Rating
The Council: Episode 1 - The Mad Ones
The Council is an episodic game that delivers a fresh new take on the narrative adventure genre. Make hard-hitting decisions, develop an array of skills, and directly impact how the story unfolds. With permanent, long-lasting consequences, there is no going back. In episode 1: The Mad Ones, you set off on your journey with Louis de Richet on Lord ...
Details
- Released
- March 12, 2018
- Developer
- Big Bad Wolf
- Genres
- Role-playing (RPG) · Adventure
- Publisher
- Focus Entertainment
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The Council: Episode 1 - The Mad Ones Reviews
Professional reviews from gaming critics
The Council gets off to an excellent start thanks to its brilliant characters, clever gameplay, unique RPG elements and the threat of long-lasting consequences, which ensured that I was captivated from start to finish. Twice.
The Council – Episode 1: The Mad Ones sets up this story nicely, providing a solid edifice of characters, lore, and finally a multiple conclusion that have me interested in the next episode. It does feel overwhelming and limiting seeing all the options pass me by since I didn’t invest in the right skills. But the branching narrative structure complements this RPG system, giving the player a choice of how they wish to develop Louise and how he can use those skills to his advantage. The Mad Ones is a strong opening and hopefully, Big Bad Wolf can continue this momentum with episode 2.
Still, it’s a minor complaint in what is otherwise shaping up to be a unique and brilliant adventure. While we’ve had plenty of narrative-driven adventures in recent years, The Council feels fresh thanks to its unique systems and intriguing story. The Mad Ones raises a lot of questions and leaves us on a heck of a cliffhanger, but even without that, it sets up an exciting enough premise to leave me on tenterhooks for the next episode. I can’t wait to see what else Big Bad Wolf has up its sleeve.
Big Bad Wolf Studio have looked to create a fresh take on the adventure genre, but can The Council deliver on that promise?
The Council includes mechanics that could reinvent narrative games, but for now its uneven, temperamental characters holds it back
There are five acts of this game. While I’m sure some of my concerns like janky animations and a lack of interesting exploration options can be addressed, I think that most of the game’s issues will plague each and every episode. They can’t shake the bad voice acting. Maybe they can increase the quality of the writing. There is a great blend of RPG and narrative mechanics here, it just isn’t worth muddling through everything else to experience.