CONSORTIUM

77%
Game Brain Score Based on 518 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
CONSORTIUM Game Cover
Consortium is a game of great ideas in search of a story that deserves them.
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CONSORTIUM is a single-player Science Fiction Shooter game with a great story and good mechanics, set on a spaceship in 2042, accessible through a satellite from our world. The game, built on a modified Source engine, offers an interactive narrative, humor, and a dense atmosphere, but has lousy graphics, some bugs, and grinding. Its first installment of the iDGi-1 Trilogy, RESOLVABLE aboard the ZENLIL, features an impressive soundtrack and high replayability.

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Reviews

77%
Audience ScoreBased on 518 reviews
story110 positive mentions
graphics17 negative mentions
  • Engaging and immersive story with well-developed characters.
  • Choices genuinely matter, leading to different outcomes and replayability.
  • Unique concept of controlling a character in a parallel universe adds depth to the gameplay.
  • Extremely short, with many players feeling it ends abruptly without resolution.
  • Combat mechanics are clunky and not the focus of the game, leading to disappointment for those expecting action.
  • Initial launch had numerous bugs and performance issues, though many have been addressed in patches.
  • story404 mentions

    The game's story is a complex and engaging narrative that blends sci-fi elements with a murder mystery, featuring branching dialogue and player choices that significantly impact the outcome. While many players appreciate the depth and character development, some criticize the abrupt ending and the reliance on dialogue over action, leading to a feeling of incompleteness. Overall, the storytelling is praised for its originality and immersive qualities, though it may leave players wanting more due to its episodic nature and unresolved plot threads.

    • “The story is interesting to the point I didn't want to stop playing at all; it was engaging to think that it allowed for freedom in many ways.”
    • “Consortium is a fantastic story-driven RPG whodunit set on a futuristic aircraft.”
    • “The game's biggest strengths are its plot and its dialogue.”
    • “It was an intriguing sci-fi experience until the end when Osama bin Laden's son taking hostages became our new mission.”
    • “I thought we were in the fictional future and then you introduce a real-world terrorist - completely zapped me out of the story.”
    • “The game ends abruptly during an ongoing story without a resolution.”
  • graphics90 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many users describing them as dated, basic, or mediocre. While some appreciate the unique art style and its fit within the game's narrative, others criticize the frequent graphical glitches, long loading times, and overall lack of polish. Despite these shortcomings, many players find that the engaging story and gameplay compensate for the visual limitations.

    • “The graphics are basic looking and sometimes a bit buggy and weird, but the game has a solid storyline.”
    • “First off, the game is rather pretty; the cel-shaded graphics will likely help the game retain playability for a long time.”
    • “It's absolutely astounding; the visuals are interesting, and the world is so rich!”
    • “The graphics may have looked a little dated from the day it was released, and if you choose to focus on a combat-heavy route you won't get the same gritty action contemporary gamers are used to.”
    • “The animations are jerky, the graphics are dated, and the bugs are frequent and irritating.”
    • “The game, while having an interesting and colorful art style, is ugly and outdated.”
  • gameplay90 mentions

    The gameplay of Consortium is characterized by a strong emphasis on branching dialogue and meaningful choices, creating a rich narrative experience that encourages multiple playthroughs. While the mechanics are generally solid, some players find the combat and shooting elements to be underwhelming and occasionally buggy, detracting from the overall experience. Despite these shortcomings, the game's immersive atmosphere and well-developed characters make it a compelling choice for those who prioritize story and character interaction over traditional gameplay depth.

    • “Short version is, it's a tight, well-written web of branching choices that matter in a way even choice-and-consequence games rarely accomplish, made up of a wild bundle of unique and interesting mechanics. It's mechanically very solid and its many paths and alternate timelines weave together seamlessly, without interference or collision.”
    • “The gameplay is mostly dialogue-based with occasional bits of action, and the dialogue offers enough variety to highly encourage multiple playthroughs with the amount of choices you get and secrets to find.”
    • “The game concepts and mechanics are often novel and welcome, and the dedication to RPG storytelling is evident and appreciated.”
    • “The gameplay is disappointing, and just plainly bad.”
    • “Long, long, long uninterrupted and unskippable chunks of horribly acted dialog combined with FPS mechanics that would have been old 10 years ago.”
    • “The mechanics of combat and the rest are not the smoothest, occasionally fiddly and unintuitive, but you can avoid most twitch-dependency if you're so inclined, through game-choices.”
  • stability42 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting significant bugs, graphical glitches, and frustrating gameplay interruptions, such as getting stuck in environments or experiencing crashes. While some users noted improvements in later updates, many still found the game to be plagued by issues that detracted from the overall experience. Overall, the consensus is that the game is currently too unstable for a smooth playthrough, despite its potential and engaging content.

