Fate of the Storm Gods

[b][u][i]Fate of the Storm Gods[/i][/u][/b] is an interactive novel with a unique setting. Step into the shoes of a [b][i]Weather Builder[/i][/b] as you fight to stop the unbalanced weather anomalies. Pick your gender, your appearance and grab some hiking boots cause you have quite the journey ahead of you. [i][b]Plot:[/b][/i] [b][u][i]Fate of the Storm Gods[/i][/u][/b] had such an amazing plot- in theory. The Idea of being a [b]Weather Builder[/b] sounded exciting and was an idea that I hadn't come across prior. Sadly, in reality, it felt like what was being offered was a mismarketed story. Weather Builders felt far more like a form of Elementalists than divine beings that control the weather; yes, you do get to manipulate massive storms and throw around lightning but you also have control over fire and earth, albeit with the help of artifacts but still. There was a lot of blank space throughout the story. By that I mean several days were skipped to rush you to the main goal at the time. This could have been an excellent time to build upon the lore and theme of Weather Builders. Considering the few times the main character does answer questions about what they do up in their sky-house, those answers are very curt. I felt it was a very much missed opportunity. It doesn't matter how you choose to play the character in this title, things will happen in a very linear way. I assumed that because you could play as someone very devout to their teachings or rebel against them entirely to the point of betrayal that the story would have a few more branches to explore. It was certainly a huge disappointment to find that during one of the more intense fights against your enemy that the scene was exactly the same, word for word, even though your choices give you two completely different opponents. It felt very lazy. Sadly, I found the politics in this title was explored more than the weather issues, the Weather Eaters (the enemy), or the Builders. It's often a staple move to add politics to these types of stories; anyone wielding power usually ends up dragged into the games. My issue here is that the main character is not of this lower-world. They barely know or understand anything about how humans do things and yet, their voice is the one everyone looks to. Their choice fundamentally decides who is raised to power and who falls within the human settlement. I mean, I thought I was here to fix the issue of the storms wiping out entire cities not break up children fighting over mundane forms of what they perceive to be power! There was just so much that should have been explored more such as the twist; you are dropped with this huge bombshell but a few pages later, everyone acts as if it didn't happen. And then there are things that aren't explained at all like: why the Masters say they can't leave their ateliers (their personal domains) but can, or the strange repetitive dreams the main character has? And also why Weather Builders have such distinct colorful hair but no one comments on it at all? It doesn't matter who you side with during your final stand, the ending is the same. This makes very little sense when one party wants something completely different from the other. [spoiler]The Eaters want to destroy the human settlement to reclaim something that is theirs that lays hidden underground and it certainly isn't something small. This would require uprooting the city entirely but even if they win, the city remains standing and the Eaters just go on their merry way![/spoiler] There is an epilogue that gives details on how and what most of the characters are doing with themselves a year after the end of the battle. Again, not many changes making me feel like my choices were just so insignificant. [i][b]Characters:[/b][/i] Only one of the several characters in this title stood out, the others practically blurred into each other in the background. This character only shone brightly because their personality was so eccentric as they attempted to learn from the humans and assimilate. Because of the very diluted personalities combined with the fact that no one spent an extended amount of time with the main character, there was no opportunity to develop any kind of bond with anyone. [i][b]Romance:[/b][/i] The store page boasts the following: "[i]Pursue romance with a stalwart royal, a criminal mastermind, a devout Weather Builder, or a villainous Weather Eater![/i]" but I would hesitate to call what this novel offers romance; it feels far more like minor infatuations or a one-night stand. You can proposition two of the love interests very early on in the story, and although the flirtation can be quite amusing at times, there are no emotional attachments to make it romantic. This remains the case even as the story progresses. I'd even go as far as to say the beginning half of the novel has better casual romance than the second half. Completely pursuing a romance to the end doesn't offer much of a reward at all either. You are offered a rather hollow feeling short paragraph or two and not much else. In one playthrough my chosen love interest asked how my other lover was doing and I was so confused as I'd been faithful but my dialogue options only consisted of answers that confirmed I'd a second lover as if I were in a poly route. Having said that, this is one of the few interactive novels that allow you to choose the gender of all of the love interests instead of just one or two which seems to be the norm. [i][b]Replayability:[/b][/i] I'd be hard-pressed to say this game had much to offer in the form of replayability. With the plot basically being so linear, the characters around you always taking the same paths, and the endings having very minimal differences. [i][b]Overall:[/b][/i] I played the demo for this novel prior to its release and was so excited when it finally came out. Maybe it was my high hopes from the snippets I'd already read but overall, I was left feeling rather disappointed by the end. I felt the story certainly had potential but alas, I'm sad to say I wouldn't recommend it, and my desire to do so only dwindled further during my subsequent playthroughs. [h1][quote]Find more of my rambling [/url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41272277-Small-Time-Reviews/] here[/url][/quote][/h1] [h1][quote]𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33853800/]𝐎𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐤𝐚𝐢'𝐬 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞[/url] 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐑𝐏𝐆 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬[/quote][/h1]

