House of the Golden Mask

As always with choice of games - which one may consider more of a publishing house, and the game akin to a paperback - one must look to who wrote the game, with some authors having a backlog where if one liked their previous games, one is likely to like their future games. This particular game was written by Miranda Eastwood; I believe it is her first outing. However, I quite hope it will not be her last. This game, in a word, is excellent - to not spoil anything, there are a fair few twists towards the end that are both well-telegraphed in hindsight but do not seem obvious on a first read. It is long, and is worth it on sale, and even worth the full price. I strongly recommend this game.

Was hoping to share the experience of reading this to my daughter but there are extreme leftist political agendas on display in this game. It is less of a game and more of an activist vehicle. I would not recommend it. I will be permanently deleting.

I'll give this a cautious recommend, due to the amount of effort and generally good quality writing. Imagine a somewhat bizarre version of Harry Potter where dangerous magicians are dragged off by a weird goblin and a reindeer to a dodgy magical house in another realm. Then, add a bunch of rivalries, hidden subplots and backload the last 1/3 with a vast amount of lore and you end up with House of the Golden Mask. You will progress "ratings" on your relationship with other characters, various skills you possess, and four "subplots" that are going on in the House. You also get an odd ball of goop early on you can care for. I had no idea either, but it made rude noises and crawled under my bed, so not really very different to most pets I own. The game feels quite long. In fact, I would say it feels much longer than some of my favourite games from this publisher, but I suspect this is actually because there is less branching narrative, and so as a consequence you end up with a much longer "mandatory" path. Fortunately, as mentioned, the writing quallity is for the most part, good, and the characters are well-developed if not ones you will take away with you to live in your head. If you are big into character romance (I am not) then you should know this is not the main focus of this title. There is decent balance in character interaction. In some games I have played it is obvious by far that the author preferred one or two over all others, but most of the time here you can pick who you want to interact with and follow, either with direct options or by choosing which classes you want to attend. The instructors are odd and don't all seem to be friendly to each other, and some seem downright concerning. I guess that is like any school I went to in real life, too, except in this case, one of them might *actually* be a vampire. You can choose to be a good student, a socialiser, a rebel, an impulsive competitor, or a quiet contemplative loner. There's a lot of things the game weighs up, and while watching those numbers gives a vague feeling of choice creating impact, I feel there's a downside here. It is another game that is positively riddled with skill checks, and ones that seem to be not so nearly transparent as what they author no doubt had in their head. In fact, a lot of the progression feels this way, as if it needed a bit more playtesting by people not familiar with the game. I don't believe I managed to progress any skill or subplot past about 65% and so the second half of the game was just clicking through inevitable check failures as I knew full well I could do nothing by this point as there seemed few if any way to increase my skills. It almost seemed like you needed fore-knowledge of the game to pick the paths to increase your skills to really progress a lot of it. Maybe I was unlucky, maybe the first playthrough is meant to be like this, but it was a draining experience, rather annoying and unsatisfying. Yet despite my meagre scores, rather than meeting a brutal end or unlocking some other paths, usually what happens is the game brushes past the failure and you just lock another subplot or another character immediately passes it for you so the story can progress. When combined with the sudden mega-drop of lore near the end, it made me wonder if it should have actually just been a novel rather than a game. The difficult, myriad number of skill checks in a fantasy setting reminded me of Wayfarer, but by comparison, it didn't seem to do anything particularly interesting with the negative/failure paths that I encountered. I will need more energy and drive to go through again and try and untangle the author's mindset to figure out what options I am meant to pick to succeed on various things, and it is good enough that I will likely do so at some point. In the end though, when I was pushing through to complete my first playthrough, all I really wanted was to find out the fate of my goofy little goop-bat and not so much the House. Sadly, I didn't. EDIT after 2nd play -- I received very similar paths even with different options. Unfortunately, still didn't really achieve anything of note, even though I attempted to max a couple skills. I suspect there are quite small tolerances on the path you must take to actually accomplish many of the main goals, however, the game is long enough I suspect it would require me a significant investment to discern it.

