VERSUS: The Elite Trials

What the first book did with world building, this installment ratchets up to eleven. We get to learn a lot more about other cultures, societies, and how things operate on Versus. We also get further development on characters that were only touched on in the Last Ones, as well as incredible new ones that you meet along your journey. I think it should be noted that most of your time IS spent with new characters instead of the old ones (with a few exceptions). If that bothers you then you might not like this game. The mysteries Zack set up in the first book also get explored more here in a very satisfying way. You find answers to some things, but they often create even more questions. It doesn't feel jumbled or overly confusing though. It only serves to heighten the tension. The last thing I think is worth mentioning is the overall tone of the game. In The Lost Ones, I could create great relationships with all the people I liked and have a more or less "happy ending." But things get very political in this game. A lot of people that I really liked had VERY different views and opinions. Eventually you have to make a choice on where you stand, and no matter what you decide someone will get hurt. It's just a matter of who. In this manner, it reminds me a bit of Heroes Rise: The Hero Project. This is the kind of game that really makes you think about your ideologies and why you choose them. Even more amazingly, it doesn't make a judgment on your actions or push you towards a certain way of thinking *cough* Hero Project Redemption *cough*. Overall this game builds on the complexities of the last one in every way without becoming confusing or preachy. Versus is an increasingly fascinating world, and your character has the opportunity to become even more unique and customized to your liking. But the cuss words still suck.

After playing the first Versus game, I can definitely say the second keeps the tension going. I'm most certainly biased here, but I'm a lover of text-based games, especially when I feel like my choices really matter and change the way events happen. I thoroughly look forward to playing the next installment.

for now the game is good but i barely began it and the whole 'new pronouns' thing is already being a pain , as a non native anglophone , i can tell you how disturbing and how hard it is to read , especialy if , like me , you know ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ about the whole 'new pronoun' trend , Choice of games's writer should really stop with that at least add the possibility to only have normal pronoun , because if it continu , i'll simply have to stop buying choice of games's game , as i won't pay for a TEXT BASED game (making it really important for this game to be easy and fluid to read) who has no care for the reader's comfort EDIT : Disregard that , the whole pronoun thing is only over used for like two or three pages and after that it stop and begin to be really confortable to read , i just jumped to conclusion after seeing them because Heroes project had already abused of them recently , it's huge improvement in fact also i'm very happy about my dynastie théocratique of look alike who need a whole village to raise a kid , who is over all doing okay , most game would have made me fail at the second i took something else than 'libéral démocratie' by the way , just a message to choice of game in general : include polyamourous and polygame relationship more often , you're litteraly the onlys guys who do that (with the guys from Overlord 2 but that team is pretty dead anyways) so you should capitalise on it

Moves leaps and bounds foward. The author keeps track of a vast array of information, shows considerable foresight, and makes a truly epic fantasy tale.

I just finished this game and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ was that good. Loved every minute of it. If you like Choose-Your-Own-Adventure games or books, you'll love this. VERSUS: The Elite Trials was a fantastic work and something I will definitely play through again and again. I will also tell as meny people as possible about how genuinely fantastic it is. Thank you Choice Of Games for another wonderful experience. And most of all, thank you to Zachary Sergi for writing such a great piece of fiction!

The second book in the Versus collection, this story is rich, engaging, and beautiful. Even as a short story on its own, the Versus tale would be worth the read, but watching as your choices shape the world in your mind's eye makes it something that each person should experience several times over. It was a big bonus, for me, to see the ideas and themes from the first book transition to the second. My biggest disappointment is that book 3 is not released as of yet. I eagerly await the conclusions! Pros: Engaging, descriptive storytelling Good transfer of stats Excellently crafted characters Balanced and satisfying branches Cons: Some grammatical/spelling errors Feels somewhat incomplete (given the episodic nature, it's expected, but it's still a con) I would definitely play Versus: The Lost Ones before playing this. You don't absolutely have to, but it definitely helps with world immersion, and to understand the background of these characters and many of the ideas and themes used throughout the story.

What to say about this game? If you played the first in this series and liked it, nothing else needs to be said. You get where the story is going, and maybe even more importantly what/where the author is attempting to take you. If like myself you were left a bit confused by the way the first game unfolded and or disappointed that it didnt leave you with a sense of having accomplised/experienced much, then I'd recomend spending the $4 and reading through this one. It delivers on new content as well as following up and adding some more context to the things that you did or did not do in the first game. $4 is just a bit over a half hours pay at minimum wage here in the US and you will easily get 3 to 4 hours of entertainment for your investment on a single play through, and there are plenty of reasons things to figure out to make replaying it multiple times worth the effort. If you played the first game and hated it or felt insulted, frustrated, or digusted then this second game is definetly not for you. This game has a way of challenging the PLAYERS ideas, thoughts, and beliefs,... and then commenting on them in ways that can have a negative impact on those who feel the need to attack in order to defend. I am in no way stating that there are great Truths waitting to be revealed here. But I will state that you will be questioned often about what you hold as True and Why. Such questions might be uncomfortable, especialy when they are unexpected, or considered Unquestionable in the first place. This book/game is truely Reflective, not through a perfect mirror, but through the combined lens of the aurthors directing questions, and the players attempts to answer them. Its a game, within a game, within a game literaly and figuretively.

Can't wait for book three.

Elite Trials is a good game but I wouldn't call it great like the author's other works but it's definitely a top tier CoG game still Story: 5/10 The game was too short with the story being non existent unfortunately when compared to the 1st game's excellent setup, the "trials" were includes a fetch quest filled with exposition with other aliens, an interesting but boring party game and finally using the stats you built to have an outcome of picking only 2 sides, which is obvious the VS front, as there was no backstory or emotional connection with the Elite group Setting: 7/10 The world introduced and settings were very limited when compared to the first game because other than the Wone it is nonexistent but just reading about the Wone culture it is extremely interesting with Orders, Houses and Splinter beliefs Characters: 4/10 Introduced were a LOT of characters non of which were interesting, received character development, had anymore potential romances or any emotional bonding with them. Prince Everly is the only good character when compared to Venuma, MamaNa (stupid name) and Ashe. There were so many interesting characters non of which had any more development or just emotional bonding with. Shame since (Hero Rise) had this Romance: 1/10 The romance options were severely limited and the romances themselves were nonexistent here. Verdict: 7/10 Story does not progress, there were a lot of characters but no good ones, romance was horrible and the setting was limited. All in all a severely disappointing game but still worth playing. If only there were more romances and politics involved.

the characters of the verses series are well diverse and the story around the characters with connected backgrounds adds to the conflict giving it a intense feel around the already intense world