    • “The game is nearly bug-free.”
    • “I haven't encountered any crashes or major glitches.”
    • “The performance is smooth, and I can play for hours without any issues.”
    • “First and foremost - for an extremely graphically limited game taking place in a tiny environment with no physics simulation, the game takes forever to load, shuts down upon alt+tabbing, and is extremely buggy (I died to automatic doors on several occasions).”
    • “The game is buggy; you can get stuck in walls, characters will fade through doorways, dialogue choices may disappear which will cause a reload. It really is a mess.”
    • “Unfortunately, the combat is sparse, flat, and buggy, and the animations are cartoonish.”
  • replayability41 mentions

    Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, with many players noting that their choices significantly impact the story's progression and outcomes. Despite being relatively short, typically around four hours, the variety of paths and consequences encourages multiple playthroughs. However, some players express skepticism about the depth of replay value, suggesting that while it offers different experiences, it may not warrant repeated plays at full price.

    • “It's a bit short, but it's got some replayability with the different ways the story can play out.”
    • “The game mechanics are great, your choices make a difference, every game is different; I have never seen such replayability.”
    • “The game is built with this concept in mind, which makes it extremely replayable.”
    • “Contrary to what they might say in the trailer, there is no replayability.”
    • “Overall it just doesn't feel like the game is complete - apparently there is talk of a trilogy with this game, and yes there is the option of replayability - but it wasn't really good enough the first time around that I'd waste another 4 hours just to see the minute changes that can occur with some different choices.”
    • “Given the absolute lack of replayability, I cannot recommend this game.”
  • music17 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, particularly for its outstanding quality and emotional depth, largely attributed to composer Jeremy Soule. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a significant strength, enhancing the storytelling and overall experience, while also praising the voice acting as top-notch. Despite some criticisms regarding the game's length and graphics, the music remains a standout feature that elevates the gameplay.

    • “Great voice acting, a strong interesting plot with many twists and turns, impressive character development, a fantastic accommodating soundtrack, and it plays like a dream.”
    • “The music is absolutely fantastic, but what do you expect when it’s composed by none other than Jeremy Soule, the same guy who did the music for such great games as Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Knights of the Old Republic?”
    • “The developers really use the music to their advantage here when it comes to telling the story, and really puts an emphasis on the importance of what’s going on around you.”
    • “The music in the game is very well done, but I feel it was wasted on a game that's literally three hours long.”
    • “They do make a big song and dance about the difficulty you choose at the start as it impacts combat, but nearly all combat I faced in the game was in a simulator and was pretty mediocre.”
    • “The developers really use the music to their advantage here when it comes to telling the story, and really put an emphasis on the importance of what’s going on around you.”
  • humor11 mentions

    The humor in Consortium is characterized by its witty dialogue, quirky character interactions, and clever references, providing players with a fun and engaging experience. While many find the humor to be a highlight, some feel it can occasionally fall flat or become repetitive. Overall, the game's unique personalities and comedic moments contribute significantly to its charm, making it enjoyable for those who appreciate a blend of humor and storytelling.

    • “Consortium also features some of the most hilariously in-depth backstory/lore I've ever seen.”
    • “A real surprise, funny, witty, you can spend hours playing whatever character/mood you want with numerous timed dialogs.”
    • “The characters and the writing are better than a lot of triple-A titles out there and can be very humorous at times.”
  • atmosphere9 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is consistently praised for being tense, immersive, and well-conceived, contributing significantly to its engaging murder-mystery storyline. Reviewers highlight its charismatic environment and rich details, drawing comparisons to titles like Deus Ex and Portal, which enhance the overall experience and encourage multiple playthroughs. While combat is noted as simplistic, the focus on atmosphere, mystery, and dialogue is seen as the core strength of the game.

    • “The atmosphere was tense and believable.”
    • “The atmosphere in the game is very immersive.”
    • “The game manages to blend the rich and involving atmosphere of, say, Deus Ex (right down to detailed news feeds and history, excerpts from books) with an original, self-contained setting like Portal did.”
    • “The game relies heavily on its atmosphere, mystery, and dialogue, which are the core elements, while the combat feels rushed and simplistic, arriving only in short doses.”
    • “The atmosphere is lacking depth and fails to immerse the player, making the experience feel flat and uninspired.”
    • “Despite attempts to create a haunting environment, the atmosphere feels generic and fails to evoke any real sense of tension or fear.”
  • optimization8 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received largely negative feedback, with players reporting significant issues such as stuttering, screen tearing, long loading times, and frequent crashes, even on high-end systems. While some users note improvements following patches, many still experience poor performance that detracts from the overall gameplay experience. Overall, the game's optimization remains a major concern for players, impacting their ability to enjoy the content.

