The Soul Stone War 3

Wish I could ask for a refund but I was so bored I started ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ around, busying myself with literally anything else other than actually play the game. I joined the author's Patreon some months ago, played the demo, and (to me, at least) it seems like that version was maybe, like 50% of the final game? The 'End of Book 3' hit me in the face so suddenly, just when I was beginning to think we're *just* getting started. It feels like it's just a 'part 1' of the 3rd instalment, instead of the whole product. Imagine you go to Starbucks, you order tiramisu cream iced latte, and what you get is just a normal, everyday, boring latte. Book 1 and Book 2 were something I could play again and again, and in both games, you could kind of expect when it ends. This just feels like someone kidnapped the author and forced her to just put this out there asap, which clearly wasn't the best idea. You know it's bad when you realize you're able to enjoy your starbucks order more than the game you've waited for months, if not years, to play. And I only order a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ peach iced tea, so you know I don't mind wasting my money

I have to echo other reviews in that this installment feels abruptly small. I spent 1.6 hours on an initial playthrough, but part of that was making a sandwich for lunch and breaking to eat. The first book was 487,000 words, the second was 400,000. And while 260,000 words is no small feat, it's glaringly obvious the major difference between books one and two and three. I even thought book two felt like an abrupt ending- but it wasn't nearly *this* bad. There's nothing wrong with a smaller word count, it's not about the size, it's what you do with it (hah). In this case, it *feels* (not saying it is) like a general exhaustion coming from the author, like being too tired to continue with Book 3. Without going into heavy spoilers, you stay in one spot for the entirety of Book 3, you are in *one* location. This book felt equivalent to a 2.5 style of addition. It could've easily been a DLC for the second book as an in-between for two arcs of the story. At 8.99 CAD regular price for anyone who may be seeing this after June 19, I simply would not recommend the money (and I LOVE this series, truly). I do hope the author is planning to let future books cook for a little longer- it's okay to. Trust me, I've waited many many years for some COG installments, many people do. And please please please for next time, there is a big difference between a fun and interesting cliffhanger and a BANG the book is over see you in a couple years type of style.

okay let me start by saying i enjoyed this book, the characters are great and it heavily featured romance which i loved. the reason i would not recommend it however was that it was way too short, especially compared to the last two installments. when i got to the end of book 3 screen i thought i had done something wrong and gotten my character killed or something, so i replayed it and chose different options only for it to end in the same place again. the ending was just so sudden it truly felt out of place. for how short the book is the price should be lowered by at least $2. i will still buy the next few books in this series because i love the world and the characters but i do hope they bring more to the table then this book did.

