THE COUNCIL (2018) at first, had a very interesting premise. I generally really enjoy narrative driven games, with decisions that effect the overall outcome and ending. Games with alternate paths and lasting consequences tend to be games that I seek out and obsess over. I enjoy games with mysteries and puzzles, games for the more "cerebral" gamer.
And while, The Council mostly delivered on that front, the story and mystery seemed to fizzle out mid-game, probably somewhere around the start of episode 3, at least for me. Things really slowed down, felt boring. The sad thing is, I feel like I've been waiting for a game like this for ages! So much potential wasted!
I seriously bought this after seeing only a few screenshots of the game and reading the brief description. Um, murder mystery, political intrigue, secret society, bizarre paranormal occurrences, strange happenings and odd goings-ons, all wrapped up in a historical fiction narrative-SIGN ME UP.
At first, it seemed to be a historical murder mystery with touches of political intrigue and occult elements. It almost seemed to be a French video game version of the popular board game Clue, with darker undertones. Naturally, I loved the idea. I even loved the first episode, the setting, the unique cast of characters, the unfolding mystery (clues, evidence, letters, conspiracy etc.) I really enjoyed the character interactions as well, the conversation process, the confrontations. A very good start.
Sadly, the story and mystery itself, gradually, became a bit convoluted and uncertain. Perhaps this game suffered from a severe loss of focus. IF the story's focus were to be on finding Louis's missing mother, great, on solving the murder, great, on understanding the mystery of the secret society, awesome, or even on Louis's newly developing powers, GREAT!
...But instead we get shuffled around from one interesting plot to the next, diminishing the experience of each of those really interesting subjects and plotlines. I would have been happy with 5 episodes focused on any one of those fascinating topics. All would have made great game premises. It was like the game devs tried cramming way too much into this instead of really developing one storyline. Don't get me wrong, I love options and possibilities, but this story became kinda disjointed. It was bloated with ideas but none of them were properly explored. Just when I was getting interested in the case at hand, suddenly I was jarred out of it and pushed into another. The story just felt all over the place, and not in a good way.
Graphically the game was pretty decent, though not the best. It was still very visually appealing. While at times it felt a bit annoying mechanically, such as the odd camera angles, not able to closely examine areas, it was never really a huge issue. Occasionally the character gestures were odd and buggy, which was a bit weird and at times comical, but ignorable. The setting worked really well; I enjoyed the concept of the mysterious isolated castle on the island. The need for honey aka Royal Jelly (as well as the other consumables) was a bit weird to me, though understandable.
Personally, as far as gameplay, I would have enjoyed the game better if it had been in first person and also would have loved an ability to closer examine things. Narrative driven games are so much more immersive in first person, as it really puts you (the player/gamer) into the shoes of the character. Even still, I got past it. I was determined to like it, to give it a chance.
For the most part, characters were very well designed and portrayed, namely Sarah de Richet, William Mortimer, Gregory Holm, Cardinal Piaggi, Napoleon Bonaparte, Elizabeth Adams, Perú, George Washington, Goldoy, and even the masked servants. I enjoyed the character and persona of Emily Hillsburrow, but not her silly "fan-service" attire. While she was pretty, the costume made her character feel way out of place among the others, who all dressed classy and according to their social/political status and position.
As far as characters went, they were all unique and intriguing. I personally would have wanted an even larger cast, the more the merrier. I enjoyed almost all characters to some extent, EXCEPT, and this is a big issue for me, Louis De Richet, who happens to be the MC. I found him utterly annoying. Any time he talked, tried to make a joke, opened his mouth in any way, it completely jarred me from the game.
His dialogue was terrible and his voice poorly casted, in my opinion. Many of the other character voices seemed to fit with their character, persona and ethnicity. Louis talked like a modern American teen, and never seemed to fit in the game. He certainly didn't seem French. That along with his corny dialogue made him so irritating. Between the MC Louis and the outlandish appearance of the otherwise likable Duchess Hillsburrow, who- while was very pretty and well-acted, dressed like a brothel worker rather than a noble Duchess, I found it quite hard to take the game very seriously. I think most things I could have overlooked, but not the cheesy main character designs, the poor voice acting of the main character and the gradually weakening of the story-telling.
Not to mention the ending was so rushed. It felt like a mere after thought. While I definitely appreciated some things about this game, some of the concepts, there were quite a few bothersome aspects for me. I ended up being disappointed, even after all the hope I had given it. There was room for improvement. Try at your own risk.
STORY: 6/10
GAMEPLAY: 5/10
GRAPHICS: 8/10
ART DESIGN: 8/10
MUSIC: 7/10
OVERALL RATING: 5.5.
