Decided to try the game based on some recommendations and it's fucking great. There are some things I (heavily) dislike, theme and content-wise, but compared to how well written and put together the game is (and the fact that it's not really a self-insert game, with the player having some distance to the MC) I can overall ignore/tolerate the things I dislike (though I would like the option to have more of an effect of those without having to take massive losses in tradeoffs, which is one of the game's main schticks).
Having said that, I got a couple of questions about some things that are bugging me. Overall, I'm not looking for spoilers, just on these specific things:
- Can we get Carina to 100rp? If so, when? She's been in 99 for *quite a while* in my game, and I really feel she should've been locked already considering that she is one of the few characters that knows the MC since way before he even got a shard in him. (For reference I have JUST finished the Council of Gawnfall sequence);
- Second question is related to one of the possible decisions from the Council of Gawnfall: In my game, I went through the path of "Church Diverged". Seemed the best option for me, and the one that made more sense, since it would, in a way, give enough power to the individual priestesses to accept or reject Succubi and Orcs into the Ivalan fold as they see fit. So Ivalan succubi would be generally accepted in the 3 new states, as well as in Yhilin and the Sylvan region - which would make the Ardford region neutral (Hester is the head there) and Stineford even less welcoming than before the Council (because of Annah).
All this preamble is to set the frame for my question: why can't I complete Orri's Quest in the Church Diverged state? Can I do it later? Later as in before this chapter ends? The game is so well written that I find myself wanting to help Orri and her mom, and seeing myself unable to complete the quest is making me extremely annoyed.
- Last question - about the wandering Chosen. Can I get access to the blocked location (Stineford Cathedral Gardens, I believe) while in the Church Diverged state? Because if not, than that means my playthrough is blocked from getting a Shining Sword... and missing out on collectibles like that feels awful.
I AM using the walkthrough, though I'm trying to not spoil myself, just getting info on the relevant events through which I'm playing as I'm playing them, as well as understanding what fallout the choices I make now will have in the future (takes some of the fun out of the game, true, but preferable to missing out on the preferred course of events, imo. And let's be real, this game is so fucking complex that trying to go fully blind could easily cripple a playthrough - though that could be interesting as well).
My props to the dev(s), the writing, plot and worldbuilding are fantastic, arguably one of the best I've seen in years even outside of the Adult Game genre. A very rich game that blends politics, philosophy, morality, religion, strategy and intrigue with magic and fantasy. And porn, of course (though tbh, that's a cherry on top). Fucking great, even if almost everything about the succubi disgust me to my core.
Are there other games the folks here could recommend for a "brainy" plot, full of intrigue, politics and stuff like that? I'm playing Wartribe Academy and it's also great, as well as Demons of the Hearth. Any other games I should add to my list?
This kind of writing is definitely my thing, so fucking satisfying.