The Council - Episode 4: Burning Bridges Reviews
Among all the episodes released so far, Burning Bridges is the most engaging of all. The plot takes giant steps forward and lift the veil on the mysteries surronding Lord Mortimer. Alas, the technical issues are still there and the scenography lacks rhythm. Let's hope that the last episode will fix this.
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The Council: Episode 4:- Burning Bridges is the most important episode in the series to date, yet the least interactive. This time around, the story is very linear and almost identical – regardless of your choices in the previous episode. Sure, you’ll have a few alternative scenes depending on who is still alive, but the episode doesn’t really change as much as previous ones did. However, with both of my playthroughs, I can feel something major will/should be different in the final episode as you make a few big choices this time around. With only two puzzles whose consequences won’t come to fruition until next time, this episode can seem more narrative-focused than interactive within it’s shorter playtime.
The Council has been establishing new standards for narrative-driven games by providing multiple paths linked together to an upgrade system. The previous episode, Ripples, ended with a massive cliffhanger depending on the player's final choice. Episode 4, Burning Bridges, not only reveals massive secrets but ends with a critical choice that will set the framework for the finale.
Though the glitches are still present, along with the Bible puzzles, Episode 4 of The Council focuses more on what works: narrative twists and tense conversations between the characters where everything is at stake.
Burning Bridges is a lot less action-packed with no major set pieces that stand out. Instead, this episode Louis interacts with only a few of the inhabitants of the island with most of the discussion taking place between himself and Mortimer. These chats do reveal a lot of information as well as secrets that have been the focus of Sarah's investigations, with a number of revelations being dropped without much fanfare.
Despite some minor hiccups Burning Bridges sets up a mouth-watering finale with another well-crafted episode
I'm just looking forward to The Council being over and done with.
The Council: Episode 4 - Burning Bridges is the penultimate episode of the game, and it does a good job of making things interesting again, but it does so with quite a number of flaws intact. The unrealistic reactions to big events are the episode's biggest flaw, as all of those shocking things lose their impact when everyone else fails to make a big deal out of it. At the same time, those new revelations open up things just enough to make the final episode more intriguing. Here's hoping that the finale makes the journey worthwhile.