One of the best examples of what these choose-your-own-adventure games have to offer. A believable world that you learn about the way an actual child does - some things are explained to you very simply, but you will learn a lot about society through observation only to understand why the world works that way when you're much older. While a world where people can die multiple times is pretty interesting, I don’t feel like they took full advantage of this bit of lore in my first playthrough despite being almost constantly surrounded by death. Of course, it plays a significant role in the part of the game centered around the revolt (a fixed part of the timeline?) but most of the time it came up in my playthroughs, it was related to executions or people who just happened to be due for their “True Death” anyway. The mechanics of being reborn still make dying undesirable, but I may have to do a couple more replays to see if they use this in a more interesting way in other routes.
Unlike many other “Choose your own adventure” games I’m unable to level my usual complaint at it - many of these games grant you outcomes based on a single button press, making them feel unearned. Sir Brante does an excellent job of making all the outcomes in the game feel like natural consequences of your decisions, and trying to juggle all the sources of tension present in the game becomes quite a challenge. Even with the immediate effects of your actions shown, this is by no means an easy game, as each decision has increasing weight as the story goes on, each feeling like it could be the one that comes back to bite you in the end. Characters are given agency, moving their own pieces around and even people who share your goal may take approaches that conflict with yours. Supporting the upheaval of the current order feels just as tense as it should, and while Brante experiences far more excitement than the average person would, he never feels like a superhuman in his fictional context.
This isn’t to say the game is perfect. While the game generally does a good job of making you feel like there’s a diverse pool of possible outcomes, there are a few endings for the Brante family in particular that feel detached from their context in the story. There are also quite a few typos - nothing that really prevents you from understanding a sentence, but there are enough that I had to go back and do a repeat read more than once. Additionally, I feel like showing the possible events at the beginning of the chapter is the game tipping its hand a bit too much at the expense of the story. This would be a little better if the requirements to trigger the events weren’t displayed here, so that you still know what’s possible without knowing what exact stat threshold will guide you to the desired ending.
All that being said, I still think this is the best game of its type on the Steam store right now. It’s got a setting with enough interesting idiosyncrasies that you want to know more, but it's never weighed down with lore dumps. The decisions can be genuinely tough and the NPCs feel like they have real agency in the story, making great use of it by working towards understandable goals. It’s paced well, respects the player’s time, and doesn’t try to drown you in minutiae.
Unlike many other “Choose your own adventure” games I’m unable to level my usual complaint at it - many of these games grant you outcomes based on a single button press, making them feel unearned. Sir Brante does an excellent job of making all the outcomes in the game feel like natural consequences of your decisions, and trying to juggle all the sources of tension present in the game becomes quite a challenge. Even with the immediate effects of your actions shown, this is by no means an easy game, as each decision has increasing weight as the story goes on, each feeling like it could be the one that comes back to bite you in the end. Characters are given agency, moving their own pieces around and even people who share your goal may take approaches that conflict with yours. Supporting the upheaval of the current order feels just as tense as it should, and while Brante experiences far more excitement than the average person would, he never feels like a superhuman in his fictional context.
This isn’t to say the game is perfect. While the game generally does a good job of making you feel like there’s a diverse pool of possible outcomes, there are a few endings for the Brante family in particular that feel detached from their context in the story. There are also quite a few typos - nothing that really prevents you from understanding a sentence, but there are enough that I had to go back and do a repeat read more than once. Additionally, I feel like showing the possible events at the beginning of the chapter is the game tipping its hand a bit too much at the expense of the story. This would be a little better if the requirements to trigger the events weren’t displayed here, so that you still know what’s possible without knowing what exact stat threshold will guide you to the desired ending.
All that being said, I still think this is the best game of its type on the Steam store right now. It’s got a setting with enough interesting idiosyncrasies that you want to know more, but it's never weighed down with lore dumps. The decisions can be genuinely tough and the NPCs feel like they have real agency in the story, making great use of it by working towards understandable goals. It’s paced well, respects the player’s time, and doesn’t try to drown you in minutiae.
An original and interesting world, multi-layered characters, investing story and setting, choices which impact the game and most importantly exceptional writing. At times I was more invested in this game than in any other piece of media I engaged with in recent memory. It actually felt like I was forging my own path within the difficult world of the game, based off the principles and ideals I (Brante) acquired and I absoulutely loved that. What I love even more is how open-minded the game is if you decide to take a more questionable path or make an immoral choice - it doesn't judge you, but instead just alters the narrative in a way that would be respectful of your choices.
Long story short - this would have been the best game I've played this year. But then I tried to replay it.
It seriously baffles me how a game with so many possible outcomes can have such a fucked up save system. In the final chapter of the game I had 3 different paths to choose from. I initially went with one of them and finished the game. Then to play through the other two, I had to play through the ENTIRE CHAPTER twice as well. For some reason (presumably because it could make farming achievements too easy? but I honestly have no fucking clue) the game overwrites your save whenever a new event starts and then if you want to make other choices you can only do that by replaying the entire chapter from the start. Manual saves would easily fix the entire issue, so I don't know why the devs went for such a stupid choice. I would honestly replay the game a couple of times if I didn't have to sit through all of this stuff. There is so much content in it, but it somehow feels like the devs don't care enough to give you access to it.
Still, if you only do one playthrough (which is even somewhat thematically fitting - you know, every person has one life etc.) the game is definitely worth your attention - even with the lacking design. It's thought-provoking, it's original, it's very well-written and it's a very good game / interactive book.
Long story short - this would have been the best game I've played this year. But then I tried to replay it.
