The Council - Episode 1: The Mad Ones
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
The Council - Episode 1: The Mad Ones Trailers
The Council - Launch Trailer
The Council - Rethinking Narrative Adventure
The Council - Teaser Trailer
Critic Reviews for The Council - Episode 1: The Mad Ones
Despite its promising new mechanics that make conversation a game of strategy, the interaction between its characters lets The Council episode one down.
I was able to get into this game in a way I've been unable to with adventure games for the last few years. It was a treat to play, and I can't wait for the remaining four episodes.
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.
The Council isn't a perfect start, but it is quite a wonderful foundation to build upon.
This first episode of The Council is a promising new twist in the genre of narrative adventure, in which your choices and the development of your character really matter.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Mad Ones is one of the strongest openers in episodic gaming to date.
The opening episode isn't exactly the most gripping of affairs, as this slow burning, political drama takes a while to get going and isn't helped by poor presentation and dull puzzles. But there is potential here for an interesting story to be told in future episodes.
If you can get past the slow start and some of the glaring technical problems of The Mad Ones, then you will find the most innovative episodic adventure games to come from a studio other than Telltale. I can see The Council becoming a standout title within its genre when it's finished, but as it stands The Mad Ones has enough problems to where everyone may not be on board just yet.
