Royal Order
- March 29, 2024
- Nifty Visuals
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam"Royal Order" is a historical role-playing game with an intriguing story of political tensions and pirate attacks. As the new member of the High Council, Aarya, manage the Royal Order and make decisions that will determine the fate of the three kingdoms. Customize your protagonist, choose from 3 romantic love interests, and navigate through 4 hours of gameplay to bring an end to the Sval's plundering while maintaining peace. Check out the indirect prequel "Royal Alchemist" for more context.
Reviews
- The game features an engaging and well-written story with complex lore and interesting plot twists that keep players invested.
- The art style is visually appealing, with beautiful character designs and backgrounds that enhance the overall experience.
- The protagonist has a strong personality, and the game allows for meaningful choices that influence character development and relationships.
- Many important characters lack proper designs, appearing only as ghostly silhouettes, which detracts from immersion and feels unfinished.
- The stat-raising and mission mechanics are underutilized and can lead to frustrating dead ends due to unclear consequences of choices.
- Some players found the pacing of the story and character interactions to be drawn out, making it feel less engaging at times.
- story84 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story is widely praised for its engaging narrative, complex characters, and unexpected plot twists that keep players invested throughout. While some reviewers noted the presence of plot holes and a few frustrating choices with dire consequences, the overall writing quality and world-building were highlighted as strong points. The game successfully combines romance with a rich storyline, although some players expressed a desire for more balanced love interest options and a more impactful mission system.
“This story has the strongest early-arc climax I've seen from a game in a long time.”
“The story is so beautiful and complex that it easily catches your attention and makes you curious.”
“The writing for the characters, story, and world-building is so good that I purchased the official lore book.”
“My biggest complaint is just a few dumb decisions like killing you for something completely unrelated and leaving you to have to go to Discord to figure out why, or your ending getting decided by something that literally has no effect on the story and is never brought up again.”
“There are many plot holes in the story, and I don't know whether this happened because the plot holes were answered in 'Royal Alchemist', or I didn't pay attention to the plot properly.”
“The most obvious plot hole is how Emrys stays alive even though he no longer has a magical core or magic affinity, and how can he still have immortal status even though his magical core is lost?”
- gameplay8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
Gameplay is characterized by innovative mechanics that allow players' dialogue choices to influence stat gains, moving away from reliance on RNG. However, some players have encountered issues with certain features, like the "oracle" mechanic, and feel that the normal mode lacks room for error after several hours of play. Overall, while the gameplay has seen improvements since updates, it remains a point of contention compared to its predecessor.
“I really love the new mechanic of having your personality (dialogue choices) influence your stat gains instead of relying on RNG.”
“The mechanics are interesting and different from the usual dating sims!”
“Initially, I had concerns regarding the game mechanics, but since update 1.2, those concerns are no longer necessary!”
“There's an 'oracle' mechanic that didn't work for me despite several attempts, and I hope it gets fixed.”
“After I restarted, I easily made it after just going for two elements immediately, but I feel like normal mode shouldn't have so little room for error after 3-4 hours of gameplay.”
“As for gameplay: this is probably the weakest point.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics are widely praised for their engaging art style, described as visually stunning and pleasing to the eye. Reviewers appreciate the beautiful visuals that complement the game's story, highlighting the overall aesthetic as a significant strength of the experience.
“The art style is pleasing to the eye!”
“The art style is pure eye candy and fun to look at!”
“I love it, amazing story, beautiful visuals and most importantly, iris <3.”
- music5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and emotional resonance, effectively complementing the storytelling and enhancing the overall experience. Reviewers appreciate the art style and note improvements in quality, with the soundtrack being a standout feature that adds depth to the narrative.
“The music perfectly complemented the storytelling and helped pull at my heartstrings.”
“I also love the art style and the music fits perfectly.”
“Beautiful music and art.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted to be enhanced compared to its predecessor, "Royal Alchemist," contributing to a richer narrative filled with complex lore, romance, and betrayal. While the story features a standout plot twist, some gameplay elements, like the stats raising and optional missions, feel less coherent. Overall, the blend of humor with action and adventure adds depth to the experience.
“There's complex lore between the factions, plots of revenge, romance, betrayal, humor, action, and adventure.”
“The funny thing is that, compared to its predecessor, 'Royal Alchemist', both its qualities and flaws are exacerbated: the story is slightly better (with one of the best plot twists I've ever seen in a video game), but the stats raising/optional missions aspect really doesn't make much sense anymore.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's writing is highly praised for its exceptional handling of conflict and morality, resulting in a well-rounded story filled with beautiful and heartwarming scenes that evoke strong emotions in players.
“The game's writing yet again exceeded all my expectations; the conflict and morality are handled very well, and the story is well-rounded with beautiful and heartwarming scenes that evoke a wide range of emotions.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game experiences consistent stability issues, particularly glitching during friendship endings, regardless of the chosen route.
“It glitches every time I get a friendship ending - it doesn't matter which route.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
“I've experienced constant lag and freezing during key moments.”
