Based on my past few posts, you would be forgiven for assuming I only play romance sims. Time to break the mushy, gushy game review streak with some recommendations from one of my favorite choose-your-own-adventure developers, Choice of Games.
- In Choice of the Deathless, you are a lawyer trying to survive both supernatural attacks and office politics. The world feels real and dense, the writing has a dry sense of humor, and the descriptions of the areas stuck with me.
- In Heroes Rise and its sequel, Heroes Rise: The Hero Project, you are a newly licensed super hero as he/she tries to build a reputation and protect loved ones. The politics and pathways in the sequel are particularly distinct, and I look forward to the third game in the trilogy. I’m especially interested in seeing the end of Jenny’s story. She’s awesome.
- In Slammed!, you play a rookie wrestler. Yeah, it didn’t appeal to me at first either, but this is probably my favorite of the series. It’s long, well-written, and gives enough background information on the sport and industry that a complete innocent could understand what was happening.
- In Choice of the Vampire, you work your way through vampire politics while dealing with the American Civil War. Much research went into the history and locations, and I found that more interesting than the fantasy aspect.
- In the Choice of Romance trilogy, you are a newly arrived nobleman/noblewoman who much navigate both family and court politics. Though it has “romance” in the title, it’s not light and fluffy. Plenty of people want you dead, up to and including your lover. While avoiding them, you must shape your role in the court: Mistress or queen? Fun or power? Puppet master or victim?
- In Choice of the Star Captain, you are a pilot just trying to get by when you’re recruited into the military fleet. This is the funniest CoG I’ve read. The computer, Lloyd had me snorting, and the player character has some entertaining options as well. You’re not just a straight man for Lloyd to play off. I hope the author, Dorian Hart, continues to write theses games!
The first few chapters of each title are free, so give them a try and see if a particular one clicks. Next week I’ll be back with my recommendations for CoG’s hosted titles.
myladylydia 