Grand Academy for Future Villains
- September 14, 2017
- Choice of Games
Get on SteamIn "Grand Academy for Future Villains," a 200,000-word interactive novel, you navigate your journey to becoming a formidable villain at the world's finest evil preparatory school. With text-based gameplay and multiple career paths, you'll engage in challenges and forge alliances while mastering the art of villainy. Your choices will determine your rise or fall in this humorous and imaginative adventure.
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Reviews
- The game features a unique and interesting concept centered around being a villain in a school for villains, providing a fresh perspective in the genre.
- Players appreciate the vast replayability and the ability to shape their character's journey through numerous choices, leading to varied outcomes.
- The writing is engaging and humorous, with clever twists on traditional narrative tropes that keep players emotionally involved in the story.
- The characters are often described as flat and forgettable, lacking depth and meaningful development, which detracts from the overall experience.
- Many players found the choices to be confusing and inconsistent, leading to a sense of frustration as their decisions did not seem to impact the story as expected.
- The story feels incomplete or abruptly ended, leaving players wanting more and feeling that the game may have been published prematurely.
- story21 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The story has received mixed reviews, with some praising its engaging and meta narrative about being an evil student in a school for villains, while others criticize it for being poorly executed and lacking direction. Many players felt that the choices made throughout the game had varying degrees of impact, leading to a sense of enjoyment despite occasional nonsensical elements. Overall, while the story shows potential and emotional depth, it appears to have been released prematurely, leaving players wanting more and hoping for future improvements.
“There is a lot to uncover in the story: to learn more about its characters, to learn more about the main character themselves, to learn more about the conflict between their mother and Professor Cerebrist, to be entangled deeper in the war within the academy, to determine what it means to be a villain... at all times, I felt engrossed in the story, emotionally involved; I felt like the decisions of the main character were meaningful and consequential, and were to be taken seriously – but still there was always enough freedom to choose how to proceed in a way I thought viable and in-character, and not everything was about the main character and revolved around them.”
“"The Academy" is a very meta story, the story about a narrative itself; here, the most common tropes of traditional (and not-so-traditional) narrative are evoked.”
“The story that the author decided to tell within that setting is the weakest point of the whole thing.”
“Seriously... 27 hours on a text-based choice-driven story about being an evil student in a school for villains.”
“And most of the story seemed to not really know where it wanted to end up.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is consistently engaging, eliciting laughter throughout the experience, particularly during moments of failure that are both painful and comically exaggerated. Players find themselves balancing enjoyment with the pressure of making successful choices, enhancing the comedic tension.
“I was laughing the whole way through, and then desperately double-checking what my stats were because I did not want to fail a particular choice.”
“And when he fails at something, it is always both painful and hilarious.”
- gameplay1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The gameplay mechanics are criticized for being based on the unclear and inconsistent premise that different styles of villainy are incompatible, leading to confusion and frustration among players.
“The idea that different styles of villainy are incompatible was the worst possible thing to base the mechanics on, especially since which is incompatible with which is not at all clear and completely inconsistent.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its deep and engaging narrative, which allows players to explore complex character relationships and moral dilemmas. Players feel a strong connection to the main character's choices, which are portrayed as meaningful and impactful, while also appreciating the freedom to navigate the story in a way that feels authentic to their character. Overall, the game successfully immerses players in a rich emotional experience that extends beyond the protagonist.
“There is a lot to uncover in the story: to learn more about its characters, to learn more about the main character themselves, to learn more about the conflict between their mother and Professor Cerebrist, to be entangled deeper in the war within the academy, to determine what it means to be a villain. At all times, I felt engrossed in the story, emotionally involved; I felt like the decisions of the main character were meaningful and consequential, and were to be taken seriously – but there was always enough freedom to choose how to proceed in a way I thought viable and in-character, and not everything revolved around the main character.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the high replayability of the game, citing numerous choices and paths that encourage multiple playthroughs.
“There are a lot of choices and paths to explore, providing significant replayability value.”
“The game offers multiple endings and diverse character interactions, making each playthrough feel unique.”
“With various strategies and playstyles to experiment with, the replayability is off the charts.”
“The game lacks meaningful choices, making replayability feel pointless.”
“Once you've completed the main story, there's little incentive to play again.”
“The limited variety in gameplay mechanics leads to a repetitive experience on subsequent playthroughs.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The main character experiences significant development throughout the game, while other characters receive less attention and depth in their growth.
“The main character experiences significant growth throughout the game, making their journey compelling and relatable.”
“The depth of the main character's development is impressive, showcasing a well-crafted narrative arc.”
“While the main character's development is strong, I wish other characters had received the same level of attention.”
“There is a lot of character development for the main character, but the same cannot be said for the other characters.”
“The supporting cast feels underdeveloped and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with them.”
“While the protagonist undergoes significant growth, the other characters remain static and one-dimensional.”
