Stars Arisen

This was a joy to read both for the story and characters. There are a lot of varied endings which is awesome and I had fun exploring those. There's quite a lot of detail below the surface which took me multiple runs to fully uncover which I like. There are a couple of small issues but they don't impact my enjoyment much. This one lets you restart a chapter which is a lot better than what I think is the default for this engine but still pales in comparison to a proper save system.

This is another game with a tentative recommended. Honestly, I think it's just not for me. For the backstory, I went back to it and gave it another chance after falling utterly in love with "Specters of the Deep" (same author). I disliked "Heroes of Might" very much, but on my first try, I just got bored with "Stars Arisen" and ended up dropping it. Now on this second try, I actually finished my playthrough. And my opinion is "it's not bad once you get through the start, but also not great either". Setting is good and premises are interesting, but I feel like aside from Vivian and Em, the ROs (and characters in general) are a bit on the weak side. In a way, while "Specters of the Deep" has incredible characters that are really the driving force of the game in a lot of aspects, in this case I think the characters are devices at the service of the plot rather than what moves it. Some people may prefer that, but it's not really for me. Next part will be a bit spoilery, so read at your own discretion... Based on the premise you probably read, the game offers you a few "mindsets" for your character to be in, which could be broadly divided in: - Want to take back your mother's throne and have the situation be as before her fall. - Want to take back your mother's throne but bring positive changes. - Want to stop your mother and be ready to take arms against her. - Want to stop your mother and make her peacefully give up on the throne. - Want to take the throne for yourself alone, peacefully or not. In my case, my goal from the start was to take the throne back for the Sorceress, but make her become more benevolent, and ideally rule with her and with the people of the city. Which I actually achieved! But I feel like this specific path falls a bit flat. It's satisfying to succeed, don't get me wrong, but the game felt like it was either tailored to ruthless loyalists or to rebels first and foremost, because of the tone and the situations that happened. Now, maybe if I played either of these I wouldn't be fully satisfied either, but I genuinely felt as if the game always expected me to be one of these. And considering the majority of reviewers seems to be harping about "rebel scum", I'm assuming "ruthless loyalist" is the most selected path, which would explain why most people didn't feel the way I do about the whole experience! Not saying they are wrong of course - anyone should be playing the game the way they want. But I just mean it's quite possible the game itself is more tailored to them. Now, I can't say I didn't enjoy the game at all and I still recommend it as long as you're aware of the shortcomings of some aspects. I think I'm mostly frustrated with the experience because it was always "almost good", but something bothered me in the end. For example, I loved Vivian, like I said. He's an amazing character, and I sort of like the parallel with the situation in "Secters of the Deep" (where you play as a ghost and romance a living being - unless you go for your rival). But I also feel like he didn't appear nearly enough in some parts of the story despite being the character who actually accompanies the MC on their quest. And I feel like the content he had could have been developped more. At the end of the day, take this review with a grain of salt anyway. I think the original style of the author is just not for me, and there's not much more to that. Clearly, with each game - the release order I mean - I like what they do more and more, so while I can't give a stellar review to this one (pun intended), I can certainly give it to Specters of the Deep. I think it's very hit or miss, and I encourage you to try anyway, especially of you happen to stumble upon a sale!

Bought the threefer from this author when the new book came out, felt that one suffered from arrested development of a sort (the description and reality are technically the same but I felt off), decided to give the rest a shot and....Idk my man, couple hours in and I had to tap out. Could just be a taste but but felt very YA section and like there were two versions of a charecter you could be....naive puppy that love mommy and petulent child that hates mommy. Both were weird. IMO? Unless you've gone through and done all of the good COG/HOG collections I would not glance in the direction of this. IF that sounds too harsh, I will say this is far from the worst one I ever saw.

I like it lots mom/10

They say that the key to a good story is to focus on characters: "Interesting characters can carry a weak plot, but the reverse can never be true." Stars Arisen, however, manages both. The very lore of the world glides with its' characters, making for an immersive, impeccable experience that captures your full attention, even to minute details. It's a full coming of age story laced with magic, betrayals, and a carousel cast of unreliable narrators, which will have your Starchild measuring their own judgement against their trust in other people. Stars Arisen is very unique in its' player-led experience, and even choices that shape the MCs' personality will have grand consequences to how the narrative is displayed. Will you play the lost heir, vying for their stolen birthright? Or the timid child of a hermit fumbling through a destiny bestowed upon them? It's an amount of nuance and choice that's frankly remarkable, and speaks to a level of back-end writing that goes unsung. Abigail C. Trevor clearly puts a ton of effort to their choicescript writing, and it brings us one of the best titles from Choice of Game's publishing. If you're sitting on the fence about whether this one is for you, this is my endorsement to give it a shot! If you love magic, intrigue, and memorable NPCs, this is the videonovel for you!

I appreciate the ability to replay the previous chapter, although I still didn't get the desired outcome.They say you should earn your happy ending. I guess I have to try better.

Perdí la chance de enamorar a un capitán de la guardia, pero tuve la wholesome historia de reunir a mi familia y poner a mi madre en el trono

I see complaints about the romance options being rebels. They are by people who have not figured out the correct way to play the game. That being as a complete psychopath who sleeps with someone days after killing their father, then, when they find out, kills them. This is good game design. The setting itself is well-crafted and the story largely delivered on a magical counter-revolution and twisted family relations it promised. Though I wish it spent some more time on the epilogue, you saw how the city and its politics changed after the Sorceress's absence, it would've been cool to see it changing in response to your actions in the end in more detail. The skill system was fine, never particularly punishing, sometimes a bit vague or unintuitive. For example it seems Strength means both physical prowess and the capability for destructive magic, which is somewhat odd (Pretty funny though, imagining a caster character I pictured as quite frail successfuly tackle a veteran soldier twice her age). Enjoyed my time with it. Happy to recommend.

A nice a game with an interesting setting.