It seriously baffles me how a game with so many possible outcomes can have such a fucked up save system. In the final chapter of the game I had 3 different paths to choose from. I initially went with one of them and finished the game. Then to play through the other two, I had to play through the ENTIRE CHAPTER twice as well. For some reason (presumably because it could make farming achievements too easy? but I honestly have no fucking clue) the game overwrites your save whenever a new event starts and then if you want to make other choices you can only do that by replaying the entire chapter from the start. Manual saves would easily fix the entire issue, so I don't know why the devs went for such a stupid choice. I would honestly replay the game a couple of times if I didn't have to sit through all of this stuff. There is so much content in it, but it somehow feels like the devs don't care enough to give you access to it.
Still, if you only do one playthrough (which is even somewhat thematically fitting - you know, every person has one life etc.) the game is definitely worth your attention - even with the lacking design. It's thought-provoking, it's original, it's very well-written and it's a very good game / interactive book.
Loved this. Was just rapt the whole time and on my knees at the scope of the game.
I think a lot of us engage with art, with games, to Feel. Games sort of primarily make the player feel power, agency, a sort of strength they can't really get or experience in real life, but Sir Brante... doesn't exactly let you feel that. It does and most definitely can. In fact, a lot of friends I recommended the game to that went through it shared with me their triumphs at pivotal moments in their version of the titular character's life. My playthrough, however, was one marked by sorrow and loss.
The game is full of failures, of ways your character's adult life can fall apart, of ways childhood innocence peels away, of compromises that must be made and injustices easy to ignore. Sir Brante made me suffer. In my eight hour playthrough, it gave me a turbulent life growing up in a rich, fascinating fantasy world in NotFrance on the verge of revolution, made me experience hope and wonder in my virtual adolescence before crushing me with a brutal life of corrupt adulthood, leaving me having lost everything as a result of my choices.
The ending I was led to and the emotional devastation, all on me, left me in awe. Of course, I went back and played again, did other routes, did everything right, had a triumphant life, and that was all great, but...nothing can replace first playthrough, that first route, that experience of getting to the end utterly defeated, but having lived a full life.
I think a lot of us engage with art, with games, to Feel. Games sort of primarily make the player feel power, agency, a sort of strength they can't really get or experience in real life, but Sir Brante... doesn't exactly let you feel that. It does and most definitely can. In fact, a lot of friends I recommended the game to that went through it shared with me their triumphs at pivotal moments in their version of the titular character's life. My playthrough, however, was one marked by sorrow and loss.
The game is full of failures, of ways your character's adult life can fall apart, of ways childhood innocence peels away, of compromises that must be made and injustices easy to ignore. Sir Brante made me suffer. In my eight hour playthrough, it gave me a turbulent life growing up in a rich, fascinating fantasy world in NotFrance on the verge of revolution, made me experience hope and wonder in my virtual adolescence before crushing me with a brutal life of corrupt adulthood, leaving me having lost everything as a result of my choices.
The ending I was led to and the emotional devastation, all on me, left me in awe. Of course, I went back and played again, did other routes, did everything right, had a triumphant life, and that was all great, but...nothing can replace first playthrough, that first route, that experience of getting to the end utterly defeated, but having lived a full life.
What a strange title ! I jumped in thinking I'd get to build and forge my own story from the ground, and be the brante which I'd like to be. Which I did , for the first 1-2 chapters. Starting from chapter 3 , it gets difficult to, choose your choices freely, there are multiple new stats introduced around this time, but it's still bearable. Chapter 4 was when I gave up , infuriated that the Brante I'd want to be , would never come to fruition. Locked behind stats my brante was heading towards an ending i never signed up for the game decided it for me. A very infuriating experience, can't believe I wasted like what 5 hours on this title. The story is good, I'll give them that. But damn , you needn't to do that much levels of horrible stats addition overall a title I'd say , you shouldn't play, if you care about free choice
Sinceramente, não sei exatamente o que dizer sobre este jogo. O jogo é bonito, tem uma história que te trás ânimo para ver até onde irá. Porém, após o início dá juventude, eu sinto que o jogo acaba por se perder um bocado. Muitos personagens sendo introduzidos ao mesmo tempo, escolhas, talvez grandes demais, além de imprevisíveis.
Além do principal: Em determinado momento, eu simplesmente não tinha mais escolhas, não possuia opções.
Após o adoecimento materno, eu simplesmente não tinha mais o que fazer, ajudar a família, o povo, nada. Eu simplesmente fiquei fadado a ler por mais de meia hora como tudo que eu queria fazer deu errado, como minha familia se separou, o povo entrou em revolta, e eu literalmente só podia escolher observar tudo.
O jogo é bem produzido sim, mas não ter a opção de voltar pra escolha passada, aliadas aos níveis exorbitantes de requerimentos para qualquer escolha late game, me desapontou bastante.
Além do principal: Em determinado momento, eu simplesmente não tinha mais escolhas, não possuia opções.
Após o adoecimento materno, eu simplesmente não tinha mais o que fazer, ajudar a família, o povo, nada. Eu simplesmente fiquei fadado a ler por mais de meia hora como tudo que eu queria fazer deu errado, como minha familia se separou, o povo entrou em revolta, e eu literalmente só podia escolher observar tudo.
O jogo é bem produzido sim, mas não ter a opção de voltar pra escolha passada, aliadas aos níveis exorbitantes de requerimentos para qualquer escolha late game, me desapontou bastante.
Fantastic writing with great replayability. Only gripe is that the text can't be made bigger/controller support. Played this on my Steam Deck and had to bind a button to zoom in.
