrayal, backstabbing and manipulation all over that place, whether you are the victim or the one causing it. The people you converse with are smart, educated and eloquent making you stay on your toes during the verbal confrontations. Since very few games dare delve on such territory and few succeed so well, I consider this one a gem. If what I have said so far sounds fun to you, you should definitely try it!

On the negative parts of the game, while the first chapters of the game do a great job in keeping the story alive, fluent and depended on social interactions, later chapters get a bit more gamey, using more puzzles that don't invoke any special interest as they ruin the immertion built up from the previous chapters and steer the game towards a typical adventure RPG, not bad, but typical. The worst part for me however was a horrible logical blunder on the designer's part, on a very crucial part of the game that directly affects the ending, where you can get the correct answer by thinking in a meta way but not if you stick to what actually makes sense. I elaborate below, after the spoiler notice.

*** WARNING, SPOILERS!!! ***
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Ok, we are probably safe now. On the quest for the spear of Longinus the correct spear has the christian symbol of fish engraved on it. This makes absolutely no sense since Christianism became a religion by the actions of st Paul much after the messiah's crucifixion. At the time Longinus is supposed to have pierced Jesus with the spear there was no religion or any symbol whatsoever. Of course, the fish could have been a symbol with a different meaning since before the Christ's time but the game makes no such reference. As for the fish being engraved later, it still sounds unlikely, as if Christians had gotten the lance in their hands it could have been subjected to any change, including being cleaned of the blood and being coated with gold (which renders the other clues about the lance's appearance useless). Not that the game makes any such reference, it simply expects you to believe the lance had a Christian symbol on it since before Christianism even existed. On my first playthrough I chose a spear with the eye of Ra, which could have been misinterpreted for a fish because of the similar shape but it seems I was foolish to trust the devs so much.
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189 Produkte im Account
2 Reviews
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958 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 30.07.20 08:41
I'll be honest..

The first episode was really solid, and I looked forward to the political intrigue.
The second episode was weaker and it was clear they were cutting cinematic components they had in episode 1.
The third episode broke the experience for me, the plot went a completely different direction: it's a shame really.
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558 Produkte im Account
204 Reviews
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229 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 26.07.20 01:14
Recommended for fans of choice-based adventures such as the Telltale series as well as a good mystery. This one includes some light roleplaying mechanics as well with tons of dialogue-based skills you can use and improve to get the upper hand through socializing or subterfuge.

+Visuals overall
+Fully voiced dialogue
+Story, mystery, psychology
+Good variety of choices leading down different paths
+Variety of skills
+George Washington
+First episode free, decent length

-Mediocre voice acting
-Inconsistent visual quality, some blurring issues
-Barebones game options, no key rebinds
-Interactables are difficult to see (results in click spam)
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99 Produkte im Account
3 Reviews
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1366 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 16.07.20 20:13
I reeaally enjoy this style of game. I'm normally not a huge fan of narrative based games but because this combines both investigative gameplay and narrative choices I absolutely love it. I'm on my second play through, making mostly the opposite choices which I did the first time and I can say it's different enough where the second time is as enjoyable as the first (although I know the secrets and mysteries already). I'm not sure if I'll play it again after that though, which is why I'd recommend buying it on sale. I've noticed a couple inconsistency errors but other than that all seems good, I just wish there was more!
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437 Produkte im Account
61 Reviews
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595 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 16.07.20 07:05
Well....damn...

I was really enjoying this game for the most part.

It's very similar to a telltale games in terms of dialogue choices and interacting with stuff.
The game does have a cool unique feature though, essentially being able to put skill points in a specific topic of dialogue discussions ( manipulation, politics, science, etc...). It's very cool and opens up for a whole bunch of different dialogue options, as well as figuring out puzzles and discussing objects and events.

But godamnit this story. I was hooked through the first 3 episodes. Then a quarter of the way through 4...It all falls apart with this absolute out of no where bombshell. The game already had a out of no where plot twist but I guess the devs just felt like that wasn't enough and they needed to cram as many stereotype plot twist in as possible. It completely took me out of the game and I was unable to enjoy the final 2 episodes.

