Reviews:
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If you don’t mind the sometimes glacial pacing of the adventure aspects, the art and story here are top-tier within the space
Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that an adaptation of a best-selling historical novel in a point-and-click adventure form sports compelling characters, detailed descriptions, and a variety of dramatic storylines to get deeply invested in. Undoubtedly knowing the high bar the game’s narrative elements would have, it appears the development team was then also determined to do all they could on the presentation end to fully realize the time and place the story is set in. I can’t give enough credit to the team behind the game’s art direction, I can’t think of any other game of this kind I’ve played in a long time that was simply this gorgeous. As you move between characters and situations you’ll have the opportunity to explore, talk to various people, and generally immerse yourself in this world from an earlier time. As you’d expect you’ll run into different motivations and agendas, but also reminders of humanity at times at its best and worst. As much as I tend to dislike straight visual novels, oddly enough I’d say that the greatest factor that sets the game back a bit (but that will depend greatly on your tastes) is the adventure aspect. Since you’re capable of getting lost, or a bit stuck, you then stand in your own way of revealing more of what the story has to offer… which can sometimes be a bit aggravating. All said though, if you appreciate strong characters and writing, outstanding art design, and can live with its tendency to get a bit plodding in places this is truly a top-tier narrative experience on Switch.
Justin Nation, Score:Nindie Choice! [9.1]