Haven't played anything like this in a long time. A breath of fresh air!
Haven't played anything like this in a long time. A breath of fresh air!
Un esperimento interessante. Ho giocato tre partite in tutto, cercando di seguire sempre una logica di personificazione, agendo di ruolo per quanto possibile. Le prime tre fasi, fino alla Gioventù, sono pressoché identiche: servono unicamente a cumulare punti abilità da assegnare a l'una o l'altra caratteristica, e a determinare il tipo di relazioni che si hanno con le proprie amicizie e i propri familiari. Questa caratterizzazione serve poi per determinare i differenti percorsi intrapresi nelle ultime due fasi della vita di Brante: in questo caso ci sono, sì, più differenze che somiglianze; già solo considerando la via clericale e quella nobiliare si diramano due percorsi molto diversi l'un dall'altro, con numerosi eventi unici ma con anche molti intrecci nell'ambiente domestico (ivi accadono pressoché gli stessi eventi). Consiglio di giocare sin da subito eliminando la possibilità di sapere l'esito delle proprie scelte, così da evitare di prendere una certa direzione in base a una esplicita convenienza numerica. Il gioco prova anche a dare un senso al giocare di ruolo rendendo inaccessibili molte delle scelte, in base ai punteggi ottenuti fino a quel momento: molte volte questo ha effettivamente senso, altre volte invece mi ha restituito un'esperienza spiacevole in modo un po' troppo frustrante. Soprattutto le fasi giovanili di vita sono particolarmente lente da rigiocare; si possono, sì, prendere decisioni molto diverse ma il fatto che il gioco sia pressoché identico per i primi 20 anni di vita di Brante (fa praticamente da introduzione) è un po' noioso e un eccesso
La prima partita mi ha particolarmente tenuto incollato, merito soprattutto del world-building che è parecchio interessante e ben realizzato: molti sono i personaggi coinvolti, gli elementi fantastici si incastrano molto bene col tema fantapolitico, la base narrativa è ben solida e ci sono a disposizione anche una mappa con i vari luoghi di interesse e una legenda contenente le relazioni intraprese e i personaggi conosciuti. Belli anche il sound design e alcune particolarità restituite dalla lettura dei numerosi passaggi. Inoltre, la bellezza della scrittura risiede, sadisticamente, nei momenti più cupi e tragici: per giungerci è necessario seguire dei percorsi abbastanza precisi, altrimenti si incorre spesso in alcune strane incoerenze caratteriali del protagonista e anche in alcuni eventi che hanno poco senso (es.: finità la gioventù, ci si separa dal proprio amico Tommas ma se si sceglie di intraprendere la strada della nobiltà lo si continua a frequentare come se niente fosse). Il fatto cruciale è questo: il mondo di Sir Brante è un mondo estremamente iniquo e crudele, sia nelle sue condizioni iniziali che in quelle dove si tenta di sostenere un senso etico. Il gioco permette al giocatore di perseguire scopi più o meno onorevoli e giusti, di agire con rettitudine; gli esiti di queste azioni sono però fin troppo scoraggianti, risultando più spesso che no in conseguenze anche nefaste. Il gioco spinge, più e più volte, ad adottare una mentalità cinica, doppiogiochista, ad andare più appresso al potere che all'aiuto disinteressato. Quantomeno, richiede molto spesso di scendere a compromessi: già normale nella realtà, figurarsi in un mondo come quello
Purtroppo, non posso dire di essere stato fan delle idee di game design legate alla parametria, sia per la questione legata alla ripetitività delle partite (che ho percepito con noia e lentezza), sia perché fin troppe volte mi sono parse precluse delle vie in modo a mio dire un po' irragionevole
La prima partita mi ha particolarmente tenuto incollato, merito soprattutto del world-building che è parecchio interessante e ben realizzato: molti sono i personaggi coinvolti, gli elementi fantastici si incastrano molto bene col tema fantapolitico, la base narrativa è ben solida e ci sono a disposizione anche una mappa con i vari luoghi di interesse e una legenda contenente le relazioni intraprese e i personaggi conosciuti. Belli anche il sound design e alcune particolarità restituite dalla lettura dei numerosi passaggi. Inoltre, la bellezza della scrittura risiede, sadisticamente, nei momenti più cupi e tragici: per giungerci è necessario seguire dei percorsi abbastanza precisi, altrimenti si incorre spesso in alcune strane incoerenze caratteriali del protagonista e anche in alcuni eventi che hanno poco senso (es.: finità la gioventù, ci si separa dal proprio amico Tommas ma se si sceglie di intraprendere la strada della nobiltà lo si continua a frequentare come se niente fosse). Il fatto cruciale è questo: il mondo di Sir Brante è un mondo estremamente iniquo e crudele, sia nelle sue condizioni iniziali che in quelle dove si tenta di sostenere un senso etico. Il gioco permette al giocatore di perseguire scopi più o meno onorevoli e giusti, di agire con rettitudine; gli esiti di queste azioni sono però fin troppo scoraggianti, risultando più spesso che no in conseguenze anche nefaste. Il gioco spinge, più e più volte, ad adottare una mentalità cinica, doppiogiochista, ad andare più appresso al potere che all'aiuto disinteressato. Quantomeno, richiede molto spesso di scendere a compromessi: già normale nella realtà, figurarsi in un mondo come quello
Purtroppo, non posso dire di essere stato fan delle idee di game design legate alla parametria, sia per la questione legata alla ripetitività delle partite (che ho percepito con noia e lentezza), sia perché fin troppe volte mi sono parse precluse delle vie in modo a mio dire un po' irragionevole
Sir Brante sure does suffer.
