Affairs of the Court: Choice of Romance

A rather short game, pleasant and at moments tense and thoughtful... But with a number of glaring flaws that leaves me unable to recommend at full price. I've narrowed it down to two points. My largest complaint would probably be the illusion of choice presented in the first chapter. You simply cannot continue onto the remaining 2/3rds of the story without picking one specific romance option out of three romance options. The game presents each option as having their own merits and demerits but the moment you choose to deviate, the game will wrap up your story with a "try better next time" sort of ending and urge you to pick the correct choice. Assuming you proceed to the rest of the story, which is, as I said, a rather pleasant experience, my next complaint rears it's ugly head and strikes out of nowhere. You see, in the beginning of the game, you set up a character of a certain gender, interested in certain things in his or her romantic parter; this helps you build an image of the character who's fate is in your hands and helps to build the immersion. However, while you were given the illusion of choice in the first chapter, the second and later chapters strip even that! I could be playing a stoic, dour, and decidedly heterosexual courtier, interested only in a single and sole true love and... still be forced to read lines where my character's heart is a flutter, his emotions for his beautiful and loving partner swept aside by a single passionate glance from his friend, a character I had been treating something like an annoying uncle. What?! This man I haven't spoken a word of intimacy to nor care about in the slightest?! What happened to my romance and my children?! Did I just throw them out the window?! Moments like those can be jarring and even fatal to my enjoyement of a good story. For me, it spoils the character for no good reason and I can only think the events were scripted sloppily, ignoring the decisions the player has made beforehand. It's a shame, because the game would be worth at least a 5 dollar price tag otherwise. Not to mention those DLC options...

Much like the other Choice of Games stories I have, this one is decently written. But, only if you follow a specific path. My very first playthrough, I was Dona Yin de Castillo, a prodigy Death Mage of high intelligence who wasn't particularly charismatic. My goal on going to the capital city was to find love, and I found it in the form of Gabriela de Mendosa, an enchanting young woman of great intelligence. My aunt wanted me to marry into money, but her choice for my suitor was bland and uninteresting to me. My uncle wanted me to gain status by wooing the Queen, but I didn't care about status. So I eloped with de Mendosa. And the game ended immediately and told me that, while I lived happily ever after, if I wanted to experience the other two parts of the story, I would need to "survive and marry the Queen." I was a little annoyed by this, but I started up a second game as Don Orfeo de Pena, who was more studious than Yin de Castillo and only slightly worse at magic. I wooed the Queen, leaving de Mendosa alone completely, and entered the second part - but I didn't marry the Queen, I was just one of her affairs (though she apparently loved me enough to ignore her husband). And then, de Mendosa appeared. If she was going to show up in part two anyways, why did my first game end abruptly when I married her? Why not have Yin de Mendosa arrive with her wife to the castle, and carry on from there? (Incidentally, I made it to part three, but died because I was too busy info-gathering to stop myself from being assassinated.) So, while the story is fairly well-written, there's a huge railroad involved with becoming involved with the Queen (I haven't tried the third route, because nothing about that character appeals to me. I can't even remember her name!) that didn't have to be there. It's fairly enjoyable, but that one lack of choice really turns me away from the game. I'm not sure if I'll play it again. I might, but I don't know.

It was difficult to decide if I would recommend or not. The game has many good points and an interesting idea if you are searching for a text-game based on romance but.... with three main paths to follow, two of them are infuriatingly short. You can only play parts 2 and 3 if you follow the third path. I finished the path I chosed first and started again to choose the third path and continue the other parts and that way a bit sad because it was a path I didn't like. Your choices doesn't seem to have a big consequence and neither the character creation. As you play, you start thinking that will be a game where people use magic on everyday life but there is only the mention of the existence of magic. You almost never see someone actually using magic or yourself. The end was very sudden in the short path and although cool things happens in both paths, both of them just go jumping loooooooots of things that I would like to read. Like... they just do a time skip of some years out of the blue! Although is a cool game, I expected more. I wouldn't recomend buy at full price though.

This is the closest thing you are going to get to a Machiavellian Simulator outside of Crusader Kings. Being ruthlessness, cunning and deceitful are all rewarded while weakness is punishable by death. You can find love, but don't expect it to come without a price. When you play the game of thrones you win or you die. There is no middle ground. That said, I think this game is maybe meant to be played as a female character? Some scenes were a bit odd for my male one at least. That or noble men are simply effeminate. But maybe that is to be expected in a world of mages and not bloody medieval battles. Or perhaps it is the whole courting game that is topsy-turvy compared to modern society if you choose to play as a male. As in the game the wealthy chase the less wealthy and thus as a male character you are meant to play the role of a dainty little flower. Just a heads up for those who maybe don't want that. It amused me personally though. Dainty flower or not, you can leave a trail of corpses in your wake. It is wonderful. Would recommend doing that. 10/10 dating game. I am going to play it again at one point.