The game also seriously needed a skip dialogue option. If you accidentally click on a dialogue you already selected earlier, you have to sit there and listen to your character say the same thing over and over again (whether it be talking to someone or misclicking on a item you already examined).

The voice acting and writing is really hit and miss. The main character in particular just sounds like he's rushing his lines and has almost no emotion to his voice when there needs to be.

The optimization is so confusing and bad. Some people say they are able to get like 100+frames or more while others like me are tied to just 30 fps because of how the settings in the game are.
(One option literally says locked 30 fps wtf is that doing on a pc port?)

Overall, while I really wanted to like this game (and believe me I was for the first 3 episodes) I really only walk away remembering those final 2 episodes that just leave a bad taste in my mouth.

TL;DR
Cool interesting narrative skill choices allowing for different intriguing dialogue options in multiple playthroughs.
Bad optimization.
A story that falls apart in the final 2 episodes with cliche plot twists.
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304 Produkte im Account
12 Reviews
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913 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 12.07.20 12:32
Pros
1. Interesting setting/context (environment, characters, story development)
2. Good RPG dynamics (skills, manuscripts, conversation options)
3. Very different from what's out there (in my opinion)

Cons
1. Clunky movement controls
2. Slower pace
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9381 Produkte im Account
29 Reviews
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1971 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 10.07.20 15:26
What a game! Makes you feel and think and takes you on Indiana Jones adventure. Stumbles a bit towards the end, but it's alright. Well worth the money.
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624 Produkte im Account
214 Reviews
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4743 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 10.07.20 04:47
It's an interesting game where you use verbal skills to to influence people you are having a discussion with. It has many historical figures and it is set on a gorgeous mansion. The puzzles eventually become quite challenging and the plot falls apart by the fourth episode. I'd still recommend it on sale. 7/10.
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161 Produkte im Account
70 Reviews
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697 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 09.07.20 03:06
Excellent game, very intriguing, great story, beautiful graphics especially in 4K. Highly recommend 9 out of 10
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62 Produkte im Account
10 Reviews
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920 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 06.07.20 20:58
I certainly see where people's discontent is coming from, but having gone into this game with that in mind, I have to say I wasn't really that bothered by it.

The first episode, now free, was very entertaining. Story is good, characters are for the most part pretty interesting, gameplay is nothing spectacular, but quite enjoyable at least for players like me (who are into narrative, choice making games). The confrontation mechanic is a highlight for me. It grabbed me.

The second episode follows this line. Still quite good.

Now, for what I've read, most people's troubles are with episodes 4 and 5. They say 4 is when all goes downhill and then 5 can't recover from that. I differ. To me, the issues started around halfway through the 3rd episode, when the narrative starts taking a certain turn, and continued throughout the 4th (where the turn of events develop. There are even two new abilities introduced here, which felt oddly late to me).

The 5th episode I didn't mind at all, it was shorter for sure, and less content-filled, more puzzle oriented.

That being said (and I agree that there's a downfall that very much involves the fourth episode), the problems didn't upset my overall view of the game. The issues are mainly narrative, but I don't think it's bad writing (although ep 4 is kinda filled with twists and reveals, which the main character is like 'oh ok' about. That might be the worst bit).

What I think happens is that the game offers you three possible alignments at the beginning, and then the story takes a turn that HEAVILY favours one of those, whether you chose it or not. It's a story that takes a route that's probably hit or miss for most people. I thought it was ok, and that it could've been great had it gone another way, or if that hadn't been the only possible path. But I didn't hate it. I insist, episode 4 is by far the weakest and that's that. Episode 5, while very short and lacking in the narrative and choice aspects, had a couple of puzzles that I kind of enjoyed. And the endgame I got was more or less satisfying.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this for any narrative game lover. Just keep an open mind about where the story might go (because it does warn you).
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2206 Produkte im Account
270 Reviews
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1193 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 05.06.20 13:11
I have a mixed feeling about this game after finishing it, however, the first couple of episodes were amazing. I bought this narrative adventure game before the first episode became free, I highly suggest you try out the first episode and check the performance and graphics before you decide to buy it, some people may not like the performance of this game.