    • “Runs smoothly.”
    • “It's difficult to find much wrong with it now that they've meticulously patched it, fixing all the performance issues and irritating bugs.”
    • “I had my doubts about this game - there is quite a lot of negative reviews regarding the game's performance, mechanics, and stability.”
    • “After reading the other reviews here and looking at the screenshots and video footage people captured of Consortium, I was very disappointed with what I got: a really clunky experience with lots of stuttering, screen tearing, and enormously long loading screens.”
    • “It's pretty annoying to buy a title that says it's complete only to not be able to play it because the frame rate is so bad and makes it completely unenjoyable. This is coming from someone who plays all his games jacked up to the highest settings most of the time. It's happening to other people with good rigs too, so it's bad optimization, and I hope it gets fixed so I can try to play and enjoy the game to its fullest. Honestly though, it says I have 3 hours of game time; I really only have an hour at most because of restarts after messing with the settings and doing VR training over several times where the lag jumps from bad to really, really bad (any combat for that matter).”
    • “Changing settings to the lowest makes no difference in performance either; in fact, it may have even gotten worse.”
  • grinding8 mentions

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, with repetitive tasks and limited variation in choices leading to a lack of engagement. Specific missions require players to wait for infrequent triggers, further contributing to the sense of monotony. While some mechanics attempt to alleviate the grind, the overall experience remains slow and unvaried, making repeated playthroughs feel burdensome.

    • “One of the side missions means you have to stand in one of five specific spots to see malfunctioning equipment, which only trigger infrequently at 1-minute intervals. It's very tedious to replay, and most won't bother if they don't already know where the spots are.”
    • “It was very, very tedious and just frustrating.”
    • “Needs repeated playthroughs to complete fully, and it's just tedious to play through.”
  • emotional7 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is mixed, with some players feeling a nostalgic connection to the setting reminiscent of "Star Trek: Voyager," while others criticize the lack of depth in character interactions and storytelling. Moments intended to evoke emotion, such as dealing with a dead body, often fall flat, leading to feelings of frustration rather than investment in the crew. Overall, the game struggles to create a compelling emotional experience, leaving players feeling disconnected from the narrative and characters.

    • “It's got more story than combat, but walking around the ship made me feel like I was back on Voyager in Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force.”
    • “In my opinion, this feeling adds another layer of depth to the game as it made me feel more like a part of the crew, as opposed to having me order people around, Kirk-style.”
    • “The most amusing part of the game so far was when we discover the dead body, and the female security officer attempts to get emotional. When you pick the option of 'hey, calm down, he was just a redshirt,' while it was amusing to say it, you really feel her scorn all the further.”
    • “The emotional depth of the story is completely overshadowed by poor graphics and controls, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
    • “I found the storyline to be terrible and boring, which made it difficult to feel any emotional investment in the game.”
    • “Sitting through long dialogues without any engaging content left me feeling disconnected and uninterested in the emotional aspects of the game.”
  • monetization4 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the game has drawn criticism for feeling exploitative, with players perceiving the retail price as a cash grab given the game's short length and the presence of misleading advertisements. Additionally, the inclusion of unused features and a credits sequence that promotes a sequel further frustrates users, leading to a sense of dishonesty in the game's marketing.

    • “Which is annoying, since the game's credits sequence is basically an advertisement for a second game.”
    • “Retail price is only worth it to support the next game in the series, as supporting the game at its current price seems too much like a dev cash grab, seeing how short this game actually is.”
    • “Including features that it isn't possible to use anywhere in the game, while constantly leading you to believe the game is a first-person shooter in the advertising and in the game itself, is dishonest and frankly insulting.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Reviewers highlight the impressive character development, noting that it is complemented by great voice acting and a strong, twist-filled plot, all of which enhance the overall gaming experience.

    • “Great voice acting, a strong and interesting plot with many twists and turns, impressive character development, a fantastic accommodating soundtrack, and it plays like a dream.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

66% average critic score

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Play time

4hMedian play time
5hAverage play time
3-7hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 9 analyzed playthroughs

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