The Council - Episode 1: The Mad Ones Reviews
Occasionally rough around the edges, The Council's first episode is a surprisingly entertaining combination of Telltale's episodic adventure games and tabletop RPG elements.
Though rough around the edges overall due to some performance issues, the first episode of The Council has laid a strong foundation for this intriguing story and fun gameplay to continue down the line.
The Council's first episode is a promising start. The Mad Ones builds the framework for what can be a wild narrative ride, but it's not clear yet how far this game will go in terms of its branching paths, or if the narrative will remain interesting throughout. I'm excited to learn more about the deceptive world of The Council and what Louis will uncover in upcoming episodes.
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.
Despite its promising new mechanics that make conversation a game of strategy, the interaction between its characters lets The Council episode one down.
This first episode takes its time to introduce the plot of the Council as well as the RPG mechanics. They suit very well to the narrative genre, allowing the player to follow its own path through the choices of the game.
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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.
The Council Episode One is a thunderously promising start for this fresh, sophisticated and intelligent take on the narrative adventure.
The Council has impressive ambitions – even if its execution is not up to scratch. You'll already know whether its alternate history backdrop appeals to you, but it's the RPG elements that threaten to disrupt the narrative genre. We already like what this series is doing, but the writing and voice acting leaves a little to be desired. That said, this is a solid start, even if it is a bit too early to come to any conclusions about the overall story just yet.
While missing some of the polish other games might have, The Council feels like it could be the next step in the genre thanks to branching narratives that feel much weightier than before and a mystery you can't help but be drawn into.
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.
The Mad Ones' episode lays the foundation of a potentially intriguing mystery narrative, part An Inspector Calls, part Murder on the Orient Express. The Social Influence system, if implemented well through the rest of the episodes, really could be a game changer for narrative adventures, evolving a genre that has needed fresh ideas for a while.
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.
The Council offers gamers a tension filled journey purely fueled by character interactions and mysterious circumstances. Best of all is the evolved gameplay mechanics from what we're used to for an episodic endeavor. I truly felt that I had control of every situation from an ability standpoint and a cleverness one. Wrap up an amazing RPG progression mechanic into a great looking voyage on a mysterious island and you have an incredible start to a game. The seeds of a secret society's leader gone missing have been expertly laid and I can't wait until Episode 2 comes about. Here's hoping this first one isn't the end of where the title shines.
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.