I'm just really confused? I've been following TSSW since June 2019 and I'm a big fan! I thought the 1st book was pretty good, the 2nd one a massive improvement, and I've been checking in on the 3rd's development once in a while... which is why I was so surprised when I found out this installment was close to coming out. It seemed like the WIP was still at the halfway point and, after playing through the release, I feel the same. Look. 260,000 words is incredibly impressive. That isn't the issue; Totem Force does wonders with the same length, Werewolves: Haven Rising is great and it's just slightly longer. The problem is, I just can't figure out how the size of TSSW installments keep getting smaller...? You would think there would be more variety in interactions, choices, and stakes the further you progress the plot, which, in turn, should increase the length. Of course, not everything's a straight line up, but I would expect all books to be [i]at least[/i] around the same average ballpark of 400k words. Instead, we went from 487k to 400k and then to a baffling 260k. And the worst part is, I think this is a great beginning for a 450 to 550k-word book, but no — Book 3 just ends suddenly. The other reviewers are mostly spot-on. You run around a single location, hastily meet two characters, develop your relationship with your Soul Stone a bit, and have some interactions with your party & soulmate. It's okay. I just constantly felt like there was a whole chunk missing. I'll go into feedback and the specifics of what I did and didn't like, but for a TL;DR -> If you liked the first two, sure. Book 3 is a fun way to spend two hours. Not much else to do other than wait for both of the last books and hope for an improvement. Who knows, maybe this one might get updated too. ~*~ + I think the price (in BRL) is okay. I do think this should've been a DLC or titled differently so as not to carry the weight of being a full-blown sequel. Nevertheless, fair price. + I liked the romance scenes, they're definitely the highlight here. They felt very intimate and mostly had a good amount of potential responses from MC! Most of all, I really really like Eledwen and I wanna see more of her soon :/ I'll... rant a lot about her later. + I love the main cast. They're fun and I appreciate how close MC is with them, I just wish we had interacted with them in more casual settings (as in, just having fun), considering the very low stakes this time around. Felt like a missed opportunity. - We explore a bit of Straasa's backstory, but there's literally zero payoff so far and I just never got the chance to interact with him again. Also, the scenes themselves felt off and almost unserious. I don't think an edgy "I smile the widest, most maniacal smile I ever have in my life" is a good response to someone venting about the kind of stuff he suffered. It feels like trying too hard to involve the MC and the cast in a scene that should've focused entirely on what Straasa is feeling. Plus, that's... just really corny. Sorry. - Kinda related to that last point: I've come to appreciate the author's way of writing intimacy between characters (even when platonic). They're very physical and open about their emotions and the text reflects that. My stoic MC will still be openly appreciative w/ the NPCs. That's okay! Theoretically! And I was fine with it beforehand, but for some reason this time it really annoyed me. Why is my character letting someone cup their cheek? Why is being sarcastic and slightly dismissive the only way out of a group hug? I think MC needs to be able to have more personal space. + [spoiler]Sielthan is neat. I don't mind having them in our head.[/spoiler] ~ I did like the little interludes that show what Manerkol's doing in between chapters. I just also feel like they end up nowhere. Manerkol discovered where we are! Maybe! Who knows! Find out in 2 to 5 years! - This series started out as an epic fantasy adventure, and I think the adventure part was left to the side. The game's description says we'll "grow into a power to rival the Lord of All" and "find new ways to tackle problems with our Stones", but... no, we don't do either of those. I don't think our power increased at all + My Stone had one skill they used a single time. I also didn't like the library "heist" in general. The stakes are sooo low. Is it even a heist if you don't steal something??? - The world has expanded significantly, but it has never felt smaller. The Resistance feels boring, unprepared, and too homely, we know essentially nothing of what their plans are (I know that's intentional, I still don't like it), we barely meet anyone other than three or 4 nameless characters, Rai, and [spoiler]the weirdo at the Fountain[/spoiler]. I don't feel attached to them or anything in this setting other than the main party. And hell, we hardly know a thing about Manerkol's rule (what we're fighting against), the people he's harmed (who we're fighting for), or even a few of our friends' backstories (who we're fighting with). [Mild spoilers ahead] This relates to the point above and it's my biggest gripe: We just got Eledwen back. She's my MC's soulmate. Just let them have a single day of privacy, please. I'm really tired of the party following us [i]everywhere[/i]. I'm fine with Sielthan being stuck with us, but does everyone else really need to come have breakfast everyday? I'm kinda uncomfortable with the constant PDA we have to do and wish there was a choice to prioritize spending time with our soulmate only. We have maybe three scenes alone with her, all of them are relatively short, and kind of develop nothing. Sure it's a slow burn, but our relationship is exactly the same from the end of book one to the end of book three: "We're soulmates and we're in love, I guess. We're protective over one another. And uh. We have a kiss scene...?" In fact, you can actually refuse the kiss scene and promise to only do it after she gets better and leaves the infirmary. And then... there is... no payoff. She still hasn't recovered. It's been 3 books and one of the five members of the main cast still doesn't [i]feel[/i] like part of the cast (and I'm pretty sure she consistently has less scenes than every other character???). I like how sudden and off-putting the soulmate aspect of the MC's relationships can be, but at this point I'm not even sure if they'd have a reason to date Elly were the Soul Stones not a thing. Are MC and her even compatible?? I read literally every single ask on the Tumblr back in 2022 (thrice) and I still don't think I know her enough, let alone MC. Also, MC vented about their backstory, cool. But, for whatever reason, they chose the exact moment where their soulmate wasn't there...? I don't even think this is a plot point (like they're trying to hide it or smth), this scene just happens to occur when Elly isn't there. I don't know why. That sounds like a perfectly reasonable way to make the two of them interact. [i]In private[/i]. Elly is such an introspective and calm character, why are there no scenes where they can just talk and get to know each other? I hardly know anything about her backstory, she often just stays in the infirmary instead of running around with the main cast, and it's just that much harder to say all of this when the few scenes we actually have are so, soooo good. They're intimate, sweet, and really cute!! I need more!!!! It's so frustrating. no like i'm fr. i've been thinking about this character for six years now and I've BARELY interacted with her :( ~*~ Anyways. I'm disappointed, yeah. The plot should've been longer. I don't think the author had any bad intentions or anything, I'm just bummed out and it feels like they should've let it cook for more time. I will still give it a thumbs up considering I liked most scenes and I'm hopeful for the next one, as I do feel so much potential here, but do consider getting it on sale.

实际阅读时间在三小时左右，这部也太短了！？我还以为终于要展开主线，结果告诉我第三本完，行吧…… 作者下部可不可以少写点短句排比句，看多了有点阅读疲劳；还有再提醒朋友们一次，最好选择攻略队友而非隐藏，这部大lord的剧情又让我脚趾抠出一座失落の城，我就好似深柜一样一边被雷得里焦外嫩一边每部必读好奇后面还能怎么雷，不要学我！

First of all, I really wish there was a neutral option for "recommend or not" choice, because seriously, what the hell? Everything that happens in this book in some other IF novel would have taken place over maybe a couple of chapters and a prologue. If even that. But here, the entire 10 chapters took me less than 2 hours to finish (I only have more than that on record because I took breaks and left the game running). It's unacceptable. The other 2 books weren't the most satisfactory length too, but this one is a joke in comparison. So obviously, pretty much nothing happens in this part. We spent the entire game in one location, learned some lore, met some new people (who I can't force myself to give a damn about, especially the new LIs, they were entirely unnesessary), but that's it. After waiting for so long, it's bleak. I really hope the author will deliver an actual book next time, since this one feels more like a preview.