You play as a young man named Louis De Richet, a member of a secret society along with his mother who has disappeared a month ago. You'll have to travel to an isolated island, which has a single massive manor. Inside, you'll meet high society people such as George Washington, Manuel Godoy, Napoleon along with others. It's up to you if you want to trust any of them or make them trust you, as you'll feel there is something very fishy about this manor and its owner.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2116051666

I don't know what is the point of the items you pick as I haven't used any of them except for the talents, the journal is good, it shows each characters details along with what are their vulnerabilities and immune during the conversation. You'll get to 'confront' each character and you'll have to carefully choose your response, each response that needs an ability will cost you effort points, and to fill those points you have to search the rooms for Royal jelly or Honey. Also, there are three more abilities to use. When you succeed in a confrontation you'll get an extra trait.
  • Devil's thorn - Reveals vulnerabilities and immune of a person you are currently talking with, it has a timer.
  • Royal jelly - Restores 2 Effort Points.
  • Carmelite water - Use the next ability for free.
  • Golden elixir - Removes negative status.


https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2119972972

The puzzles are quite difficult but I enjoyed solving them. I loved the manor's atmosphere and exploring it, but got tired of it after a couple of episodes, you are stuck in the same place going to the same rooms over and over. The soundtracks are looping, it felt like there are only three tracks in the whole game.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2116053002

Pros:
+Interesting story.
+Well-done voice over.
+Good graphics and atmosphere.
+Choices and consequences.
+Confronting characters.
+Choosing between three classes (Diplomat, Occultist, Detective)
+Skills tree.
+Helpful journal.
+Has multiple endings and outcomes.
+Steam achievements.

Cons:
- No manual save.
- Unsatisfying ending.
- Mediocre character design.
- Bad animation.
- Bad game performance.
- Limited resources (especially Royal jelly and Carmelite water)
- No option to skip previously seen cutscenes.

This game has too many choices and alternative endings. For me, the downfall of it is episode 4, and episode 5 was the worst. I didn't like how the main character's personality has changed drastically, the way he accepted things made me think the developers rushed this part in a bad way.

Zitat:
???????????? ???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????? ????????????????????'???? ????????????????????????
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232 Produkte im Account
2 Reviews
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4106 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 04.06.20 23:37
Nice game although the novelty of the great graphics wears off quite quickly, which is a shame I think.
The BIGGER problem with this game is that I could not complete it because of a bug at the beginning of Act 5 which prevents progress. Contacted the company three time but no response. Asked STEAM or a refund on the basis that I could not play this to the end - so 68 hour of my life were largely wasted... but they did not agree - which is a shame - if companies are not to be held accountable for their games, then they do not deserve our money.
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71 Produkte im Account
12 Reviews
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1763 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 28.05.20 16:27
Good design, interesting story, new concept yet horribly optimized.
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155 Produkte im Account
13 Reviews
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383 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.05.20 18:34
I've played first episode , when I realized I didn't get the whole series free I am really really disappointed because it is the most underrated games I've ever seen. I've really enjoyed while I was playing and will buy whole episodes in next sales also recommend your to play first episode just for trying because first episode is free
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204 Produkte im Account
83 Reviews
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1917 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 25.05.20 09:43
The Council is an amazing story-rich game that lovers of this genre will appreciate. However, it doesn't come without its own set of mishaps.

You play as Louis, the son of a very influential woman who is involved in a secret society that makes the world as we know it go round. She had gone missing and it will be your job to uncover the mystery of her disappearance. How you go about that is up to you as you will choose your talents that suit your playstyle best. You can be a perfectly polite bible scholar or an uncaring brute.

In core, a conversation and exploration based adventure, you will encounter many engaging and some really difficult puzzles that take patience to figure out. There are quite a few very different characters, each has a unique personality and a look to them. Some may find the character design ugly or strange, I think it suits the setting really well. Over-the-top, yet subtle in other ways. Voice acting is excellent but the lip-sync is lacking sometimes which gets us to the first set of issues.