A solid read of decent length. I found it very hard to relate to any of the characters, which given the story's setting makes some sense. As the story progressed I found my self going from distant interest to irritation to disappointment. None of the plot twists were unexpected, and every decision is met with some sort of failure. Mind you i went the nice guy route, doing the right thing, instead of picking and choosing the "right" side. And i was rewarded with the opportunity to demonstrate my ultimate commitment to that choice, which sadly was made completely meaningless by the epilogue that followed on the next page. That said, there were several different sides to choose from as the story unfolded, and several different personality styles to choose from. So perhaps picking a side, or just going all rambo and evil leads to a better ending. At the moment though thats just speculation as I havnt the heart to give it another try. As always YMMV. A weak thumbs up as other play throughs Might be more rewarding and the story as a whole is self contained and well written. Edited 01/30/21: My suspicion was correct. Playing an evil person who responded to everything with self interest and violence led to me winning every conflict, defeating all opposition, receiving no injuries nor being rejected by any of the LIs, gifted the person i tried to support (and failed) in my first play through the position he wanted, and left the city completely intact (even though i fought without reguard for life or property) where it was nearly in ruins despite my best efforts and concern in my first play through. I can not support this and so change my review to a negative. Words matter, Stories matter. Every Movie, Song, Story that portrays good as weak, doomed to endless failures and denied any happy ending or worse glorifies how you can get everything you want through lying, cheating and killing with no consequences has an invisible influence on those who experience them, more so if they are unaware that this is so. It doesnt matter that it may be "fiction", the influence is just as real, and every such rendering draws the real world closer to that darkness. If you tell a Lie often enough, people will believe it. And when they believe it, they will act on it. I hope anyone reading these words, will consider them, before putting their own pens to paper.

This is one of the most disappointing Choice of Games I've played. For you to influence various plot pivots, you need very high stats. Not only does this not given you much wriggle room (if you feel a choice the writer has given to boost a stat doesn't fit with your character); it also assumes you can also understand how each choice will affect which stat (which is often far from clear). All those kills any feeling of agency I felt I had at the most pivotal moments. And on the less plot-consequential side of things, I was disappointed with the romance options. Apparently, there were very few opportunities to pursue anyone you might be interested, and they competed with other options (ones that often felt more sane in context). In other words, rather have a range of options to resolve of the choice of whether and how to enter a relationship, you had to choose between those triggers and options to learn more about the world. As you need to understand the setting to make choice to affect the plot, that's a terrible trade-off to make your player make. It's not as if the concept (a Weather Builder) isn't interesting, or that you can't shape your character and minor events. But by the end of the plot, I looked back and felt I really couldn't affect the ending AND play consistent with the choices I felt made sense for my character. So doesn't that really fail the core goal of a Choice of Game?

Story/Plot: Fate of the Storm Gods is the newest title by Choice of Games to debut on Steam. In this game you take on the role of a Weather Builder, an individual who has control of the forces of nature to reshape your world. One day a lone human staggers into the place where you and your master live, asking for help in a world where the weather has gone crazy. Along the way you will come across regular humans as well as a society of people, the Storm Eaters, who opposed the Builders. Unfortunately, the world-building is the biggest weakness of the game; and this is also tied into the story/plot. I mean, you can suspend disbelief enough where weather has gone haywire, and we need to fix it. Cool, we have Captain Planet vibes. However, the game really does little to tell how the planet even got to this point. This even includes just who the Storm Eaters are; you don't even find out they are supposed to be your people's immortal enemies until about half way through. For that matter, the title of this game mentions 'Storm Gods'...which is something the regular humans assume the Weather Builders are. It implies most people would think you are deities, and except for one or two scenes, it is ignored. So just from a writing front, this game is firmly in the middle. The writing is decent, but but there was a lot that should be shored up. Visuals: As a text game, the visuals are on the minimal side. However, there are still a few options you can play around with. By going into the menu option, you can change the text size, background color, even the animation when going from one page to another (this animation is simply things swiping to the left). Gameplay: Gameplay boils down to just two things. The first is choices; basically think of a Choose Your Own Adventure. You make a decision, and then something happens. How much variety these choices usually dictate how often a person may want to replay the game...and unfortunately, 2-3 times was enough for me. The other gameplay mechanic is stat checks. Basically, certain choices will raise skills or alter a personality trait. There will be certain scenes where your value has to be high enough to pass; if not it fails and you do have certain consequences like failing in a negotiation to get someone's help. Sound/Music: As is normal with most Choice of Games titles, there is no sound or music. If you play more than once, I personally put something on in the background. Difficulty: I would place this game on the relatively easy side of things. For official Choice of Games titles, they want the player to make it to the end without any major hurdles. This doesn't mean there aren't fail states; you can still screw up if a skill or personality triat isn't high enough. It is certainly possible to get a 'losing ending', but this is usually easily avoidable. Extras/Achievements: This game does have Steam achievements, and most are fairly reasonable to get. To do so would require multiple playthroughs, and I didn't see the need to do so. As for extras, I already mentioned there were a few things you could change in the Menu tab, but that is about it. Recommendation: So would I recommend this game? The answer is 'maybe'. As you can tell, I wanted more cohesion with the world, and the romance options weren't much to talk about either. Still, it is certainly better written than other CoGs, so I can't say it fails at its job. I also didn't run into any bugs, and the grammar is actually more polished than other CoG's I've played. So I guess I give it a hesitant thumbs up, but would recommend people to look at CoG's other titles since there many I think are more memorable and enjoyable.