Cool idea for a narrative RPG. I liked the style, the music was also convincing. Unfortunately, at a certain point the game becomes a math exercise, where it's no longer about making your own decisions, but calculating which decision brings which advantage. Most of the time you can only choose 1 or 2 options anyway because you don't have the necessary skills.
Apart from that, I thought the writing was quite good, but unfortunately anything but subtle. The wickedness of this world is conveyed in a very in-the-face way, it could have been written more elegantly. Some consequences felt unfair and illogical. From time to time, "events" happen in the game that are based on the player's decisions. This is a cool idea, but sometimes leads to illogical situations. For example, a character has a change of heart in such an "event" and later in the main story continues to behave like the old asshole, as if he hadn't learned anything. In general, characters hardly develop at all, but remain static stereotypes. The way the game tells me a thousand times how the family is trying to be elevated to the nobility, even though I made it clear early on in the game that I didn't give a shit about that, was really annoying :D But otherwise a cool idea for a game, very branching narrative and high replay value.
Apart from that, I thought the writing was quite good, but unfortunately anything but subtle. The wickedness of this world is conveyed in a very in-the-face way, it could have been written more elegantly. Some consequences felt unfair and illogical. From time to time, "events" happen in the game that are based on the player's decisions. This is a cool idea, but sometimes leads to illogical situations. For example, a character has a change of heart in such an "event" and later in the main story continues to behave like the old asshole, as if he hadn't learned anything. In general, characters hardly develop at all, but remain static stereotypes. The way the game tells me a thousand times how the family is trying to be elevated to the nobility, even though I made it clear early on in the game that I didn't give a shit about that, was really annoying :D But otherwise a cool idea for a game, very branching narrative and high replay value.
Just finished my first playthrough of this game and will be going back for another.
At one point I found myself thinking that this game is just too depressing and too tragic. Then I finished it and realized that the beauty of a well-written tragedy is that it feels inevitable. And for my first playthrough at least, that's what it felt like. I played with the change indicators (idk what to call the message that tells you the effect your choices will have on the stats) off. This is maybe not the choice if you want to try to win or get a particular outcome, but I wanted my first time playing to be blind, so that I could be led less by the stats and more by the story.
It was an interesting approach and I'm glad I did it and committed to it because I got many very sad outcomes and found myself, at times, very frustrated with the options available to me. If that would ruin the game for you, I definitely recommend playing with the change indicators on, though you probably still won't get everything you want. Sacrifices must be made.
I think these feelings, and experiencing them for the characters and about the story isthe point of the game. A very good YouTuber recently said in a video: the point of art is not understanding it or knowing the most about it. The art is in the feeling it illicits in you as you experience it. (Heavily paraphrased from SuperEyepatchWolf's video The Bizarre World of Fake Video Games).
Sometimes your circumstances don't allow you to pick the optimal choice. Your actions have consequences and at many points while playing and seeing the selection I wanted greyed out, I felt those consequences.
It can be a tough play at times, like I said it is very tragic, and I did take a week and a half break at one point, but when I did go back to it I still enjoyed experiencing the game very much.
The major drawbacks are the spelling mistakes. There is a lot of text in this game and it unfolds like a book, so seeing many spelling mistakes throughout my playthrough wound up feeling jarring, and pulled me out of the story. This isn't something I normally mind, and if it were one or two I probably wouldn't mention it. However, in a game that is basically a novel, the text needs to be free of errors in my opinion, especially in a game that has been out for 3 years.
That being said, the writing really is beautiful and the art is gorgeous. The world created is harsh and difficult, but important and worth fighting for. This game made me feel a lot and I'm excited to go explore another branch of the story.
At one point I found myself thinking that this game is just too depressing and too tragic. Then I finished it and realized that the beauty of a well-written tragedy is that it feels inevitable. And for my first playthrough at least, that's what it felt like. I played with the change indicators (idk what to call the message that tells you the effect your choices will have on the stats) off. This is maybe not the choice if you want to try to win or get a particular outcome, but I wanted my first time playing to be blind, so that I could be led less by the stats and more by the story.
It was an interesting approach and I'm glad I did it and committed to it because I got many very sad outcomes and found myself, at times, very frustrated with the options available to me. If that would ruin the game for you, I definitely recommend playing with the change indicators on, though you probably still won't get everything you want. Sacrifices must be made.
I think these feelings, and experiencing them for the characters and about the story isthe point of the game. A very good YouTuber recently said in a video: the point of art is not understanding it or knowing the most about it. The art is in the feeling it illicits in you as you experience it. (Heavily paraphrased from SuperEyepatchWolf's video The Bizarre World of Fake Video Games).
Sometimes your circumstances don't allow you to pick the optimal choice. Your actions have consequences and at many points while playing and seeing the selection I wanted greyed out, I felt those consequences.
It can be a tough play at times, like I said it is very tragic, and I did take a week and a half break at one point, but when I did go back to it I still enjoyed experiencing the game very much.
The major drawbacks are the spelling mistakes. There is a lot of text in this game and it unfolds like a book, so seeing many spelling mistakes throughout my playthrough wound up feeling jarring, and pulled me out of the story. This isn't something I normally mind, and if it were one or two I probably wouldn't mention it. However, in a game that is basically a novel, the text needs to be free of errors in my opinion, especially in a game that has been out for 3 years.
That being said, the writing really is beautiful and the art is gorgeous. The world created is harsh and difficult, but important and worth fighting for. This game made me feel a lot and I'm excited to go explore another branch of the story.