The game's issues are mostly technical. Controlling your character is really stiff and slow, which makes it really uncomfortable to move around and you will be doing that a lot if you love to play completionist like me. It's not game breaking, but definitely worth mentioning. Another issue is the enormous decline in polish quality as the game progresses. After episode 3, it feels as if half the staff got laid off or they crunched very hard to finish up on time. While in the beginning of the game, I was impressed by the subtle animation details of the characters during dialogs and cutscenes, the late game is completely devoid of that. People stand still, occasionally nodding and moving their arms like they did in Mass Effect 1 (2007).

While miniscule in scale, another problem I had with the Council appeared right during the first launch. Why in the holy hell of unicorns would the game display the name of my windows profile? It serves no purpose. In my case, it was my real name and it freaked me out so much that I actually believed for a moment that the game was poking around in my payment information. A pointless addition that only does harm, please remove it if you are reading this. Many streamers voice their concerns as well.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the story. It's been ages since I was last so surprised at the way a story unfolded. At a certain point, the shift is so shocking, I can imagine it completely turned off some of the players. You could compare it to David Cage's Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit, where the first half of the game is grounded in reality and the second half just take off in a rocket. Half way through, new truths and features are introduced to you that could not have been anticipated. I really liked this change and I would advise you to keep your mind open. It is definitely worth playing and finishing.

Speaking about the end, I appreciate multiple endings although their execution is sort of lackluster. Instead of shown, we are simply told for the most part. This game deserved more and it feels like way more was planned. I'm blaming the same decline in quality I mentioned earlier.

Do choices matter in this game? Yes and no. Yes, you can seal the fate of several characters and different choices will let you experience the game in very different ways. And no, you will still be lead along the same linear story. I wouldn't expect anything more or less. The unique turn of being able to use your chosen talents to pick special options and each character's vulnerabilities and immunities really put this take on TellTale's formula on the top of the genre. Well done!

Environment is beautiful, incredibly detailed maps, that clearly show how much love went into this project. The size of the explorable area is exactly right for the game's setting. The feeling of isolation in a beautiful cage is achieved really well and compliments the story. Sound design is great too with occasional mishaps of dialogs being suddenly cut off or playing simultaneously. The Council music theme is beautiful but there aren't enough different tracks to play in different situations in my opinion.

In conclusion, we need more games like The Council. More of them and better polished, not as rushed. I definitely recommend it and can't wait to see more from the studio.
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269 Produkte im Account
36 Reviews
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155 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 21.05.20 13:25
Made it through episode 1 but between the horrible lip sync, clunky animations and awful voice acting I couldn't keep going. The story is somewhat interesting but too many negatives.
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1132 Produkte im Account
29 Reviews
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86 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 17.05.20 07:46
I was going to wait much longer before writing a review!
But.. Wow! ????
I got to have a conversation with George Washington! ???? We belong to a late 1700's secret society order, which is just awesome! The game starts off in a massive manor filled with glorious art! Large paintings everywhere from the 1400's - 1600's such as the Crucifixion of Saint Peter, Saturn Devouring his Son and Casting the Damned into Hell.
I love it! ???? Being into History, everything so far is just so cool. I felt like I walked into a museum or stepped back into time. Which undoubtedly is an even better feeling.

The story starts off slow, but its solid. The main character is looking for his missing mother who is the leader of the secret order. You walk around looking for clues and have conversations trying to fit the pieces all together. There's a level up system and you get to pick your skills you want to start with in the beginning. You use the skills frequently to help solve puzzles, riddles ECT. I find it to be more fun with the skill tree, it helps the game not be such a bore. ????

I suggest try it out for yourself, the first episode is free! ????

This is the perfect game for my beautiful raining ☔ evening.
Much happiness and enjoyment! Thank You!




