The Road to Canterbury

This Choice of Games entry appealed to me because of the subject matter a lot, set in medieval times it had caught my eye. A pilgrimage to Canterbury, set in the Canterbury Tales world, I thought some great story telling would be involved. I've played a few other choice of games through before this particular COG game and had high expectations. Although, I can recommend the game as it does have a lot of pluses, like some character development and some choices that do matter, I was left wishing the game had a little more meat to it and had lasted longer. Some of the storylines you go down seem to wash out very quickly. I also have to say it wasn't always very easy to guess as to what choices affected which of your stats. Some of them were down right confusing and I was shocked to see which of my stats went up or down with the choices I made. Most of the achievements for the game are pretty easy and take very little as far as total play-throughs to get them. However, two of them can be difficult. In fact I have done 7 or 8 playthroughs alone now trying to get the final achievement, but as mentioned above it's difficult when some of the choices you make don't seem to affect the stats in the way you think they will. If I could give this game a MEH on the ratings I probably would. But, the game does have it's moments so I will give it a 7/10. I can't penalize the game totally for my wishes of it to be deeper and more of it.

Let me preface this by saying, it's not bad, but neither is it good. I've played (read?) worse, but I've also read a lot better. I will endeavor to keep this spoiler light, but fair warning, I make no absolute guarantees past this point. The first of my complaints would be the general ease of the game's challenges. I never really felt like my decisions mattered, since it was so easy to figure out what I needed to do in any situation. The story contest, one of the main selling points of the interactive, was particularly simple, and frankly felt detached from the main story. Geoffrey Chaucer was present, but I didn't feel like he needed to be there. Frankly, you could have replaced him with anyone, and they would have still filled the role admirably. His prescence was wasted, and could have been used better. This next one is a pet peeve of mine, and I will admit, likely is me being a little anal. I'm something of a history nut, and while I didn't come into this expecting perfect historical accuracy, there were A LOT of elements that were frightfully out of place. One of my favorite characters in the tale, Selime, is a prime example, as she's a Muslim woman from Constantinople, which wouldn't fall to the Turks until 1453. As I said, this is probably just bothersome to me, but this is something an eight second google search would have told anyone, and makes the author just come off as lazy. A final complaint would be the characters themselves. They were very one dimensional as a rule, and I never felt an iota of connection. They were generic cardboard cut-outs, and horribly cliched. So, in short, I wish they had a "maybe" recommendation as an option, for despite my complaints, it was far from the worst thing I've ever played, and someone might get a deal more fun out of it then I did. I would not recommend picking it up unless it's on sale, regardless of how interested you might be in it. I did a single playthrough in less than two hours, and uninstalled it, as I simply wasn't interested enough to try another playthrough to see what I missed. So, in very short: play something else.

I don't write reviews often, and I believe this may well be my first for a choose-your-own adventure entirely. Please forgive me if it is lackluster as a result of inexperience. That said, this game DID warrant a review and even managed to motivate me to write one. That alone should be a sign to any of my friends who stumble across this. To strangers, I would say "don't trust me, but simply play the demo and see for yourself." This was extremely well written. It wasn't bogged down with too many unnecessary descriptions, but the ones that were used were so well done that I found myself completely entranced in the writing. I actually got whisked away by it, and that's not something that occurs often these days. I've only played a single playthrough, but I very much felt like my choices directly impacted the outcome. There were quite a lot of appreciated nods to history (as well as some hidden gems) without sacrificing the romanticism of it all. That is to say: it was superbly written to feel like a fantasy, but clearly grounded in actual history. That's a balance that's almost impossible to maintain, and I truly feel that this one nailed it. And this from someone who (shamefully) admits he's never even read the source material. I will say this, though. If Canterbury Tales inspired this much love, and I do believe this was a labor of love, then I'll be finding a copy within the week. 9/10 all around with a caveat - and an important one. I never, ever give someone a perfect 10... It goes to peoples' heads one way or another. It almost always either swells the ego or gives said person anxiety about trying to compete with their own past works. This was extremely good. Can't stress that enough. For the price, you would definitely be a fool to pass this one up. I'll be on the lookout for more from this author.