This game is currently in the Humble Choice for April 2023, and this is part of my coverage of the bundle. If you are interested in the game and it's before May 2nd, 2023, consider picking up the game as part of the current monthly bundle.
A slow, dark story-based adventure.
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure. There’s a little more strategy than a typical visual novel, stat-based choices, and relationship systems, but as I played the game I remembered all those times I picked up a Choose-Your-Own-Adventurebook and picked a bunch of different options to work my way through the story. Sir Brante does the same thing with more stats and stories. This also is a dark story, in a rather troubled time.
The problem is I dislike how heavy-handed the story is. A good story usually gives players hope before dashing it in front of them, but in Sir Brante, everything is bad. The world is pain and suffering and then more pain and suffering. Hell, your grandfather might just kill you early on because…. reasons. This is made by a Russian studio and Russian literature tends to be darker and depressing but man this was a bit frustrating because rather than give the player happiness and steal it, this is just a pain for most of the game so far.
Pick this up if you like story-based games, there’s no voice acting, and most of the game is just flipping through pages and making choices. If you can get over the dark, dreary story there are interesting choices, and gameplay, but there’s also a feeling that you may be min-maxing your results, more than enjoying a story. You can disable the game from displaying those results but that’s not the intended way to play the game.
If you enjoyed this review or want to know what I think of other games in the bundle, check out the full review on or subscribe to my Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/NoQjv8lnYiY
A slow, dark story-based adventure.
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure. There’s a little more strategy than a typical visual novel, stat-based choices, and relationship systems, but as I played the game I remembered all those times I picked up a Choose-Your-Own-Adventurebook and picked a bunch of different options to work my way through the story. Sir Brante does the same thing with more stats and stories. This also is a dark story, in a rather troubled time.
The problem is I dislike how heavy-handed the story is. A good story usually gives players hope before dashing it in front of them, but in Sir Brante, everything is bad. The world is pain and suffering and then more pain and suffering. Hell, your grandfather might just kill you early on because…. reasons. This is made by a Russian studio and Russian literature tends to be darker and depressing but man this was a bit frustrating because rather than give the player happiness and steal it, this is just a pain for most of the game so far.
Pick this up if you like story-based games, there’s no voice acting, and most of the game is just flipping through pages and making choices. If you can get over the dark, dreary story there are interesting choices, and gameplay, but there’s also a feeling that you may be min-maxing your results, more than enjoying a story. You can disable the game from displaying those results but that’s not the intended way to play the game.
If you enjoyed this review or want to know what I think of other games in the bundle, check out the full review on or subscribe to my Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/NoQjv8lnYiY
Fiquei obcecado com isso
É praticamente um livro jogo com elementos de RPG, com uma escrito muito boa e um mundo bem construído. Recomendo pra quem gosta de construção de mundos medievais.
I really enjoyed my first playthrough and most of my second, but I ended up rage quitting when I realized how narrow most win conditions are. For a game with at least a dozen big ending beats and achievements, its funny how you can do 2 playthroughs with nearly opposite choices and careers and still end up with a broken family lol.
But I dont want this to sour the entire game. For the most part I still feel it is very well done and has a great story and atmosphere. There are tons of interesting avenues to explore, too. But basically what everyone says is true- the strict ganeplay does lock you out of many branching options. You practically have to make up your mind from year one and you almost cant achieve more than one thing per playthrough tbh
But I dont want this to sour the entire game. For the most part I still feel it is very well done and has a great story and atmosphere. There are tons of interesting avenues to explore, too. But basically what everyone says is true- the strict ganeplay does lock you out of many branching options. You practically have to make up your mind from year one and you almost cant achieve more than one thing per playthrough tbh
Una buena idea que se ve lastrada por mecánicas arbitrarias y poco claras, que supongo que la vida es un poco así, pero sigue siendo frustrante.
So so many choices.
Единственная текстовая RPG, в которую я играл. На протяжении игры предстоит принимать решения, влияющие на множество характеристик. Эти характеристики и определяют уникальное развитие истории каждого игрока. Идея сюжета, на который игрок может повлиять очень заманчива. Отличная возможность проявить себя и игровая индустрия иногда предоставляет её. Жизнь Бранте выделяется среди таких проектов большой разветвлённостью.
Действия игры разворачиваются в средневековом фэнтезийном сеттинге во время обострения конфликта в обществе, жёстко поделённым на классы. Грубо говоря, простолюдины против дворян. Разветвлённость позволяет взглянуть на этот конфликт с нескольких абсолютно разных сторон, на каждой из которых встречаются не только особые события и персонажи, но и раскрываются разные детали лора и мироустройства. В итоге, проходя игру раз за разом, складывается пазл из частичек информации о мире игры. Исследовать его очень интересно. Однако тут есть момент, который меня смущает. Игра действительно сильно разветвлена, действительно имеет множество выборов, действительно даёт игроку выразить себя, но при этом чувства свободы в ней нет. Каждое решение влияет на упомянутые характеристики. Характеристики открывают доступ к разным вариантам развития событий, в общем, скиллчеки. Так вот, эти скиллчеки очень жёсткие. Баланс не позволяет расслабиться и сделать какой-то выбор на "авось". Каждая единичка той или иной, в зависимости от выбранной ветки сюжета, характеристики жизненно важна. Именно единички зачастую игроку может не хватить для следования своей линии поведения. И необходимость заранее просчитывать характеристики прям в притык очень раздражает при первом прохождении, когда эта особенность ещё неизвестна. А когда известна, игра превращается в задачку, где с помощью калькулятора нужно заранее определить свои выборы, чтоб подкачать требуемые характеристики к определённому скиллчеку-событию. К сожалению, первое прохождение, особенно без отображения последствий, всегда будет скомканным провалом, где игрок скорее всего даже не дойдёт до последней главы. В итоге останутся неприятные впечатления от прохождения. А при перепрохождении человек будет руководствоваться не моральным выбором, а математическим. Решения, принимаемые вслепую, просто по хотелке игрока, вряд ли куда-то приведут.