首先，此款作品的容量真的大，哪怕以 COG 的标准，文本量都算得上多，读起来甚至有点累 如果是冲着魔法学校的题材来的话，可能会有些失望，本作在这方面的比重并不高，更多内容集中在派系冲突，揭开阴谋主线推进上 RO 方面则更像是锦上添花，存在但并不重要，但是可以开后宫。整个故事的重心其实都围绕着揭开“真相”展开，其他设定基本都是为此服务的

Very entertaining experience! The writing was more enjoyable than I expected. Without spoiling too much, I did not quite expect the great twist the story offered and was pleasantly surprised. It was also a great relief that the player character doesn't go on unexpected long rants based on a one sentence choice the player picks, and that all the non-optional dialogue felt pretty accurate toward my previous choices in the scene. I strongly recommend turning on some magical school or magic library ASMR and lighting up some candles while playing. My gripes are relatively few, namely that I had a hard time figuring out how exactly skills affect choice outcomes, how/whether you are expected to excel in more than one thing while still pursuing any kind of relationships with characters, and finally to express some annoyance with making the player choose between relationship and plot development in some instances. I understand that there are certain logistics to account for when constructing a narrative of this scale, but for the player it's sometimes hard to predict how many dialogue choices will be given in each scene before it wraps up and closes off certain paths of investigation.

House of the Golden Mask, developed and published by Choice of Games, is a sprawling interactive fantasy novel that immerses you in a magical academy full of secrets, rivalries, and ancient powers. As with all Choice of Games titles, the experience is built entirely on text, but the quality of the writing and the breadth of its choices create a world that feels vivid and layered despite the absence of graphics. You step into the role of a new apprentice entering the House, an institution where scholars, sorcerers, and mystics from different realms gather to study the arcane arts. Instantly, the setting radiates an atmosphere of intellectual prestige intertwined with an undercurrent of danger. The House is not merely a school—it is a place where history lives in the walls, where magic communicates through dreams, and where past mistakes continue to cast long, ominous shadows. The game distinguishes itself through its rich world-building and the way it blends academic fantasy with political intrigue. Early on, you're introduced to two major factions vying for influence within the institution. The Arbiters uphold tradition, rules, and structure, while the Transgressors challenge boundaries, authority, and the ethical limitations placed on magic. You can align yourself with either, become a quiet observer, or attempt to walk a path untouched by political loyalty. This slow-burn conflict shapes your entire journey, coloring your relationships with instructors and classmates, influencing how others perceive your power, and determining whether the House sees you as a stabilizing force or a catalyst for upheaval. The narrative grows increasingly intricate as you uncover the House’s enigmatic past—lost manuscripts, forbidden rituals, hidden archives, cursed architecture, and cryptic figures who may be far more than they appear. On top of this political foundation, the game offers a deeply personalized role-playing experience. You define your character’s gender and orientation, shape your personality through your choices, and select your magical specialization—Alchemy, Linguistics, or the Occult, or even attempt the difficult path of balancing them all. Each choice meaningfully affects how your studies unfold and how characters respond to you. Adding to this customization is the option to adopt a familiar, from classic magical companions like cats and snakes to stranger options such as a bat or even a gelatinous creature. These touches bring warmth and charm to a narrative filled with intense academic pressure and supernatural mystery, grounding you emotionally as you navigate the House’s arcane complexities. The game’s greatest strength lies in its branching story structure. With hundreds of choices and a massive word count, House of the Golden Mask feels more like co-authoring a novel than simply reading one. Your academic performance, your romantic relationships, your factional loyalties, and your moral principles all influence the direction of the plot and the ultimate fate of the House. The interactive format rewards curiosity: secrets surface only if you seek them, friendships deepen only if you nurture them, and dangerous truths reveal themselves only if you dare to pry open locked doors. This openness encourages replaying the story to explore alternative paths, uncover missed lore, and pursue different alliances. As immersive as the narrative can be, the text-based design may also be a hurdle for some players. Without art, music, or animated scenes, the storytelling depends entirely on your willingness to visualize the world through prose. The pacing, too, varies according to your choices—there are stretches devoted to scholarly life, relationship-building, and classroom scenes, which may feel slow for players hungry for constant revelations or conflict. Additionally, the political and metaphysical layers woven through the story can be dense, requiring patience to fully absorb the stakes and consequences of each decision. For players who appreciate character-driven storytelling, rich fantasy settings, and branching narratives that reward thoughtful choices, House of the Golden Mask is an exceptional offering. It embraces the strengths of interactive fiction—freedom, moral nuance, and emotional depth—while presenting a magical academy that feels alive with history, danger, and possibility. Those expecting fast-paced gameplay or visual spectacle may find its quiet, literary approach too restrained, but readers who enjoy turning pages, discovering secrets, and shaping a story with their decisions will discover a deeply satisfying journey. The House is full of secrets, and the game invites you to uncover them at your own pace, shaping not just your destiny, but the destiny of the institution itself. Rating: 6/10

The story isn't perfect, but it's pretty good. I know there are a number of possible endings. The one I got was alright.

Good