- ???????? Will update this review after I've played more! -
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52 Produkte im Account
25 Reviews
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224 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 28.04.20 13:33
thinking about george washington
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163 Produkte im Account
4 Reviews
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1044 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 23.04.20 16:02
That was a blast.
The subtitles do not match dialogue at times and sometimes there was an audio overlap but it was certainly an interesting adventure. The first episode really hooked me it so you can give it a try before you commit to buying it.
The gameplay is really something to behold with various skills unlocking dialogue options and having to balance it with your Effort Points. I think there was a bit too many recovery items so it's a bit too easy to get a lot of information in one playthrough. The dialogue is actually quite quippy, I think that's the word, and the conversation has fluidity to it that I rarely see in those types of games. Usually the dialogue feels more like you are going through the mentions than having an actual discussion. This game comes really close to showing a regular conversation, plus some occult stuff, so that was very refreshing. And on top the characters are more than tired stereotypes. I'm shocked.
Although I must say that in Episode one Mortimer comes across more a mustache curling villain in comparison to his more soft-spoken manner in the latter episodes since he seems to have been given a a completely different direction.
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584 Produkte im Account
104 Reviews
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445 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 21.04.20 19:41
One of those games where the choices truly matter, I really enjoyed it from beginning to end. Sometimes it's kinda hard to pass through the chapters, but that's what a game supposed to be. Anyway, great gameplay, great soundtrack, great graphics, great game.
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154 Produkte im Account
1 Reviews
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1387 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 12.04.20 13:06
Before you purchase this game, I need to mention how this game is not what you expect it to be.

I've played through the game in a couple of days, as I was really hooked to find out what happened next. As many others have mentioned, there is a big twist in episode 4, which makes the remainder of the game feel more like a soap opera than an actual detective game (which it initially comes across as). The twist itself left a bit of a bitter taste for me personally, considering there is very little build up to it in the other episodes or perhaps I've missed the hints. It does feel like a random, abrupt shift to the left in the narrative, which leaves the ending feeling rather rushed as well. I think this is the game's biggest 'miss', sadly, but even so, it still somewhat fits the narrative. Somewhat.

Does this ruin the fun I had in the episodes preceding episode 4 and 5? No, because the game is really enjoyable, especially because it demands you to explore on your own. It doesn't hold your hand, and most puzzles feel balanced as well - not too easy, but also not too difficult.

It's an impressive journey full of intrigue and mysteries. I thoroughly enjoyed the fleshed out and unique characters, the immense background information, and dipping my toes into mythology, history, and religion. Yes, at times I wished that we had more choices when it came to being there for other people like Peru and weren't so limited by what the game wanted us to do in those moments, but, outside of that, the game leaves you second guessing on who the trust and who you really shouldn't. There's never a dull moment or any time to relax and feel comfortable, which is good. Who truly the bad guy is is up to the player and their own beliefs, which is very welcoming. The game supports this view by giving you a lot of choices at key moments.

Overall, it's a good game with such an interesting storyline. One of the better games I've played recently, especially because it's so extensive and well thought out - well, mostly ;). Just for that alone I would definitely recommend it. If the genre is your niche, you definitely have to try it. I will be replaying it at some point as well, to make different choices and see what happens.
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844 Produkte im Account
72 Reviews
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753 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 05.04.20 06:23
The Council has some good things going for it that it does well to go with some things that it could have done better. It has a great story that got more and more interesting as it got towards the end. I think the end itself was a little rushed and weak but the last 20 minutes of a game shouldn’t tarnish what came before. The game is divided really into two parts: conversations you have with others and puzzles that you encounter. The conversation system is fantastic. You can upgrade different skill sets such as science; manipulation; politics; agility; and many more by gaining XP and finding texts to study. Each character you converse with will have immunities and vulnerabilities that tie into your skills. So if you are strong in psychology and the person you’re talking with has a vulnerability to that then you will have dialogue options that you otherwise wouldn’t to convince them of what you’re saying or to have extra insight into what they’re saying. If however they’re immune to say etiquette then you can’t use that trait to try to lie or manipulate them because they see right through it. You can find out these traits for characters through conversation; by finding out from others or by means such as searching their rooms for clues. The other half of the game was the puzzles and they were a real mixed bag. Some of them I didn’t mind but others required constant reading one clue that points to another clue which points you back to the previous clue to get a different piece of data to proceed to another clue. Some of them were just convoluted. It wasn’t so much I didn’t understand what the game wanted from me as I simply didn’t enjoy it enough to care. The map system was another sore spot as it wasn’t very good. I found the game didn’t always give me a good idea of where I needed to go. If for instance I had to find a specific character and they weren’t in their room I was walking all over the mansion trying to find where they may be. The map was poorly labelled as well. I wish that I could have just turn on a radar system telling me where to go sometimes. I don’t like those kind of aids but it would have saved some frustration. The voice acting was overall very good. I thought that the voice of Jacques Peru and Louis de Richet who were supposed to be French characters had distinct North American accents. Everyone else had appropriate accents for their homeland but those two stood out. The graphics were fairly good overall. The world detail in the mansion was well done as was the lighting; clothing and facial detail. The hair was a mixed bag that ranged from decent to poor though. Two things I found strange was the ability to pick the locks of peoples belongings right in front of them and they didn’t seem to care as well as after being physically deformed due to one of my choices almost no one seems to notice or act differently. If someone I knew to be fine and healthy a few hours ago suddenly shows up missing a limb I may ask if everything is alright. I am not bothered by those two issues, I just was amused by them.

