The Council is an episodic game like no other, developed by French indie studio Big Bad Wolf – discover its Teaser Trailer! The game delivers a fresh new take on the Narrative Adventure, where your choices and character growth truly matter. Make hard-hitting decisions, develop an array of skills and directly impact how the story unfolds. With permanent, long-lasting consequences, there is no going back. Plunge into a tale of intrigue and manipulation in the style of a classic murder mystery, living with a cast of alluring characters each hiding their own dark secrets. Trust no one while uncovering dire truths – no matter the cost to mind and body.
The Council’s first episode, The Mad Ones, arrives on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC in February 2018. The complete season will include a total of five episodes.
Narrative Adventure game THE COUNCIL is set for the release of its first episode, THE MAD ONES, on March 13 on PlayStation4, Xbox One and PC. Today, developers Big Bad Wolf give us insight into their reimagining of the narrative-adventure. In this video “Rethinking Narrative Adventure”, they explain how they innovated on the genre, twisting the classic formula with original mechanics, and their ambition of giving true weight to each and every one of the players’ decisions throughout the game.
Begin your journey with Louis de Richet on Lord Mortimer’s private island and try to discover your mother’s fate – before it’s too late. Joining you are a number of high profile guests, including Napoleon Bonaparte and President of the newly-formed United States of America, George Washington. The strange nature of this private reception goes beyond just the prestigious guests –Richet’s own mother has recently gone missing on the island, while each and every one of the colorful cast seems to have their own hidden agendas.
In a new twist for the genre, the core of THE COUNCIL’ gameplay comes from manipulating and maneuvering through character encounters using the unique Social Influence system. During confrontations, skills and limited resources can be used to gain the upper hand and achieve the desired outcome. Players will be rewarded for their knowledge of each character’s psychological vulnerabilities and immunities, as well as their preparations made during prior exploration and investigation. Failing an encounter does not mean ‘game over’, and no action can be taken back. The consequences are permanent and may result in persistent physical disfigurements or mental traits that help or hinder the rest of the player’s adventure.
Richet’s numerous skills can be developed to align with your chosen approach to the adventure. Solve issues with diplomacy, delve into occultism to expand your historical and scientific knowledge, or play detective and see what others do not perceive. Your skillswill have uses that extend far beyond your conversations with fellow guests. With 15 diverse skills to use and invest in, players are free to uncover THE COUNCIL’s mysteries how they see fit, with wildly varying consequences depending on their methods. The results will forever alter the life of Louis de Richet, of those around him, and shape history as we know it.
A really good surprise. I truly believe the first trailer and PR don’t sold the game really well. I would qualify it as a narrative RPG, because boy there are a lot of RPG elements in it. You start the game by choosing a class (Diplomatic, Detective and a third one but I cannot understand what I wrote on my notes /shrug). The class you’ll chose will give you several skills and you’ll gain XP, points to spare, level, … as the story progresses. Those skills will give you access to unique choices and actions that will cost you "effort points" (that you can refill if you explore enough). All of that gives you access to other paths during negotiations with other characters. It can honestly be a bit overwhelming but I think Focus and Big Bad Wolves have something really interesting to differentiate themselves from what Telltale or Life is Strange are doing. In terms of exploration of levels, it is closer to what Life is Strange offers (I say that because you can move the camera around the character and the locations are quite big for the genre). Regarding how the story branches, hard to tell based on half of an episode but several times I had the impressions I could solve some elements differently or at least heavily alter the narrative.
The game might feel to be on a budget when looking at a technical level but if it’s a concession to have a good branching system, why not? Some artistic elements might turn some people off, but I’ll definitely check the first episode when it drops in March.
I would have been fine if they just had french voice overs and subs because the english voice acting is cringey and doesn't seem to fit the main character.
Looks good and I will prepurchase, but as usual, it's the subsequent episodes that will show the game's true measure.
Hopefully it's not bullshit carry over as with telltale.
First of all, you're catapulted into the adventure without ANY background or anything. You really discover everything as you go by, and the entire affair seems to be shrouded in mystery. I like that.
Then, the game. You mainly grab objects and/or interact with them, and you talk to people.
Doing those, you use a certain set of skills (3 main branches, each with several traits), that cost you "endurance" points. You have a limited amount of these, and they are only partialy restored by sleep or some objects.
For the moment, I'm most intrigued, the game genuinly feels "new" in it's approach and mechanics, and it's really refreshing.
CONS:
-It is JANKY. Some animations, transitions and lip synch are a bit... wobbly. Nothing game-breaking or ridiculous, but it's not super smooth either. But it feels a tad unatural at times.
-The core mechanics are badly explained at first.
-Feels like a console port, and not a native PC game. Nothing bad, really, but you're feeling like you're holding a pad and not using K+M.
Neither:
-The voice actors are nothing to write home about, but they do a good job in general. Some are a bit weaker while other are strong.
-GFXs are not top of the line but pretty nice overall. The engine is a bit too... bright and reflective?
-Character models are fine. Again, some are great, other a bit... not rushed, but unequal.
-The object system (allowing you to regain endurance points or gain an extra edge) seems nice. Didn't have the chance to explore it yet.
PROS:
-I love the design choice. It's unique, between realistic and fantasy.
-I love the atmosphere. Great ambiance of mystery and secrecy!
-Glad to see a fresh approach to the genre in terms of mechanics; storytelling and design.
-Choices really feel like they matter. No telltale shit here it seems.
So far, so good. A few "issues", and it comes with the territory when you're a small indie dev I guess, but they are balanced by really great strengths.
It might be silly to give it a note so early, but I'll go with a 8/10 for now
"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." ~Berthold Auerbach
Last edited by HubU on Wed, 14th Mar 2018 23:02; edited 1 time in total
yeah liking it so far, but the camera is terribly slow even when maxed out
and i wish they just did french voice overs and english subs because the english voice acting just takes me out of the game, especially our protagonist
did anyone buy this game?
If yes, could you drop me an PM?
I need some help with the LANGUAGE Files, since theres only French and English.. Text languages are missing...
THX
..:: Life - A sexually transmitted disease which always ends in death. There is currently no known cure::..
Wtf is wrong with the performance? It's basically an interactive animated movie... It's almost always below 60 fps @ 1920x1080 maxed out..The graphics is nothing breathtaking or anything.
TWIN PEAKS is "something of a miracle."
"...like nothing else on television."
"a phenomenon."
"A tangled tale of sex, violence, power, junk food..."
"Like Nothing On Earth"
Signature/Avatar nuking: none (can be changed in your profile)
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
damn fine installer music from CODEX....