С одной стороны, мы получаем сюжет, где игрок самостоятельно без подсказок не сможет полностью раскрыть историю. С другой, целясь в определённые будущие события, игрок выстраивает логичную историю, делая выборы, ведущие к этому событию. Но отступлений тут никаких не позволено. В общем, Жизнь Бранте рассказывает одну историю с разных сторон, а не вашу личную историю. Вы выбираете только какую прочитаете сейчас. Такое впечатление у меня создалось. Что касается качества сюжета, текста и темпа повествования, всё очень здорово. Игра захватывает с головой. Чтение не наскучивает. А выборы предоставляются каждые 5-7 минут. Удивительно насколько легко мне было её читать. Сама концепция выборов хороша, а в данном случае она ещё и скрашена достойной реализацией. Определённо жду следующую игру разработчиков.
Действия игры разворачиваются в средневековом фэнтезийном сеттинге во время обострения конфликта в обществе, жёстко поделённым на классы. Грубо говоря, простолюдины против дворян. Разветвлённость позволяет взглянуть на этот конфликт с нескольких абсолютно разных сторон, на каждой из которых встречаются не только особые события и персонажи, но и раскрываются разные детали лора и мироустройства. В итоге, проходя игру раз за разом, складывается пазл из частичек информации о мире игры. Исследовать его очень интересно. Однако тут есть момент, который меня смущает. Игра действительно сильно разветвлена, действительно имеет множество выборов, действительно даёт игроку выразить себя, но при этом чувства свободы в ней нет. Каждое решение влияет на упомянутые характеристики. Характеристики открывают доступ к разным вариантам развития событий, в общем, скиллчеки. Так вот, эти скиллчеки очень жёсткие. Баланс не позволяет расслабиться и сделать какой-то выбор на "авось". Каждая единичка той или иной, в зависимости от выбранной ветки сюжета, характеристики жизненно важна. Именно единички зачастую игроку может не хватить для следования своей линии поведения. И необходимость заранее просчитывать характеристики прям в притык очень раздражает при первом прохождении, когда эта особенность ещё неизвестна. А когда известна, игра превращается в задачку, где с помощью калькулятора нужно заранее определить свои выборы, чтоб подкачать требуемые характеристики к определённому скиллчеку-событию. К сожалению, первое прохождение, особенно без отображения последствий, всегда будет скомканным провалом, где игрок скорее всего даже не дойдёт до последней главы. В итоге останутся неприятные впечатления от прохождения. А при перепрохождении человек будет руководствоваться не моральным выбором, а математическим. Решения, принимаемые вслепую, просто по хотелке игрока, вряд ли куда-то приведут.
С одной стороны, мы получаем сюжет, где игрок самостоятельно без подсказок не сможет полностью раскрыть историю. С другой, целясь в определённые будущие события, игрок выстраивает логичную историю, делая выборы, ведущие к этому событию. Но отступлений тут никаких не позволено. В общем, Жизнь Бранте рассказывает одну историю с разных сторон, а не вашу личную историю. Вы выбираете только какую прочитаете сейчас. Такое впечатление у меня создалось. Что касается качества сюжета, текста и темпа повествования, всё очень здорово. Игра захватывает с головой. Чтение не наскучивает. А выборы предоставляются каждые 5-7 минут. Удивительно насколько легко мне было её читать. Сама концепция выборов хороша, а в данном случае она ещё и скрашена достойной реализацией. Определённо жду следующую игру разработчиков.
A well written text RPG that is held back a bit by your choice variety tending to be fairly limited for each event and being a more railroaded experience than many similar games.
Set in a world where twin deities have given people their role "lot" in life as a lowborn, clergy member, or noble where the lowborn are dedicated to suffering and living for the nobles while the nobles are able to become soldiers or pursue writings and the arts. Through deeds some lowborns can be granted nobility and another somewhat blue skinned race that is stronger and faster than humans are shown to be seen as far superior to even the nobles with one of their race acting as the emperor. You were born to a noble man and the lowborn woman that he married after the death of his first wife, your father's other son is considered a noble, while your mother's daughter has no claim to the family name. For you and a brother born after you it is possible through your deeds or education and job to become nobles. Each person in the world is also able to die four times, the first three deaths causing them to be resurrected shortly after with the fourth death leading to a true death where they are then judged before the twins.
The game is broken up into five chapters where the first two cover your childhood as you are introduced to world, meet characters and family members that will become or remain important later, and build your skills in different areas from the decisions you make. The third chapter sees you traveling away from home once you become an adult for the remainder of your education and splits the way that your story will go as you can become a judge like your father, a priest and inquisitor, or stick to your lowborn lot where you can become more directly involved with a growing rebel faction. The skills you have been building up also combine to give you a total in diplomacy, manipulation, theology, valor, scheming, and eloquence that decide on whether actions are open to you or not, with choices started to require a 10+, 14+, 17+, and one act somewhere in the game needing a 20 to be able to choose. You will also be dealing with other values that can go up or down like your relationship levels with other characters, family unity, family reputation, family wealth, and things relating to your job. Your willpower also has to be managed where having a value you of 0 or more can be required for certain choices that will take 5 or 10 points, possibly taking you into the negatives, where the only way to recover can be to gain willpower by choosing to ignore stressful events or getting involved with later situations. Reaching certain levels will create new events or will open or lock decisions. The forth chapter is the longest and sees you dealing with your career and family in ways that allow for a lot more branching paths as opposed to the more linear starting chapter. The finale takes place over a single day as your stats and other choices determine what kind of ending you get.