I played The Council on Linux using Proton. It never crashed on me. It did have an error about a crash every time I closed the game but it never impacted save data and never happened during game play. It really was a nothing issue that I just closed each time. I played version 0.9.5_6359 of the game. It had an auto save system not a manual but luckily it saved often so it wasn’t a big deal. You can’t rebind keys but there are only a handful of keys to use. It has options for Vsync and 2 other graphics options. The game uses the Unreal engine. Alt-Tab didn’t work. The game supported refresh rates above 60 even though there wasn’t an official setting for it. The game ran really well. I had the settings at highest with Vsync on at 1080P and it was very smooth, never dropping below 60 FPS.

Disk Space Used: 22.77GB
VRAM Usage (MB) : 3778-4511
CPU Usage (%): 17-28
RAM Usage (GB): 3.5-4.5
GPU Usage (%): 6-99
Frame Rate (FPS): 61-130

I recommend The Council to those who enjoy dialogue heavy games that have a robust choice system. The conversation system and the plot was more than enough to entertain me and outweigh the puzzles I didn’t care for. I finished the game in 12 hours 30 minutes and paid $10.99 CAD for it. That is more than a fair price; I would have paid $25 for it.

My Score: 8/10

My System:

AMD Ryzen 5 2600X | 16GB DDR4-3000 CL15 | MSI RX 5700 XT 8GB Gaming X | Mesa 19.3.5 | Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500GB | Manjaro 19.0.2 | Mate 1.24 | Kernel 5.5.13-1-MANJARO | Proton 5.0-5
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907 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 04.04.20 13:25
I really wanted to give this game a positive review, however there a lot of things that irritated me and unfortunately since our only option is a binary voting system, it is a No from me.

+First, game's mechanics and all other elements actually kind of smart and makes you immersed on the world and characters.
+I liked the detailed character explanations and how they look. Each character is well written. Wonderful job there.
+Choices matter.
+Game looks great even though the engine is kind of problematic.
+Till Episode 3, story and all mystery elements the game offer is amazing. You can literally forget Episode 4 and 5 because they nullify the last episodes and take a completely different approach storywise.
- There are a lot of backtracking in the game and that's not an exaggeration, you literally run in the same places all over again. So after some point, it becomes an artificial longevity for the game.
- Conversations are sooooooo long and UI is so clunky that it becomes a chore to talk with the characters. There is no skip button, so you're basically f'ed.
- I wanted it to end as quickly as possible at the end because of the puzzles. Oh my the puzzles. I think this is the most irritating thing for me that the game has to offer. There are times that you have to literally spend 10-15 minutes or more to solve a problem by reading the same thing all over again and find out what's the correct decision. Did I mention that the UI is so clunky? Yes, it literally becomes a chore for you and especially on Episode 4 and 5 I skipped and Googled every puzzle so that I don't spend much time. You either need the skill for solving it or you literally need to read or analyze everything in the game to understand what you need to do.
-Last episode and the ending is incredibly rushed that I cannot even describe. You don't even know what happened to protagonist. It just ends, like that.

