Pendragon Rising

Choice of Games can really be hit or miss, but, of the ones I have played, I would rank this near or at the top. Well written, and unique setting. If you are looking for a text based CYOA style game in a fantasy setting, this is a good one to pick.

[h1]TERRIBLE PACING[/h1] Pendragon Rising is an interactive text-based novel (or interactive fiction, if you prefer) heavily inspired by the Arthurian legends. It isn’t exactly "just" another retelling of King Arthur’s story, but it draws heavily from well-known myths. As much as I liked the initial idea, the execution falls short. The pacing is extremely rushed, pushing you through major events without giving anything time to develop. Honestly, Pendragon Rising is one of the weaker IF titles I’ve read recently. It’s not that the writing itself is bad - [b]it’s simply bland and too fast-paced to leave any real impact.[/b] The story barely lasts four hours, and even then it feels like it’s hurrying you to the finish line. [b]I can’t recommend it.[/b] [b]Story[/b] You play as a young Arthur or Arta - a bastard child of the aging ruler Pendragon. There’s a bit of appearance customization, but that’s about it when it comes to shaping your character. There’s not much point in going into detail about the plot. At its core, it’s about the war between the Britons and the Saxons, eventually leading to [spoiler]a decision about who will become the new queen[/spoiler]. The choices feel mostly shallow. From the very beginning, you’re essentially railroaded into [spoiler]becoming a Warleader for your people and then seeking out allies[/spoiler]. You can make decisions along the way, but they tend to lead to the same - or very similar - outcomes. Everything moves far too quickly. Even the [spoiler]final battle is incredibly underwhelming - we win it in just a few lines of text[/spoiler]. If you’re here for the romance, don’t bother. The available options aren’t particularly engaging, and even if they were, there’s barely any flirting or intimacy to speak of. [b]Audio & Visuals[/b] This game is purely text-based, so there’s not much to comment on in terms of audio or visuals. Still, I’ll leave my usual note for interactive fiction: even basic visuals and audio could make these games more accessible and appealing to a wider audience, similar to what Roadwarden or Wayfarer have done. [b]Technicalities[/b] The lack of a save system - or at least a "back to the previous page" button - is just incredibly frustrating. I can’t stress enough how much I dislike it when interactive fiction games do this. It’s all too easy to misclick on a choice you didn’t intend, especially in longer games, so give players a way to fix it. I only noticed two typos. No bugs or other problems.

Playing at the female Arthur was an interesting take, not often you get 2 games that are genderbent versions of themselves.

Holy crap this game. Book? Visualless Novel? How can I even describe it xD? One thing is certain. I have NEVER enjoyed reading a 'book' this much without getting bored to the bone. It's written nigh perfectly (save for a few things that were off, and some minor text bugs) and captivates one's attention. All in all, I just wish it went on longer a bit. I was curious to see how the story continues. Too bad I gotta start all over again xD.... Do I recommend it? Hell yeah. If it could captivate ME who hates reading text-only books, then it's worth all the money it can get. 9/10! (would give 10 if it weren't for those minor things and if it continued on longer o.o but in my eyes it's far higher than that)

A very enjoyable game. It brings the legends of Arthur alive, but with a roman twist at times. Not entirely a new concept, but it was executed i n a fun competitive way. The characters, esspecially Gawain/Gai, were entertaining, as Arthurian characters should be. If you play as a woman it is only woman who fight in the wars and what not....at first I thought that might seem a bit odd, but after a while it works brilantly as the writer decided not to blink with this mechanisim, and it worked great. This was pendragon rising....I wonder when or if we might get the next part of the tale. Theres a lot more legend to live, after all.

"you might be a male hero in a world where most warriors are men and it's women who guard the mysteries of the Veiled Isle. Or you might be a female hero, and it's the women who go to war and men who talk to the old gods" What kind of crap is this? I want to be a female hero in a world where most warriors are men. This is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Seriously though, it's way too short but otherwise enjoyable.

THIS GAME IS FREAKING AWESOME