Ironheart

Enjoyable story, with good variety of endings, even if a little short.

If not a great one then Ironheart is at least a very good CYOA text only book. Among the positive points is the attention given to details and little choice that carry over the course of the game and give the feeling of true customization and flavour to your character. The attitude of your character also change depending on your choices and I find this very well made. The universe does'nt seem shallow, key events are very well written and absorbing and there are also some surprise here and there. A lot of choice and stats are just there to give you the feeling of CYOA games and you can feel the author affinity with the genre. The negatives can be found in straightforward "choose the right move" battle that only requires you to read the text attentively to find the good answer. Sometimes I found the story unconvincing or a little rushed but there are only few of those moments. Some other times I found the characters a little blank or useless. That's not always the case and most of the times they're well depicted. The story also seem it could have been longer and/or more focused and intense. Some stats hardly have any use as well. Overall, although it is a good story it sometimes felt like a highly refined testing field with a little bit of everything and some things added here and there to the patchwork. This feeling of uncompleted draft keeps me from classifying Ironheart as a must-read but I think it's nonetheless a hotly recommend title for me.

This game can be a bit hit or miss. To start with the negatives: The combat is dull and some of the endings are rather rushed, feeling kinda disappointing. Having said that, even in said endings the writing remains quirky, charming and interesting throughout. The alt-history aspect is really well done and I had some genuine nerd glee moments from meeting historical figures and catching historical references. I'd say the thing that makes the game stand out are the mongol routes, which are tough to unlock but super rewarding to go through. Characterwise, there are some interesting and nuanced romantic options plus some fights that are very satisfying to win, but the single standout moment for me was Habib in one of the mongol routes. [spoiler]The little unassuming aide had the heart of a hero in him. You earned that school in your name, kid. RIP.[/spoiler] One of the best choice of games I've played.

It's a very interesting story and I'm hooked! But there are grammatical errors I hope they fix in a patch. When I chose non-binary ... the grammar says "They is" instead of "They are" which is not correct. Just a minor annoyance, I just correct it in my mind. I saw at least 1 typo so far in glossary but still aside from that it's great!

The game has a very intriguing setting and although it does start a bit slow it does manage to improve after the first chapters. The choices you make do matter somewhat and the game does have decent replaybility. The ending is a bit abrupt and sudden but it's still satisfying if you play your cards right.

How can you not love a story about medieval Battlemechs? It's a tale well told and very enjoyable. as a historian I had a few nits to pick, but they were all very minor and did not interfere with the story. Now I have to build an Archon though.