So, even if the idea is great, I think they streched it a lot and ultimately the game lost its appeal. Still would like to see their next game because the devs have a lot of potential and they will learn from the mistakes that they did with The Council.
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1419 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 04.04.20 05:09
i have waited until i finish it so i have a full opinion about the game, first of all the story line is amazing with many plot twists, a great combination of a choices matter adventure game and a unique skill system, surely i have enjoyed it alot and i recommend it.
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664 Produkte im Account
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1608 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 02.04.20 05:11
Great choices & consequences adventure.
Can't wait to play it again, choosing a very different path.
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6251 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 08.03.20 14:55
REALLY enjoyed so far! cant wait to see how it ends, im currently on chapter 4
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60 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 08.03.20 05:06
我不像那些虚伪的,游戏时间不到1小时的说剧情引人入胜的,我给好评纯粹-
是因为白送-<
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175 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 07.03.20 15:00
Great story arc , detective like , if you like holmes you will like this too
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521 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 29.02.20 21:03
REALLY enjoyed so far! cant wait to see how it ends, im currently on chapter 4
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464 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 26.02.20 15:58
fist 70% great, last 30% rush job
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1755 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 22.02.20 09:40
I love first 3 episodes so much that I tried almost every option that I could possibly found to understand the story with different perspectives, then everything has changed. In final episode it almost felt like it's a wretched sequel to a fine work and I just want to finish this game asap.

Game itself reminds me of March, comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb.
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1367 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 22.02.20 05:11
This is a quality narrative game where your choices do have meaning whether its changing some of the scenes you see, determining what characters live or die, or even disfiguring parts of your body which ultimately impacts one of the like 16 endings this game has. Some endings may have a few words of dialogue that are different and others endings are just entirely different.

The gameplay is mainly about navigating your way through conversations to best benefit for yourself. Every character has certain dialogue options that they may be immune or vulnerable to. As the main character you are able spend your talent point in areas that you want to be better in. For example, if you feel you will be conversing with a certain character often and know they are weak to psychology you may feel its worth going for that talent.

Around mid-late game it gets a little more puzzle focused which I didn't enjoy as much as the dialogue gameplay. You do get some freedom to explore certain rooms or areas, but for the most part the gameplay is pretty linear.

You can go back in your save file to different acts and repeat them to see missed dialogue. It has also helpful for completing all achievements in the game without having to play an entirely new game.

I've seen some complaints about the graphics of this game but for me personally I thought the character models were ok. There are some really beautiful looking areas with all of the paintings, statues and architecture in Mortimer's mansion.

Overall the voice acting is good, especially Gregory Holm's character. The main character doesn't sound quite as French as he should be its not a big deal.

I did have a game breaking bug once where I had to restart.

The storyline and characters all managed to keep my interest. I really like how this game used real figures like George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte as well as the same 1793 time period. I don't want to give any spoilers but lets just there are some pretty big plot turns. I wished the ending outcomes were a little better but they don't take away from this being a good game.

I recommend playing this game if its ever on sale or in a bundle! $30 is a bit too much, however if you are a fan of dialogue/choices matter type of games this is like a must purchase for you regardless of price.
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1253 Std. insgesamt
Verfasst: 18.02.20 00:53
The Council is a story driven narrative with a lot of decisions that create changes in the story. Particularly in the first episode there's quite a few ways to go. After that it's more straight forward - but there seems to be at least 2 or 3 different endings for each episode. The story is partly historical, partly mystical and a bit fanciful - at least there were a couple things that kind of defied believe, but I still greatly enjoyed it. It's sorta like the Telltale games but with better/more changes to the story based on your decisions.

+ Graphics in general are quite good
+ Sound track/sound
+ Story is outstanding
+ Your decision changes make a different story complete with different cut scenes. Very high replay potential.
+ All achievements trigger properly. They do not require multiple play throughs as once you are done with the story you can jump to any of many chapters and replay them.
+ Just so good. It's high on my replay list.

- The lip sync doesn't match for English. I suspect they're speaking French but the dubbing is good.
- While the graphics are overall quite good, the Anti-alliasing isn't good at all.
- The animations are not perfect. Sometimes Emily's neck looks awful and Mortimer's hands have sleeve cuffs going into them - but this is a very minor complaint.
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Rating auf Steam Sehr positiv
80.51% 1842 446
Release:13.03.2018 Genre: Adventure Entwickler: Big Bad Wolf Vertrieb: Focus Home Interactive Engine:keine Infos Kopierschutz:keine Infos Franchise:keine Infos
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