Belle-de-Nuit

"Belle-de-Nuit" is a short but charming Heart's Choice interactive novel set in 17th century Paris, where you play a swordswoman protecting the ladies of a luxury brothel. It’s on the shorter side but makes great use of the runtime. Perfect for an evening read. What initially captured my attention was how naturally it handles playing as a lesbian woman. The romance never felt written with a male gaze in mind or defaulting to bisexual assumptions. For a Heart's Choice title where romance is the whole point, that matters enormously. The setting is atmospheric and the writing has a swashbuckling wit to it that lands very well. In short, if you dive into it with the right expectations, it delivers everything it promises with a satisfying ending to tie it all off. (7/10)

This game has a good demo, but the rest falls short. Not enought words to execute properly the resolutions of the tensions build in the begining and its hard to even feel anything for the characters or the RO´s. I would recomend this novel to a 16 year old starting to play If´s, but defenetly not for players that have already expirienced AND have their expectations set by games like The Wayhaven Chronicles, The Bastard of Camelot, Tale of Crowns or The Northen Passage. It just cant compare. But defenetly a good setting, good writting, a bit of random scenes but over all enjoyable. It would have been a grate game if it had been given the attention and care it needed.

The best hearts choice game. Easy, understandable Stats that tie directly into the choices, choices that matter, a very good customisible protagonist, a wide and diverse cast of both characters and romances and historical authentic enough to feel genuie, but not to enough to hinder the fun (or the queer romances). The game is a lot of fun and has a high replay value as the combination of both the personality of the mc and the romances allow for differences every time you play. The romances themselves are well written, and every one feels unique, as they are heavily tied to the specific character. Also, the romances and the mainplot are quite clever interwoven, no matter who you romance. You are also not forced into one, you can just as well stay away. Price is more than justified, as you can see that i put more time into this than a few A-Titels combined. Has a direct sequel that can be bought as a DLC and is fully integrated into this game. I higly recommend this.

good

This was an interesting read. The story is compelling as well as the characters, both supporting and those one can get a bit more close to. It is however, unfortunatly, a rather short game, atleast for what I would preffer. Still think it was worth getting.

Tl;dr experience 17th-century Parisian life with a colourful cast of characters. Liked reading it, didn't like playing it. I'll dive into the negatives first. [h1]GAMEPLAY AND CHOICES[/h1] Your duelist is somewhat predetermined, sometimes doing things without your input. This may bother people who don't like a defined protag. It's subjective, yes, but there were moments where I was like, "She would not say that." Roleplaying options are further restricted as the gameplay doesn't support playing your character in a way that is natural and allows for character development. You want to be someone who is hardened and stoic, but sometimes hesitates or tries to be friendly? Nah, gotta stay in-character or risk muddling your stats. It distracts me from appreciating the story and makes your character look two-dimensional compared to the rest of the cast. Most of the time, you're given only 3 options that test your skills. God help you if your stats aren't high enough or you like to have a balanced personality. You don't gradually build your character's skill set so much as you're forced to pick certain traits to go with, say, swordsmanship, unless you want to blunder your way through your challenges. Sometimes I couldn't even guess what they were for. "Does this polite, charming option use Cajolery or Grace? Is it even a skill check?" "You want to be friendly to Sebastian? Five points from Toughness!" I also don't like that you can only reach one or two goals with certain character builds. Want to max out your relationship with someone? Sure, but you can't get the kitten, or win the duel against Sebastian, or play the matchmaker with Madame and Denjeux, or fully uncover Lou's past.... It makes me feel like I'm being punished for wanting to develop my character in a way I like. But I don't want this section to be all negatives, so I'll say that I do appreciate how your duelist can be a stereotypically masculine woman, wearing men's outfits and solving problems by being loud and acting tough. And while stat requirements aren't clear, at least most of the choices are not misleading and play out like they say they will. [h1]WRITING AND CONTENT[/h1] While it's not plot-centric, the premise delivers on what it promises with a nicely paced and easy-to-follow story. The prose is good, a genuine pleasure to read when it's not trying to cage you with its choices. There is a wealth of details about urban life in Paris to appreciate, with references to works of art, history and culture, etc., written in an accessible way for people without the relevant knowledge. It makes some effort to be inclusive of the marginalised and nonconforming while being mindful of the time period. The love interests are fun to be with and have some depth, each having different things to offer. They have their own lives independent of the protagonist and moments where they develop. This is very much a character-driven story. It's also romance-centric, though side characters like Madame and Jacynthe are entertaining as well. I only have one minor gripe about the writing, and it's the anachronistic language. It could have benefited more from polishing the dialogue and narration to better reflect the time period. I don't read historical fiction very often, but one of its appeals is the differences in culture and language (and a myriad of other things), offering the reader a chance to live in another time and place. Having people speak in modern diction detracts from that. If you're not interested in buying the sequel, this book is fine as a standalone story. It will not leave you hanging on a cliffhanger. You can even play it for free on the Heart's Choice website to see if you'd enjoy it.

To keep it short: although the described setting wasn't very promising to me and i thought "Lets clear my game library for a bit" i ended up loving this game. One of the best of it's kind to me.

A very enjoyable short read. Brought a smile to my face. A couple of pathes to persue, but as always I chased the boy first =) (Lou is too sweet, totally my cupa tea!) Look forward to playing through a few more time to see how things turn out if I focus my attention on winning the duel, or Saving the Ladies.