Samurai of Hyuga Book 3

The series has always had an issue with not making it clear what the single sentence decisions mean because more often than not depending on how you read it an option could in theory be what you'd hope to get, only for your attunement to lower. Now you're adding a whole detective portion in the beginning, followed by an extremely long portion after that which I didn't care for. With no save points this means I slowly saw the punishing system where one mistake is worth way more than a solid choice, and my attunement kept lowering. This is too much. The other novels' shorter length was fine with this system since ultimately I could retry portions to keep my score high, but now I am not about to replay ALL of this to teach the point I am in. Particularly when what I'm reading isn't necessarily something I'm enjoying.

I read the previous two chapters of the story and have very much looked forward to the continuation of the series. To say that I'm disappointed would be an understatement. The problems come from a few 'design' decisions and narrative decisions that actually made me quit in disgust nearly 7 hours into the story. First and foremost, is the 'Attunement' stat. This was something present in the previous chapters and although I really did not like it, was understandable a majority of the time. 'Attunement' is something that is supposed to track your decisions and determine if they align with your rigidly defined attributes that were established in the first chapter (a problem in and of itself imo). There are several issues with this system that I will explain below. The worst issue is the fact that your choices are almost never clearly correlated with the attribute they're supposed to be representing. Meaning the choice that just got you 'Attunement Lost' makes NO SENSE whatsoever. So you'll be getting constantly punished for not choosing the 'right' choice because you can't parse out the utterly incomprehensible link that each option has to a certain attribute. It's INFURIATING! The other issue is the fact that the ENTIRE POINT of these CYOA games is give the player the freedom to choose how to respond/what to do and guide the story how they see fit. This 'Attunement' system instead makes the entire thing feel like a multiple choice test with the most ambiguous solutions you could possibly imagine. It's so counter-intuitive to what these games are supposed to be it's actually tragic. My primary problem with the story in general is that it doesn't even feel like you're playing the same character as the previous chapters. In this one, you are UTTERLY PATHETIC. I think the cardinal sin in CYOA games is making the player feel powerless, and this game does it worse than I have ever experienced. Your character is weak, ineffectual, and most of the time completely powerless to do anything but whine, lose fights over and over in embarrassing fashion, and watch helplessly as his friends are murdered in front of him/her. I've bought and enjoyed all 3 previous stories from this author but this one was an awful and infuriating waste of my time. I will not be purchasing or following any more titles in this series nor from this writer. It seems harsh, but the last time I was this disgusted by a sequel to something I liked was Dragon Age 2. Unless you want to play a multiple choice quiz where you get humiliated by anyone and everyone for 6+ hours and feel powerless while doing so, SKIP this one.

Okay, I might be in the minority, but I wasn't reading this series to become a detective. I am not sure I will even finish the story and that is a shame because the first 2 books were so good. This doesn't even feel like the same series. I am not a big fan of who dunnit stories, and I certainly wasn't expecting it here. It sad that I can't recommend this book, despite loving the first 2 books of the series, but unless you are looking for or love detective stories stay away, because you are no longer a bad a$$ ronin, but a sad replica of Sherlock Holmes.

I been following this series since first book. It has a interesting plot, character and most importantly choices with consequences. Consequences that carry over from first book to this book. It is well worth our money and time. My only disappointment is the ending. It was shoved to our face abruptly. The writing is very good with great interactions between characters and meaningful character development. The ending did nothing to reflect that. Nevertheless, if there is another book, I will be looking forward to it. Hopefully to bring a much better closure. 9/10 Baka of Hyuga Book 3

I have been playing with the same save file since book 1 and I still was not prepared for the feels this game left me. Devon Connell you are a goshdang master of this craft

I have to say that I did enjoy the first book very much and rode the fond memories of the first book into the adequate second book. But this third book was a pain to play through. There were moments of good chapters, but overall, I was left confused and bored from the new sleuthing play style. The thing that bothered me the most however, was the randomness I felt that came from the choices that would rapidly decrease attunement. Half way through the book I resigned myself to this unforgiving mechanism that was punishing to play through. I forced myself to make uncertain choices for the sole purpose of finding how the plot moves forward in book 4. Disappointing to say the least.

Never disappointing, this game is awesome. Choice of Games should really consider giving it more visibility!

Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 559: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (9/10) Going into[i] Samurai of Hyuga Book 3,[/i] I was cautiously optimistic. I’ve enjoyed the series overall, but the previous entry left me with a handful of lingering frustrations: pacing hiccups, mechanical opacity, and the sense that the story hadn’t quite reached its full potential yet. Book 3 feels like the moment where everything finally clicks. Connell has a little bit of everything here: a focused narrative, steamy romance scenes, strong emotional stakes, and leans fully into the series’ darker, more introspective side, delivering what is easily the strongest and most confident installment so far. It feels far more confident in what it wants to say about violence, guilt, and whether someone like your ronin even deserves redemption. "Jesus Christ" is all I can say after finishing [i]Samurai of Hyuga Book 3[/i]. All my problems with the previous book has been washed away (mostly!). [b][h2]Pros:[/h2][/b] ✅[b] Emotional rollercoaster.[/b] I thought this series was going to be a fun romp in the countryside, where I bed pretty maidens and kill bad dudes. But oops, am I the bad guy? Kind of, yes. Your ronin goes through a mini-arc, which sets them up for an ever bigger one. I have to keep it vague, but you see a different side of your ronin. You see their tenderness and care for a certain group of students, and this plotline has [i]such[/i] great pay-off. Because who could ever believe a dirty, lowborn, murderous ronin could have love in their heart? Which of course made (MAJOR spoilers)[spoiler] my two students' deaths hurt even more LMAO).[/spoiler] RIP to my ronin, but I believe in #charactergrowth through trauma. ✅[b] New detective mechanic![/b] Not only is your ronin a shogi player of ... questionable skill, now you are also a detective! Of again, questionable skill. There are two different options given to you when opening the game: an "input text" option or a "choice" option. I was surprised at how fun the "input text" option was! For example, you will be (light early spoilers) investigating a dead body. You must type in five key clues to investigate, like "body" or "blood." This was simple enough, with a wide variety of answers being accepted. You can also ask your companion for help. I appreciated how all the information was given to you on the same page, so you could go back and reread for context clues. I had a blast with this investigative gameplay, as it's unique and not too difficult. My only critique is that it's a pretty sudden change for the ronin, who can't read and is ... rather stupid ngl. To some, this gameplay mechanic could come out of left field. There's no hints of this in Book 1 or 2. ✅[b] Romance.[/b] I find it interesting how Connell does romance. Usually, IF (generally) has a lot of romance, and each book balances all ROs. So, for example, if you go into town, you can choose Option A, B, or C. But Connell does the opposite. Instead, each book is dedicated to one RO, it seems like. Book 1 was set-up, Book 2 was Momoko, and Book 3 is [spoiler]Toshie and/or Kohaku[/spoiler]. It's tough for people who have their heart set on one character, but I really love this design choice. Each character gets their own screen time, and it makes the ronin seem more like a [i]character[/i] in a novel, instead of a blank slate. It's not for everyone, though! I, however, will happily flirt with every available woman. Oops. ✅[b] Action scenes.[/b] No one does action or fighting scenes like Connell. I don't know how to describe his prose because I honestly don't read a lot of action books, but ... look at some of [i]Ghost of Tsushima[/i]'s gameplay. How a samuri slowly flicks his katana handle up, waits, stares, then waits some more. Then a quick slash. And the enemy falls to their knees, gargling on his own blood. Connell has [i]that[/i] vibe, that samurai vibe. I literally felt like a samurai. Connell lingers on posture, timing, and intent, then delivers violence in clean, sudden strokes. It's beautiful, in a super gory way. ✅[b] Better story structure and pacing.[/b] THANK GOD the structure has improved from Book 2. The narrative picks up right where it left, and all my lingering questions and frustrations were answered. [spoiler]I'm so glad Hatch and the ronin made up, and the second demon was handled elegantly.[/spoiler] Your ronin is back on the move, actually doing [i]things[/i]. You have a new goal and new conflict. The ending is a light cliffhanger, more open-ended than abrupt like last book's. There's also more groundwork laid for the books ahead. Honestly, I wouldn't have minded Book 2's linearity if it was meshed together with Book 3 instead of being a separate entry. ✅[b] New romance?[/b] Ayo, is there a new RO I spot in the wild? RIP to Momoko, Junko, and Toshie, now [spoiler]Kohaku[/spoiler] is my new best friend. [b][h2]Mixed:[/h2][/b] 🟨[b] [spoiler]Amnesia[/spoiler] plotline.[/b] I have a love/hate relationship with this trope. To give Connell credit, he pulls off the plotline pretty well. The angst is clear and impactful, as your ronin [spoiler]forgets their bad memories, like their sword and Jun/ko, However, it did bug me that the ronin kept asking their companions for the truth, and everyone avoids answering of ✨plot and angst.✨[/spoiler] Thankfully, the issue clears up by the end of the book, but ... out of the frying pan into the fire, so to speak. [b][h2]Cons:[/h2][/b] 🟥[b] Opaque stats.[/b] This is probably my biggest con. The past two games had this issue as well, where your attunement is based on your choices. Problem is, it's been three books and (1) I still don't know what attunement is and (b) generally, what choices raise or lower attunement. To me, a lot of the choices feel like flavor text, like replying in a conversation. I was a bit surprised when I failed some dialogue checks, and that attunement was tied to them. In general, I don't mind stat-heavy books, but there are a lot of major scenes that depend on your traits and attunement. One scene that bugged me was a duel. You have four choices: move left, right, forward, and back. All had a trait associated with them. That, to me, felt less like strategy and more like guesswork. No spoilers, but there's 5 tests you can pass at the climax at the game. I passed [i]one[/i] and couldn't figure out why/how. 🟥[b] Would like a glossary.[/b] Minor nitpick, but there's a lot of Japanese words—which I appreciated, as it gives the text culture! However, there's quite a lot of specific diction after three books regarding swordsmanship, food, regions, titles, etc. A glossary and character sheet would be nice. 🟥[b] We are not the "toughest ronin around."[/b] Respectfully, the ronin spends more time getting their ass kicked then [i]doing[/i] the ass kicking. And I fear it'll get worse! Obviously, a major part of the Hero's Journey is their low point, but man. This low point is going to be a long time, I feel like. 🟥[b] Where's my shogi and haikus? :([/b] [hr] If you enjoyed this review, please check out my curator page to find more: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45814768-Verdict-Play-or-Pass/]Verdict: Play or Pass. [/url] Also, please leave a like and visit [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Indie_Gems]IndieGems[/url] and our YouTube channel for more reviews like this one. [/hr]

This isn't the same Samurai of Hyuga that I came to know and love.

A good installment in the series. Pick it up if you liked the other two games. Shame that it feels so short and the end feels somewhat abrupt. The extra text stuff was interesting but wasn't used too much after the first few chapters. Those didn't help with replayability but at least they weren't bad.