Arcadie II: Cold Lands

Game was really good. Although there is definitely room for more, and I hope that a third game does come out! I really enjoyed this world so I'll be looking forward to returning to it again.

This was brilliantly written! A deep exploration of the relationships established in the first game and political turmoils of Arcadie.

I read many interactive novels. "Arcadie Second-Born" was one of the very few that not only impressed me but stayed with me afterwards. I'd been impatiently waiting for the sequel and it didn't disappoint! So far I've only played one route of the "Cold Lands", and I'm barely managing to stop myself from binging so I can savour it. I appreciate the effort put into the story; and on a personal note, I appreciate the effort to write a male MC and male characters. Update: I have now read through all the routes and have a couple of things to add. It surprised me to learn that I'd achieved the best endings all 3 times, because it felt like something was missing, especially with the Stanislas route. Stanislas-route was the most rushed in the second half of the story; I'd thought he would be most useful during the last task of the game given his background. But I got a bit of a whiplash, because the dynamic between him and MC kind of rolled back to square 1 (in my opinion). I kind of regretted I'd even read Stanislas route, because as it was the last one I tried - I got no new answers and no resolution to the greater story. Generally, I wish there were more to do and change in the end, and more importantly - to learn. Still, I leave this game with a good impression in the end. I will definitely keep an eye out for more.

I've played 2 routes so far, and I love it! Especially Stan's best ending. What can I say, I'm a sucker for angst and the forbidden lovers trope. My only critique of the game is that the ending was building towards something, but then it just... wasn't, which made it feel slightly abrupt. I understand that it's hinting at a third game, but I still felt that it lacked a sense of finality. Other than that, I really enjoyed playing it. The world-building was really interesting, and the music was a nice touch which helped with the immersion aspect.

The first Arcadie game was good, this one isn't. The main character was clearly written as a woman with a suite of men in love with you. While in the first game, it made sense for your character to be passive or inexperienced, he was still more interesting or active than in the 2nd one ; the only choices you are presented are either without consequence or dumb (ex: you're sitting in front of your mortal enemy, he offers you a drink, do you chose to toast before drinking or just drink in silence ? Great). The game also has less elements from the UI (no more relationship status, no more kingdom interface or info about your sword/magic/diplomacy proficiency). And the ending ? Very rushed, barely an epilogue done, half the issues unresolved or unexplained. Disappointing

Good game, I liked the added touches with the backgrounds / music, but I didn't mind the original text-only style either. It reminds me of fandiscs for otome games, less plot driven / more relaxed so you get to spend more time with your favorites. I love those, so this didn't bother me. I honestly didn't notice there wasn't a stats page until I read these other reviews. You can definitely fail, it took me a few tries to figure out what I was doing wrong on Stanislas' route to get the good ending. I've certainly paid way more for worse games, the price wasn't an issue for me.

once i started playing, i found that i couldn't stop. this is a visual novel with a gripping narrative and exciting romance that had me kicking my feet at certain parts (i romanced stan, for the record. horrible decision on my part as the queen, but i stand by it) typically i write these reviews with stark pros and cons, though i don't exactly have enough complaints to do so. sure, the ending was somewhat abrupt, though many stories are when they are to be followed by a continuation. it's also not visual, unlike every other visual novel i've played. it would've felt more familiar to have the character sprites onscreen while they spoke, but since i still could pull up their appearances whenever i forgot, it wasn't really an issue for me. i can't speak to the replay value, as i've only played through once. however, there are certainly many choices the player can make that would drastically change the outcome, even if they were to do the same romance route. i found the frequency of the choices to be refreshing, as it completely pulls you in and immerses you in the world and conversations. overall, i'd give it a 9/10 or so. just as gripping as any book i've read and loved, with the added bonus of being interactive fiction (which just so happens to be my favourite thing)