A fantastic game, if a little formulaic.
It's a very refreshing spin on the "protagonist becomes superpowered" trope due to the way it balances out the interests of the player character with the interests of the various major players in the world.
The characters are well designed and very well developed, the narrative is thrilling and well written, the world building is solid and the escalating stakes are done seamlessly to convey an everchanging sense of depth and I love how that is partially done by some of the dead ends giving you information you are otherwise not supposed to have.
But the thing that really sets it apart is the bits of dry realism in it. Things like how our carreer as a "hero" depends say less in permormance than in optics. How the politics of the business affects what options are available going foward. The pervasive eugenics that are inherent of a system that sets apart "humans" and "superhumans" which both Ella and Xanthe seem obssessed with. The game does these things very naturally and very well.
The one problem I have with it is, again, that it is a bit formulaic. Regular routine -> Event that throws off your routine -> Big story segment -> Back to the regular routine. Structurally it's a bit stiff, though I understand how doing this way is very appropriate for the kind of episodic thing that is going on, so it's definitelly not a reason to duck out on what is, by all other respects an incredible game
It's a very refreshing spin on the "protagonist becomes superpowered" trope due to the way it balances out the interests of the player character with the interests of the various major players in the world.
The characters are well designed and very well developed, the narrative is thrilling and well written, the world building is solid and the escalating stakes are done seamlessly to convey an everchanging sense of depth and I love how that is partially done by some of the dead ends giving you information you are otherwise not supposed to have.
But the thing that really sets it apart is the bits of dry realism in it. Things like how our carreer as a "hero" depends say less in permormance than in optics. How the politics of the business affects what options are available going foward. The pervasive eugenics that are inherent of a system that sets apart "humans" and "superhumans" which both Ella and Xanthe seem obssessed with. The game does these things very naturally and very well.
The one problem I have with it is, again, that it is a bit formulaic. Regular routine -> Event that throws off your routine -> Big story segment -> Back to the regular routine. Structurally it's a bit stiff, though I understand how doing this way is very appropriate for the kind of episodic thing that is going on, so it's definitelly not a reason to duck out on what is, by all other respects an incredible game