Tale of Two Cranes

About

In "Tale of Two Cranes," a 750,000-word interactive novel, you are a Yǒngshì warrior with magical powers in mythic ancient China. As war breaks out and the Qin dynasty falls, you must choose your side in the civil war and uncover the mystery of your rival, Chan Mi, who shares a bond with the same heavenly spirit. Your decisions will shape the course of history and your own destiny.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

59%

Audience ScoreBased on 17 reviews

story6 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

The writing is engaging and well-crafted, with a captivating story that picks up in the latter chapters.
The game offers a variety of choices that can lead to drastically different outcomes, encouraging multiple playthroughs.
The immersive lore and interesting characters provide a solid foundation for the narrative, making it enjoyable despite some flaws.

The game suffers from excessive time skips, often leaving players feeling disconnected from key events and character development.
Many choices feel misleading or superficial, leading to frustrating outcomes that undermine the illusion of player agency.
Romantic interactions are poorly developed, with limited opportunities for meaningful engagement with characters.

story
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
55%
15%
The story has received mixed reviews, with some praising its captivating plot and solid writing, while others criticize its generic elements and lack of character development. Although the narrative is intriguing and choices become more impactful in the latter half, many feel that the story is overly linear and fails to fully engage with its central conflict. Overall, while the foundation is strong, the execution leaves room for improvement, particularly in character interactions and deeper exploration of key themes.
- “The writing here, in terms of prose alone, is good; the setting and the overall plot are a solid backbone to build a story off of.”
- “The story's pretty captivating from the very beginning and, while there were some weaker moments, it really picks up around chapter 5.”
- “The game redeems itself with the second half where player choices start to truly matter and the story picks up.”
- “In the end, the story leaves everything behind and continues by itself, not caring about who read it.”
- “Yeah, the generic story and dialogue ruin it.”
- “The vast majority of the story is also barely about the central conflict.”
gameplay
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The gameplay features a mechanic focused on building and managing an estate, but players often feel disconnected from this aspect as it lacks significant relevance to the overall plot.
- “There's a whole mechanic around building up your estate and deciding what to do with it, but it is only tangentially relevant to the plot, and you never get any sense of connection to it.”
- “The combat system feels clunky and unresponsive, making battles frustrating rather than enjoyable.”
- “The pacing of the gameplay is inconsistent, with long stretches of boredom interrupted by sudden, overwhelming challenges.”