Story failed to deliver. You're supposed to be this person thats supposed to decide the fate of a war, its aftermath and the lives tied into it by persuading an influential woman to support England or France. Sounds good on paper but the execution was straight trash. You're supposed to be this English born native on a holy 'pilgrimage' to deliever an influential woman to Canterbury where you can manipulate her into using her 'secret' to support the country of your choice. The 'pilgrimage' is a handful of stops at some inns & towns where your nation loyalties are determined by your expression of disdain for one nation or the other. You don't really get to do anything of substance to show your patriotism unless you support Englad. There is an instance where if you support france you can 'help' in an assassination attempt to kill a major english power player but its silly and railroaded so it fails. First you run distraction on your comrades so the assassin can set up and then when its time to actually kill the person in question, your character stands infront of the door for a few moments so the target can't get away and then moves to the side so the target that is supposed to die 'won't be suspicious of their loyalties'? If I want them to live long enough to be suspicious of my loyalties, why would I attempt to help kill them in the first place? Stupid. Then there is the french raid on a village. If your loyalties are with France, you can't help your french compatriots in any meaningful way. The most you can do is describe what a bestiary is to some French soldier because his King is interested in the book and the soldier himself doesn't know why the book is so important. As if his knowledge of such matters is any consequence? What you can do however is barter with the French to stop their raid for an hour so you can save your English loyalist companions because the author has railroaded your feeling into careing for them even if your relationship meters with them are near zero. Stupid. Then there is the 'storytelling Contest'. Each person on your journey tells a story and the winner gets a powerful artifact straight out of Legend such as the original Balmung, durandal or original wood from Christ cruxifiction cross, ect. No explanation as to how your leader came upon such grand wonders or why they would be handed to random pilgrims in a storytelling contest. But thats not the worst offense-- No the worst offense is even after you win one of these legends, all it gets is a few mentions to show it in your possession and raises the like meter with certain people. Weak and pointless, Bro. Just goes to show the storytelling aspect of this story was pillow fluff for lack of real content. These legendary named items? Gold polish on a turd. The romances? They might as well to have not even been included. For the most part your romance acts the same even if they haven't been romanced except for when you're having an obivous tender moment to win some affection points. I told my English loyalist romances that I was a traitor helping the french and they're just 'Okay, thanks for telling me. Back to business as usual.' The romance aspect is just there for the sake of saying its there. Then that ending... Its abrupt, the 'secret' is pointless and you choose your own fate from a wheel of choices. *sigh* At a cusory glance this may look good, but to the discerning eye, this is poorly constructed tripe.

Lets just say its not one of my favorites. Not to say it isn't worth playing. Not sure if its a big spoiler but this game is pretty much about politics. England or France, no in between as far as I could tell. If you like that, then go for it. Me personally nope. The romance options are pretty bland if thats what your into, I tried two options and they end up being the same. Not very exciting or inventive. I have to say I liked the stories told by the characters better than the story itself sadly. And yes, it feels like my options didn't make a big enough impact, so I'm not recommending it.

Very rarely, after discovering a gem on Steam, do I have to think before writing a review - not just in terms of putting text onto a screen, but how a game made me feel inside after completion. The Road to Canterbury is a very well written, crafted, and intelligent effort. There's love in between the character choices, the details of the world and the research undertaken behind it. Compare this to Fallout 76 - one is a hollow, cash-grabbing, FPS shooter with thin role-playing elements, and the other is a simple black and white text adventure. The latter had more. It had more to it. That's outstanding. It had more depth, more story, more Humanity in it than a triple A title. Perhaps that's a moot argument. How can I compare the two different genres/ target audiences? It saddens me that a game like this will never see the spotlight it rightly deserves. But I hope the author gets the recognition she deserves. As Chaucer himself would put: "For, as you know, no master of a household Has all of his utensils made of gold; Some are wood, and yet they are of use.”

Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 476: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆☆ (7/10) What an underrated (slightly overhated) gem! I asked for a free copy (thank you IndieGems and the devs) because I loved the demo, and a pilgrimage to Canterbury sounded so unique. I love medieval settings, but there are quite a lot of them in the CoG collection. I hoped for great storytelling and an immersive feeling of wandering the roads of London in the fourteenth century. I got what I asked for ... mostly. I got the great storytelling—both in-game and out—as well as feeling like I was on a horse, taking in the sights myself. However, I can't help but see the missed potential here. The game is short, about 175,000-words. Most CoG or HoG games are at least 250,000. As a result, the character development and some plot/mechanics need work. Some of the plot is rushed or underbaked, and the characters are strangely flat and blend into each other. I can see the role the author wants the characters to play because the foundation is there, but other readers may not. Still, I would gladly read more of the author's work. ✝️ [b] Pros:[/b] [list] [*] Some really lovely, witty writing. I wish I took better notes but the writing seems to be pretty apt for the period. There's some great description about what characters wear and the setting, as well. A lot of description on food! Very George RR Martin-esque. What I really loved is how grounded it all feels. The world isn’t romanticized; it’s sort of dirty, desperate, and alive with superstition. Yet, there’s beauty in that despair: the hope of redemption, love, or even a good story told along the way. It’s philosophical without being preachy and historical without being dry. [*] Slight inventory system. During the game, you have to control your spending. The currency is pounds, shillings, and pence. You also get to have a horse! You can buy food, clothes, little trinkets, and donate to poor people. This was super great. [*] Storytelling. In game, about each day, each pilgrim will tell a story. You can decide if you like it, and you can also tell your own story at the end. I also liked seeing stories I was familiar with (Bisclavret mention!). Your reward is some awesome holy relic. I, of course, did not win, but whatever. There's alo chances to talk to the poor and sick. One of my favorite scenes was visiting a hospital filled with lepers. [*] Historical focus. [i]Canterbury[/i] is just such a unique premise. There's a lot of politics in regards to England, France, and the Hundred Years' War, which I enjoyed reading about. [*] Choices matter. After peeking into the code, I was surprised by heavily how your personality and stats matter. I liked how at the end, if you ask one of your fellow pilgrims for help, their reaction is based on their relationship with you and your own stats. Asking a knight for help if you were cunning and prideful got me a "no." [/list] 🙊 [b] Cons:[/b] [list] [*] Short length. I've read worse, more rushed works, so this isn't the game's worst flaw, by any means, but the word count made me pause. The main plot of the pilgrimage and storytelling is great. But the background of the story is the Hundred Years' War. From the first page, you're expected to make up your mind about how to side for. I know it from popular fiction vaguely, so I was a proud #English loyalist, BUT for newer readers, I don't see why they would care. It's hard to actually pick a side; we're not told much in-game besides what the characters say. I'm glad the author doesn't preach about what side she prefers, but the most I got from the narrative is "war is bad." True, yes, but kinda dry. [*] Romance is undercooked. A symptom of the problem above, I think. There are a couple romance options, and I picked Selime, a Muslim woman from Constantinople. However, my character and hers fell in love after about 10 days and decided to travel the world together. I didn't have a lot of time with her, and while the romance has a yearning vibe to it, it just feel flat, especially at the end. [/list] [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]

It's a Canterbury Tales fanfiction gamebook. If this premise appeals to you at all, you'll likely find something to enjoy here. If your favorite character is the Wife of Bath, you definitely will. I personally would have liked more of a focus on the tales themselves, but the whole palace intrigue plot surrounding the Canterbury pilgrimage was fun, and it wasn't as easy to engineer the precise outcome I wanted as it first appeared. This was my first Choice of Games title, and I definitely intend to purchase more.

=== MINOR SPOILERS === 7/10. I played several games from CoG before, and I was highly intrigued by this one. For a start, the demo is really promising and exciting, and made me buy the gamebook. I love Medieval history and the game is very well written, bringing 14th century England to life. That's what made the game shine for me, and why I recommend it, but it's far from perfect. If you enjoy romances and buys CoG games partly because of them, this one is a disappointment. Romance develops too abruptly close to the end, making the relationship seem sudden. I couldn't believe my eyes when, after just talking to a character alone a couple of times before (and a seemingly pious one at that), they were already asking for a kiss. Also: Osric's death is what brings some characterization to a protagonist we cannot decide much on (in terms of background, NOT personality - in the latter's case it is quite good). The final plot twist broke that death's significance by a fair margin. Finally, the ending looked weird. All of a sudden Baley - the Southwark innkeeper who somehow owns a holy relic, a good-looking sword and a, hmm, horn - starts acting very openly about your quest, breaking the secrecy that gave life to the entire story... without any fuss. Looked rushed and a bit forced to me, but since the book is actually quite competent in making me feel part of that pilgrimage for 95% of it, the abrupt ending didn't bother much that much. I look forward to see more from Kate Heartfield, and more historically accurate fiction from Choice of Games in particular. === MINOR SPOILERS ===

你虽不是世界的中心，你却如此独一无二。你不能尽善尽美，却可以尽力而为。这就是这篇朝圣路上的故事想要告诉我们的吧。一周目完成后完美结局大概有了点眉目和想法，但是不必再去纠结，因为再走一遍，那就是另一个人的故事了。 简单而不失深度的文字冒险游戏。9.5/10。