Gameplay involves going through a series of events for each chapter where choices or hitting certain levels of relationships and stat levels or making agreements with other characters can cause an event to take place. Each event is given a title, shows you what you did to unlock it if it was not one you get by default, and involves you reading what happened before being presented a list of choices to choose from where options can be available or locked off for a variety of reasons that are all shown to you if you hover over the choice. The start of every chapter will also show you a list of important events that can occur if certain conditions are met.
It's a good well written RPG that is held back a bit by your choice variety tending to be fairly limited for each event, usually only one or two skills are available as an option in each event, and there is a good chance you will never really be able to use a particular skill in the way you originally envisioned or where you might rank up skills much higher than you will ever need them to be on the path you happen to be on. The game can also make it difficult to see what you are trying to accomplish get done just by how it is set up or when you suddenly get an event that adds or removes a lot more than you would want from certain stats, especially if you are trying to maintain certain levels above or below the caps. While the forth chapter is both the longest and the one that will be very different depending on your career choice, you aren't really spending that much time in the game once your character is really set up and going before before you reach the endgame. You are also basically just answering pop up, fairly linear sequenced, events without wider world exploration style option many of these kind of games have.
Screenshots: https://twitter.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1667741188835930115
Set in a world where twin deities have given people their role "lot" in life as a lowborn, clergy member, or noble where the lowborn are dedicated to suffering and living for the nobles while the nobles are able to become soldiers or pursue writings and the arts. Through deeds some lowborns can be granted nobility and another somewhat blue skinned race that is stronger and faster than humans are shown to be seen as far superior to even the nobles with one of their race acting as the emperor. You were born to a noble man and the lowborn woman that he married after the death of his first wife, your father's other son is considered a noble, while your mother's daughter has no claim to the family name. For you and a brother born after you it is possible through your deeds or education and job to become nobles. Each person in the world is also able to die four times, the first three deaths causing them to be resurrected shortly after with the fourth death leading to a true death where they are then judged before the twins.
The game is broken up into five chapters where the first two cover your childhood as you are introduced to world, meet characters and family members that will become or remain important later, and build your skills in different areas from the decisions you make. The third chapter sees you traveling away from home once you become an adult for the remainder of your education and splits the way that your story will go as you can become a judge like your father, a priest and inquisitor, or stick to your lowborn lot where you can become more directly involved with a growing rebel faction. The skills you have been building up also combine to give you a total in diplomacy, manipulation, theology, valor, scheming, and eloquence that decide on whether actions are open to you or not, with choices started to require a 10+, 14+, 17+, and one act somewhere in the game needing a 20 to be able to choose. You will also be dealing with other values that can go up or down like your relationship levels with other characters, family unity, family reputation, family wealth, and things relating to your job. Your willpower also has to be managed where having a value you of 0 or more can be required for certain choices that will take 5 or 10 points, possibly taking you into the negatives, where the only way to recover can be to gain willpower by choosing to ignore stressful events or getting involved with later situations. Reaching certain levels will create new events or will open or lock decisions. The forth chapter is the longest and sees you dealing with your career and family in ways that allow for a lot more branching paths as opposed to the more linear starting chapter. The finale takes place over a single day as your stats and other choices determine what kind of ending you get.
Gameplay involves going through a series of events for each chapter where choices or hitting certain levels of relationships and stat levels or making agreements with other characters can cause an event to take place. Each event is given a title, shows you what you did to unlock it if it was not one you get by default, and involves you reading what happened before being presented a list of choices to choose from where options can be available or locked off for a variety of reasons that are all shown to you if you hover over the choice. The start of every chapter will also show you a list of important events that can occur if certain conditions are met.
It's a good well written RPG that is held back a bit by your choice variety tending to be fairly limited for each event, usually only one or two skills are available as an option in each event, and there is a good chance you will never really be able to use a particular skill in the way you originally envisioned or where you might rank up skills much higher than you will ever need them to be on the path you happen to be on. The game can also make it difficult to see what you are trying to accomplish get done just by how it is set up or when you suddenly get an event that adds or removes a lot more than you would want from certain stats, especially if you are trying to maintain certain levels above or below the caps. While the forth chapter is both the longest and the one that will be very different depending on your career choice, you aren't really spending that much time in the game once your character is really set up and going before before you reach the endgame. You are also basically just answering pop up, fairly linear sequenced, events without wider world exploration style option many of these kind of games have.
Screenshots: https://twitter.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1667741188835930115
Suffering.
This game goes out of its way to live up to its title. A game full of suffering, pain and sorrow. And yet, one of the best gaming experiences I've had the pleasure of experiencing.
A game where every choice you make comes back to bite you and where every relationship you build can just as easily crumble.
Paired with a beautiful soundtrack, a grounded, well fleshed out grimdark fantasy world and striking book-esque visuals this game is one for the ages. May the Twin Gods watch over you.
This game goes out of its way to live up to its title. A game full of suffering, pain and sorrow. And yet, one of the best gaming experiences I've had the pleasure of experiencing.
A game where every choice you make comes back to bite you and where every relationship you build can just as easily crumble.
