Tale of Two Cranes
- March 7, 2024
- Hosted Games
Get on SteamIn "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.
Reviews
- 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 setting is interesting, and the lore is immersive, providing a solid backdrop for the narrative.
- 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 negate the player's efforts and diminish the sense of agency.
- Romantic interactions are underdeveloped, with limited opportunities for meaningful engagement with characters, making relationships feel like checkboxes rather than genuine connections.
- story17 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The story is engaging and well-written, with a solid plot and intriguing elements, but it often feels constrained and overly linear, detracting from the central conflict. While the initial chapters may lack depth and character development, the narrative gains momentum in the latter half, where player choices become more impactful. However, many reviewers feel that the story could have benefited from more personal quests and a broader exploration of its themes, suggesting it might have been better served as a multi-part series.
“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.”
“The story is much more on rails than most cog stories.”
“The vast majority of the story is also barely about the central conflict.”
“There's a whole entire 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.”
- gameplay1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The gameplay features a mechanic focused on building and managing an estate, but players find it only loosely tied to the main plot, resulting in a lack of emotional connection to the estate-building aspect.
“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.”