I can't really recommend this game as it's advertised. I think it's very well written, and if you like political games, it's great! I also like those games. However, I thought this was a ROMANCE game. There's very little in the way of actual romance. In fact, the game seems to actively encourage you to pursue suitors for power or wealth. Pursuing 'true love' quickly proves to be very tricky and likely to get you killed. The most romantic love interest is only available in the third book! You're more or less strong armed into romancing the Monarch for two books, who is unfaithful and distant unless you jump through hoops. 70% of the game is about securing power and wealth. 25% is making sure you don't die. 5% is 'do you pursue this person because you actually like them or are you using them?'. Again, well written, but disappointing given what I thought I would be getting into.

This is both a review and a PSA of sorts. This story is meant to be played as a female protagonist. I don't see anything in the description saying this (quite the opposite, in fact) and while you have the option to play as a male it is clearly not the way it was written. The fact that the story is much more believable and conducive being centered around a female progatonist is not, in and of itself, a bad thing whatsoever. But I DO think that there should be a PSA on the store page informing the consumer that while there is an option to play as a male, the story fits better and makes more sense if you choose female. Instead, I felt I experienced a story as a puzzle piece that didn't quite fit into the puzzle. I will steer clear of using pronouns and describing things as being overtly 'masculine' or 'feminine' for fear of inciting the wrath of the PC police, but I will just say that my choice to play as a male protagonist really clashed with the ability of the story to maintain a believable narrative, despite it changing various pronouns from 'she' to 'he' and vice versa. In addition, there were a number of typos that cropped up (primarily in chapter 1). While my personal experience of this story was not positive, I do believe it is still a decent entry into the Choice of Games catalogue, but the decision to omit a simple "Best played as a female protagonist" line in the description is unfortunate. At the same time, anyone who tries to distinguish anything as being gendered in any way is likely to be publically shamed so I'm almost understanding of why they chose not to incude it. My hope is that someone who reads this at least has a heads-up. Have a nice day!

It's a very great game! My only complaint is that if you choose to marry/have relationship with anybody but the ruler game ends on act I. I would gladly pay for a DLC which allows you to play further and help your consort to build her/his position in the court etc. Other than that - Great Game :).

I really didn't like this game. There's 3 parts to the game, but you have to marry the royal to get to part 2. My plan to seduce the queen failed, so I didn't get to the 2nd part. However part 1 was so bad I have little to no desire to play again. Cons: -I found the characters to be very one-dimensional. -I had high hopes for intrigue, but there wasn't much at least in part 1. -I had high hopes for romance, BUT THERE IS NONE. You just pick the best option and the other person throws themself at you. There's none of the flirting, tact, or humor you'd expect to find in a romance. -The game rewards you for being agreeable and waiting for a chance to scheme behind the scenes. I found this dull and unimaginative. I thought there should have been more options to intimidate your rivals in the open, create misdirection, and just make your character more interesting. -I assume you get to the good stuff by romancing the royal, so why are there other romance options? One is a the non-conformer who seems interesting, but you learn next to nothing about her before you have to decide if you'll marry her or never see her again. The other is described as old and very unattractive, but buys you expensive gifts and wants peace so is considered "kind" wtf? -Your stats don't seem the mean much. My lowest skill was charm, but I was exceedingly charming, a great actor, and the best dancer EVER. Pros: -Life mages and death mages. Made for some interesting court dynamics and greatly helped the world building. Final Verdict: -I may play again to see if the game can salvage anything in parts 2 and 3. But part 1 was so bad, don't buy this game.

My favourite game from the Choice of Games, a classic with the biggest branching storyline I've ever witnessed from text based choice games. Very well written, planned out and gripping with plenty of chances to do exactly what YOU would like to do as a reaction to any/all events. Very good replayability especially if you pick different main paths for your character. Masterpiece.

I love the 'choice of' games. I've played a lot of them, but that's the first game I can not recommend. Unfortunately, it does not feel like you really have a choice. Although it is in the name. The game is about to start an affair with the king. You have no choice in this point. If you take one of the other two romances, the game and your story is over in less than an hour. The other two acts after this are about staying with the king. Again, you have no choice. You can not retreat or choose a different path. That's the way you have to go, or the game is over. In other words, you're the king's sex toy and your only choice is whether you're honest or scheming. It's a shame as the other 'Choice of' games make you feel free to choose and write your own story. Here you have the feeling that you have to struggle to stay in the story. Which is okay n a way, but then it should be described differently in the description. [Spoiler: I played as a gay man. And yet I got 'physical' children with the king. It would be better if you had the only option in this game to be a woman. You did not feel like a man for a second, but always like a woman. Which is a pity. I love to play as a man.]