Интересный сеттинг и неплохой сюжет. У истории довольно сильный старт, но по ходу действия начинает давать слабину, из-за чего немного разочаровывает. Персонажи и фракции не до конца раскрыты, видимо пытались не растягивать "хронометраж", но в итоге пострадала игра. Можно нормально играть в таких условиях, да. Основной линии это не мешает, т.к. необходимый уровень описаний выполнен. Но толком не узнав персонажей сложно обосновать романтические линии (а чем меня вообще привлёк этот персонаж? ничего ведь не произошло ещё), не познакомившись с фракциями ближе проблематично принять смену сторон (с какой стати мне принимать сторону людей, с которыми меня ничего не связывает, а их позиция практически ничем не подкреплена?). И игра требует ответственного отношения к характеристикам, иначе всё завалишь. Обычно меня дезориентируют интерактивные книги, где много характеристик и ты не знаешь во что стоит вкладываться, чтобы не запороть себе прохождение уже на старте. Здесь характеристик немного, но если хоть немного рассеивать внимание, то исход будет печальным (в лучшем случае - посредственным). Потому здесь следует с самого начала определиться каким будет персонаж и какие характеристики развивать, и делать выбор уже с этими установками на протяжении всей игры. Это две причины, по которым моё впечатление от игры смазалось. В целом игра хорошая, но...ей немного не хватает насыщенности. Приятней некоторых других игр, но после прочтения вряд ли надолго запомнится.

If you are a fan of building one stat to win or a fan of play to lose games, you will probably like it, and I'm not. Why I don't want to recommend this story is a little more complicated than this. While characters are appealing and the story in general is intriguing, mechanics of "magic", intrigues of the world and its history take more time from story, than the actual story of MC, and if I want that, I will buy a book, not interactive fiction. About the general plot, as I said it's intriguing, but only in the beginning, the further I read, the more the plot looks like rewritten Pillars of eternity series, and I love them with all my heart, so there was a constant feeling like someone violated something precious to me. It's nice that you could play as evil in this story, not nice that if you don't you will suck It could be satisfying if it was more immersive, more complex. Not in the story(history would be more accurate), but in the playthrough, more deep in interaction. Like you know INTERACTIVE fiction. There weren't any characters that I dislike here(I'm very harsh when it comes to this usually), on the other hand, it also could be because they are undisclosed. I will probably re-read it later as a one-stat ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, but I'm not looking for it, because inability to make your character complex, with complex attachments and points of view, is a big turn-off. However, why am I recommending it, when I obviously don't like it. There is a good amount of work that was done to create this story, to create interesting, even if completely undisclosed characters, and they are good. And this story deserves attention.

I really enjoyed the writing and the description of powers. But in its interactive aspects, I didn't enjoy Fate of the Storm Gods. Of your five skills, most CoG games assume you take one primary and one secondary. This is because not all options will cater to your one good skill. Here, it sets you up to think like that but the rest of the game will punish you if the skill you attempt isn't really strong. One of my main problems is that the personality traits are hard to separate in practice. What differentiates Composed and Subtle? Composed and Obedient? Volatile and Independent? The issue with Fate of the Storm Gods is in its game design, where as a player you feel ineffectual for the majority of the story unless you think EXACTLY like the game does which is difficult. It's a shame.

This game is disappointing. It felt like the player had very little influence on the plot. It was extremely hard to tell what if your skills are hard enough to make a choice. The story itself was average and predictable. And the result of 'good' side choices felt beyond frustrating. It was almost as id the game was trying to force to user to choose 'evil' choices.

+1

This is a great game! Just one thing I'm pretty sure is a bug. [spoiler] When telling Cielo to go inside the Eastern Rain Atelier and saying to continue the Working and focus on the weather issues, they always come back out saying I'd instructed them to stop the Working instead. At first I thought Cielo had gone against my wishes to come back and save me but my character seems to acknowledge it as my choice so I figured it's a big. [/spoiler]