While it does little to rectify the thematic hiccups of the original game, The Royal builds nicely on its stylish base, with some nifty quality-of-life changes and overhauled combat. A sublime experience for those who haven't played the original, but if you've already put your 100 hours into the vanilla version, sinking your teeth into this one for the lean third semester alone might be a tough sell. Still, it's every bit the aesthetic marvel of the 2016 hit, and an objective improvement upon a benchmark in the genre.