The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian

I wouldn't consider this to be a proper CYOA game - i HAD to replay multiple chapters multiple times due to not meeting conditions (aka points required) to make "good enough" choices by devotedly following my pursuit for Progress and Equality. Most of the time you have to replay a chapter at least twice to know when to accept some concessions and not fail because of SURPRISE (e.g. rebellion) events. Some potentially interesting side-stories lead to nothing except for resulting in an achievement and abrupt end of the game. Good enough for a single playthrough, but utterly disappointing in the end.

作为一款文字冒险游戏，相较于ai美术玩法问题之类的缺点，文笔的缺陷才更容易失去玩家的心。首发自带汉语固然很好，但不知道是翻译的问题还是英文原文的问题，这一作的文本相比前作过于穿凿了，多了太多虚浮的辞藻，少了太多真正能给人代入感让人思考的东西。 公平来讲，作为玩家我本人在两部作品间隔的这段时间也变了太多，因此难以断言到底是这部作品的文笔相较前作出了问题，还是我本人的审美有了变化，但总归目前看来在我这它不值这个价。

I really wanted to like this game, the premise sounded even more enticing than Brante. Unfortunately this game, even with the starting chapter "vision into the future" which are game states you should strive to achieve for specific and better story progression, still manages to be a giant metagaming trial and error experience. This often results in immersion breaking and narratively disruptive situation as you inevitably end up restarting a chapter to correct a few choices here and there and see if you can finally make it work, fast skipping dialogue to the different bits. It all takes you out of an experience that would be otherwise quite nice, as the setting and cast are compelling, detailed and well made. The game also advertises itself as one where you get to play as a ruler, especially in the first trailers. The whole story is set up for this. You start the game as a youngster with an anticipation of sorts, already thinking how you'll finally end up being an Emperor, what you'll end up doing as a ruler, etc. By the time chapter 4 out of 5 swings by, your father, the actual Emperor, is still alive and you're more or less dealing with political machinations as part of a group of people with varying interests. Not to say that there aren't significant decisions to make or important ways to shape the realm as you are, but I feel a bit misled in what the whole game was supposed to be. I lost interest and could not bring myself to play more to see if, maybe, hopefully, at some point I'll get to play as a ruler. Again, by chapter 4 you're still a mid to late twenties prince, still with no wife, still not a ruler, still dealing with shenanigans that aren't fully your own. It feels like a crrescendo that leads nowhere, and I don't want to see if it will lead somewhere after all, because it all turned into a tedious guessing game where the narrative feels like a carrot on a stick to egg you on, without any real pay off. I also found weird that they made a whole kickstarter and then two months after it, with a bunch of stretch goals, the shipped the game, but this is neither here nor there, it's just bad optics for me personally, and I don't want to make random hypotheses as to the practice as a whole. In conclusion I feel a bit frustrated because there is a nice concept of a game here, with some cool ideas and lore elements, but its ultimate form isn't quite the shining gem it could've been, feeling more like a mirage and a collection of what ifs, marred by mandatory metagaming.

Не могу допройти, так как не могу перебороть навязчивое ощущение нейрослопа. Да и ладно картинки, ладно UI (Он куда больше похож на нейрослоп, чем иллюстрации), но, как я почти уверен, ТЕКСТ. Вот прямо раз за разом стойкое чувство того, что текстовка написана ролевым нейро-агентом, эти устойчивые "попробовал слово на вкус" или "Это не просто то-то, это вот то-то". И если интуиция не подводит, то эти пздц. Что повлияло, почему так? Давил издатель со сроками? План по продажам? Косты производства убивали маржу? Просто максимизация прибыли? А важно-ли почему? В прод вышло вот это. Не приятно.

Won't change my review until the game removes its AI artworks or marks the store page appropriately. I didn't even know about the controversy before I saw an animated artwork in the "Lesser Quorum" chapter that is so obviously AI animated it's genuinely offensive, ripped me right out of the experience. I understand the difficulties of game creation, but if the devs respect their own work and art as a whole then eventually all of it should be replaced with something made with genuine human hands. It's so jarring seeing the fantastic artworks and animations present here and then suddenly have it contrasted with grotesque, warped imitations of itself.

ИИ

妈的 我好累 老爸想当隐士高人两手一摊搁那当甩手掌柜每天上演爸爸去哪儿 一个叔叔跟老妈通奸 另一个叔叔酗酒完再操练两套蓄意轰拳 老弟是个性压抑 老哥的梦想是海贼王从小到大嚷嚷着要逃离原生家庭 一箩筐便宜祖先时不时在我脑子里开圆桌会议 唯二的童年好友变成了淫夫荡妇 信仰的神也是谜语人不会说人话 手下隔三岔五起来造反 国库钱也不知道去哪了 最值得信赖的是我的狗 我操 我还必须 团结我的家人 安抚我的子民 平衡我的法律 去他妈的 毁灭算了