A short entry in the franchise that feels like barely anything happens. I play IF games to make choices and the ones provided to me are often short and superfluous followed by 5-10 pages of text with no choices at all. It's a damn shame that two pretty good books are now ruined for me thanks to this underwhelming flop. Don't waste your money.

Like the previous books, I only finished this one out of sunk cost stubbornness after missing the 14-day refund window. Half of the game is just saccharine hurt/comfort scenes, and the constant insistence that these people are "like family" still rings completely hollow to me. There's no actual chemistry or earned bonds, just the narrative telling me how I should feel about the characters and their relationships. The game also keeps deciding what my character is thinking and feeling, which has been annoying throughout the series but feels especially grating when those forced emotions are all about the artificial relationships the story is trying so hard to sell. Beyond that, it's just dull. The entire book spans just two days, and they're not even action-packed days either; it's mostly just a lot of sitting around having feelings about things. The ending is pretty abrupt too, though honestly I was so bored by that point that I can't say I cared much. Someone who had been enjoying the series might find it disappointing, but personally I was just relieved to finally be done with it. I won't be picking up any future books.

Part 3 of this series really didn't disappoint to me! It's probably my favorite so far, but I feel like I need to warn people about some details so that they know what to expect. So, book 3 is a bit less action packed than 1 and 2. Feels like a moment of "calm" in the eye of the storm before things get chaotic again. That's not to say there's no action in it, but it's more of an ending thing, while the meat of the story is dedicated to the aftermath of book 2, meeting new characters and progressing in our main character's relationships with other people. So if you play this series for the combat scenes and travel shenanigans, this book may be a bit less up your alley. If you play for the relationships and the sweet found family and for the lore and mysteries, you'll love it as much as I did (hopefully)! Now, another thing worth of mention is that, if you're like me and only romancing one character, with that character being Manerkol specifically, you may get less content in chapters 8 and 9 than if you romanced other people. At least, I'm assuming it's that. Since the book is pretty dedicated to relationships, and very focused on romance progression, obviously you won't get a lot considering the situation the main character is in ([spoiler]because you're with the Resistance during the entire book and they have means to stop Manerkol's reach, you won't be able to interact with him by dreams like you did in the previous books, at least till the very end[/spoiler]). Fortunately, you still have all sorts of dedicated moments and choice options for main characters on that romance path, not to mention multiple Manerkol PoVs. With that being said, the scene you end up getting with him really makes it up for it! I loved it so much - possibly my favorite scene in the series so far. So basically, the content we get is great - there's just less of it spread in the book than for other romances. [spoiler]Well, at least this is what I assume of the OG team and Sielthan. I don't know about Rai and Mornie (Mornie didn't even appear at all on my playthrough in this book).[/spoiler] If you play all the romances, or at the very least not exclusively the antagonist's one, then this small downside shouldn't even be an issue for you to begin with. This book makes me insanely excited for the next one though! It was such a delight, and the plot points it unravels and teases are just... chef's kiss! Having gotten (as far as I know) all the information it's possible to get in a playthrough certainly helps in getting me hyped as hell.

It's times like this where I REALLY wish Steam would just give us a neutral review option. So I really hate that I'm having to rate it with a negative, because while I did enjoy what was there it just felt lacking that the cons just barely outweigh the pros to me. I like the series, and I did enjoy what was here (not as much as the first two books), but the main issue is that what is here feels like an incomplete game—as if it's merely part one. When I got to the ending screen I actually thought it was a bug or that I had misread and skipped over where my character died and got a premature death ending. The word count is shorter than the previous games which definitely makes it feel short but more importantly the events in the game are introduced but don't feel like they get a follow through or resolution. I know this is a multi part series but each part within a series should feel like a complete experience where the book-specific events are resolved while you simultaneously work towards the main goal. Book one was solid, book two was fast paced but still felt mostly complete. The game just needs more. Whether that means taking the next book and adding to this book three (making the reported 5 book series into a 4 book series) to make it more substantial, or by adding new book-specific arcs to beef it up (for example: [spoiler]training, actually joining the resistance instead of just being the stone-wielders they picked up on the side of the road who wander around doing basically nothing, doing increasingly bigger and tougher missions for the resistance, or even a non-resistance arc for those of us who don't like the resistance[/spoiler]). I'm invested in the characters and story, so I probably will continue it to the end, but book three—if it's not revamped—will be the book I probably won't revisit.