Paired with a beautiful soundtrack, a grounded, well fleshed out grimdark fantasy world and striking book-esque visuals this game is one for the ages. May the Twin Gods watch over you.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO 100% FROM THE GET GO IT GETS FUCKING BORING
Despite the intriguing opening chapters, the main game eventually devolves into counting numbers. You either live your life the way you want and suffer at the end, or you suffer the whole game for the sake of life at the end.
Finished with three main scenario branches but can't be arsed to do the diverging faction sub-branches; the game's really hurt by the lack of text skip or qol feature to easily revisit branching decisions.
This review contains spoilers
I got the bloodbath ending despite doing everything right until then, except I hadn't made ONE of the correct choices as a kid and because of that, even though the entire city was ready and willing to face the Empire, Sophia, who barely appeared in the entire game, just took control and went ham. And folks followed along.
Pretty fucking stupid if you ask me, even if the writing until then was fine. The worldbuilding is kinda sucky and way too bleak though.
Look forward to what the devs will do after this, they're clearly talented.
Pretty fucking stupid if you ask me, even if the writing until then was fine. The worldbuilding is kinda sucky and way too bleak though.
Look forward to what the devs will do after this, they're clearly talented.
Непередовая история которую должен прожить каждый, и проложить тот путь который заслужил ваш Сэр Бранте.
После первого прохождения, хочется пройти игру ещё раз и узнать как могла бы повернуться та или иная ситуация иначе.
После первого прохождения, хочется пройти игру ещё раз и узнать как могла бы повернуться та или иная ситуация иначе.
I notice a lot of the reviews tend to comment on the bleakness of the game world and story as a negative. It has suffering in the name, what did you expect?
It's not even overly dark. It's a pretty realistic feeling story of a magical victorian era. I found it to be pretty well-written (despite a reasonable number of typos and grammatical errors) and engaging. In games like this is can be difficult to walk the right line between 'this is you' or 'you're making choices for another person.' When it's 'your' character you want to make your own choices entirely that shape your character's path in exactly the way you like. When you're making choices for another character you have the freedom to alter the course but ultimately it is the story of the other character's life.
The game pitches to you that it's the former when in reality it is the latter. And that's why I enjoyed my second and third playthroughs more than my first. There are some moments where you don't actually get to choose at all what happens and some others where you may not actually have an option amongst the choices that you'd actually choose. But when you come to terms with the idea that you're playing as ____ Brante you'll be able to reconcile with the decisions laid out in front of you a little better.
Things don't always go your way. Even when you try your best to manipulate the game's systems. On occasion this is a frustration but ultimately I found it to be rewarding. You don't get to just always do what you want to do and your actions have consequences. The game does a good job of letting you try and carve your own path through the game world but you are just a commoner trying to do more than your lot allows. There are constraints. The real world will respond to you, often with hostility.
I found almost all of the various story paths with all of the characters to be pretty engaging. I didn't 100% the game but came pretty close. I really, really enjoyed my time as a priest of the New Faith and as newly sword-ennobled Prefect El Brante. The lore was well crafted enough to feel complete and engaging but familiar enough to not need extensive exposition or even some sort of encyclopedia/codex/log system.
I found The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante in the Times of the Fall of the Blessed Arknian Empire to be a fantastic little CYOA-RPG game. I would gladly recommend it to anyone. Especially fans of similar games like Suzerain, which I think is an excellent game that this compares well too.
It's not even overly dark. It's a pretty realistic feeling story of a magical victorian era. I found it to be pretty well-written (despite a reasonable number of typos and grammatical errors) and engaging. In games like this is can be difficult to walk the right line between 'this is you' or 'you're making choices for another person.' When it's 'your' character you want to make your own choices entirely that shape your character's path in exactly the way you like. When you're making choices for another character you have the freedom to alter the course but ultimately it is the story of the other character's life.
The game pitches to you that it's the former when in reality it is the latter. And that's why I enjoyed my second and third playthroughs more than my first. There are some moments where you don't actually get to choose at all what happens and some others where you may not actually have an option amongst the choices that you'd actually choose. But when you come to terms with the idea that you're playing as ____ Brante you'll be able to reconcile with the decisions laid out in front of you a little better.
Things don't always go your way. Even when you try your best to manipulate the game's systems. On occasion this is a frustration but ultimately I found it to be rewarding. You don't get to just always do what you want to do and your actions have consequences. The game does a good job of letting you try and carve your own path through the game world but you are just a commoner trying to do more than your lot allows. There are constraints. The real world will respond to you, often with hostility.
I found almost all of the various story paths with all of the characters to be pretty engaging. I didn't 100% the game but came pretty close. I really, really enjoyed my time as a priest of the New Faith and as newly sword-ennobled Prefect El Brante. The lore was well crafted enough to feel complete and engaging but familiar enough to not need extensive exposition or even some sort of encyclopedia/codex/log system.
I found The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante in the Times of the Fall of the Blessed Arknian Empire to be a fantastic little CYOA-RPG game. I would gladly recommend it to anyone. Especially fans of similar games like Suzerain, which I think is an excellent game that this compares well too.
I have only played the noble path in game and need to get back to do the commoner and priest route but the game has its own original fantasy world with plenty to get immersed into. Just get ready to read... like.... a lot.
Started off strong, I liked how dark the story is. Just lost motivation to keep going halfway in, hoping to pick it back up in the future possibly!
Увлекательное чтиво.
A book game that proves to be definitely interesting in just a few hours, but then might grow to be boring. It depends on how much someone enjoys the genre.
Необычно но плохо. Для игры настолько сосредоточенной на истории и нарративе непозволительно делать их настолько тупыми и повторяющимися.