Affairs of the Court: Choice of Romance

False illusion of choice, game ends instantly no matter your skills if you make the choice the author dislikes.

好玩，安妮博林模拟器，建议把dlc都买了，解锁黑寡妇模拟器（√）

Most of my hours into this is is from the web accessible version. Did not know there was a Steam upload for so long. I really, really love choose your own adventure stories and this one does it perfectly for my taste. Anyone familiar with the terms '(y/n) (e/c) (h/c)' know what this is and it is exactly that. Basic self insert of physical appearance and a name and it's party time babyyyyyyy. It's a choose your own adventure book in digital form, but no putting your fingers on the previous pages in case you messed up. Finish up that path and see where it goes. And there is so much to see. Spoiler; you have to romance the royalty in order to progress the larger narrative later (part 2 and 3). But with this first chapter there is so much to see outside of the King/Queen that it's a blast to retry over and over. It's my favourite part to keep experimenting with as it feels much more fleshed out than the later parts. That and the adventure becomes the much more bigger focus with its dramatics, where as I'm mostly just here for the fun 'court dating politics' simulator part. (Don't be a me, enjoy parts 2 and 3 too.) Oh, and you also have skill stats that effect the outcome of options so there's even more than just choosing every combination of option cause there so damn many. Your death is possible and extremely likely so good luck out there, spec well and do something stupid that gets you killed.

Overall I enjoyed this Choice of Games entry. It is billed as a 'romance', but is really about power and intrigue. I love the power and intrigue part, but if you come into the game wanting romance there really aren't any good choices...especially if you play as a male protagonist. I found it much easier to complete the game as a conniving, female than as a romance seeking male. Also, I didn't feel as though my choice to be a heterosexual male was respected by the authors as I was still presented with strange homosexual relationship options out of the blue with people I thought were just friends. It is a good game, but somewhat flawed, but the courtly politics and intrigue were on-point. I give this game a 7 out of 10.

"Affairs of the Court: Choice of Romance" is one of the earlier Choice of Games titles, and while the romance is clearly the intended focus, court politics constantly get in the way, and not always in a satisfying manner. (6/10) The game steers you firmly toward a specific romantic path, and straying too far from it cuts the story short rather than opening new possibilities. I never quite got the outcome I was hoping for, which left the experience feeling more like navigating a political simulation than a romance. That said, playing as a lesbian woman felt genuine throughout. The protagonist never reads as straight or bisexual by default; your choices define that naturally, without the game second-guessing them. Worth trying if navigating court scheming and power dynamics appeals to you, but approach it as a story about ambition with romantic elements rather than the other way around. (6/10)

Ok, the two first parts are not so bad but not so impressive either (The first part is more like a compilation of short story of what could have been, the real storyline implies romancing the monarch). This title potentially has a lot of flaws depending on your tastes and has a peculiar style of narration. It is minimalistic in its description but that's enough. It alernates between a succession of short description with interactions or a big long passage to advance the storyline until the next choice. The setting is interesting and well presented to the reader : it crafts your attachment to the main character progressively by adding cicumstances one after the other. The third part, on the other hand, impressed me much and was very surprising. It kept me on the edge and felt really immersive. It does a fine work of making you feel for your character, what happens to him and with which character. The tension never stop building scene after scene, detail after detail until the climax and the resolution of it all. It feels a little short, fast paced and rushed, but that's still satisfactory because the whole title is like that all along so you get used to it. In some way, it leaves much to your imagination but do give you enough material to have a really clear idea of what happens and how it happens. I never found the description lacking. Just... short, as is the game in itself. The third part left me with quite a rush and a good feeling. So thumbs up. PS : one of the specific is that the game feels better from the perspective of a woman. Really, it's not an affair of pronouns that will change things. That didn't bothered me though. You can still enjoy it from the man perspective but you'll have to get over some specific choice in the storytelling that were obviously intended to be perceived as a woman at least in the common conception. Not a problem for an open mind.