Novel little historical Telltale knockoff that starts engrossingly but goes nowhere fast. As someone who's kind of over these episodic, choice-driven narrative-focused games I actually don't mind at all that most of the choices don't really amount to anything here - but out of all the places you could have gone with this genuinely mysterious premise and enticing cast of morally questionable characters (most based on famous real life figures from the time)... THAT'S the conclusion you decided to settle on? Really? That? Bummer, because while there's noticeable hiccups along the way (some weird pitch issues, a few bugs, and the occasional clumsy voice performance) this actually adds a lot of new elements to what I consider (at least in 2018) a rather tired genre. It's clear that a lot of brains went into developing the lore and puzzles, as if it were tailor-made exclusively for history geeks - which I am not, though I still admit that's a nice niche to fill. And idk about you but the locales in this thing are graphical beasts, anything made out of marble is pretty much guaranteed to look divine on PS4. Play the first two or three episodes then just use your imagination, trust me it's better than where this anticlimactically ends up.

Overall a great, if only just, experience. Mostly the small indie production pushes back against the huge scale this game is going for. The detective gameplay is hard to get on board with at first, it's a bit more involved than some other detective games, so it can take some time to get used to. There's a lot here, though, lots of customisation options, lots of interesting places to go, the game captures a great atmosphere.
Everything here is perfectly good enough, and it comes together into a satisfying enough package.

I enjoyed the lore, tone and atmosphere of the world. The story had some fairly decent, interesting elements but ultimately the ending felt a bit lacking.

The gameplay, specifically the combat, felt clunky and sometimes didn't respond right away which made combat scenarios even more frustrating than they already were.

The soundtrack was incredibly well done, and fit perfectly into the tone of the game's atmosphere.

It’s… fine. The story is relatively typical if generic Lovecraft, though with some pretty decent performances.

The RPG mechanics leave a lot to be desired and the world/game overall is exceedingly linear. Stealth sucks, and one particular “boss” fight has probably the worst gameplay design I’ve ever seen.

Play if you like the vibe, but of recent Lovecraft inspired games I’d much rather play The Sinking City again that ever play this a second time.

While the combat system is definitely a mess and the backtracking can be tedious, I genuinely loved Rule of Rose. The game's atmosphere, soundtrack, and general aesthetic are absolutely wonderful, and the story is extremely haunting. The presentation of Jennifer's memories through cryptic storybooks and a dilapidated airship works beautifully, and it's interesting to dissect the symbolism of the earlier chapters once you have a full grasp of the story. I think the commentary you get from Jennifer while exploring the final chapter will always stick with me. It's really a shame it was the center of so much controversy and mixed reactions upon its initial release, because it deserved better. Honestly, I think that this game is far more empathetic and nuanced in its portrayal of class and various types of abuse, power dynamics, and trauma than it's given credit for. Even through Jennifer's fragmented memory, the most minor of characters still have a surprising amount of depth and backstory.

A strong beginning and ending unfortunately don't make up for everything in between. When it works, it really works, but there's so much that doesn't that it makes this one hard to love.

This game is far too happy to waste your time at every opportunity. Whether it's a protracted sequence to follow an NPC, or mandatory things to progress only happening on specific days, way too much happens to prolong the experience to its detriment.

It feels like a lot of the writing missed what made the original work and tried to cover with meta nods and it just misses the mark as a result.

It was nice to go on another adventure with York, but I wonder if we really needed it.

I can't decide whether to rate this a 2 or a 4. I have flipped back and forth a couple times.

You'd think 'three' is a sensible compromise here, but it's not an average kind of game! It is wild. There is (and this is all in the first episode of five) a cult, which contains you, and also George Washington, and also a cardinal of the Pope. Napoleon is there. A murder happens!

Even if you're along for the ride, there's a point where the game really takes advantage of your good faith - but it's also built on these really interesting dialogue puzzles, so it doesn't even solely exist in a 'enjoy, but ironically' space.

I don't think this is a good game? But I also want to play anything the creators make next. It does things, even if some of it is weird and clumsy. So take from that what you will.