The Council

68%
Game Brain Score Based on 3,989 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
The Council Game Cover
An interesting story and smart game design help The Council work despite an occasionally iffy script, questionable production values, and some pacing issues.
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In "The Council," a narrative-driven adventure game, players step into the shoes of Louis de Richet, a member of a secret society, who receives an invitation to a private island from the mysterious Lord Mortimer. The game features five episodes, where players' choices and character development significantly impact the story's outcome. Engage with notable historical figures, such as Napoleon Bonaparte and George Washington, and uncover the island's dark secrets filled with intrigue and deception.

  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

68%
Audience ScoreBased on 3,989 reviews
story1,368 positive mentions
optimization76 negative mentions
  • Engaging and intricate storyline with many plot twists and character depth.
  • Unique RPG mechanics that allow for meaningful choices and skill development.
  • Beautifully designed environments and art, enhancing the immersive experience.
  • The story takes a sharp turn in the later episodes, leading to a rushed and unsatisfying conclusion.
  • Voice acting and character animations can be inconsistent and at times awkward.
  • Some puzzles are overly complex or poorly explained, leading to frustration.
  • story3,840 mentions

    The story of "The Council" is a complex and engaging narrative that intertwines historical figures with themes of political intrigue and the occult. While the initial episodes are praised for their depth and compelling twists, many players feel that the story loses coherence and quality in the later chapters, particularly with abrupt plot twists and a shift towards supernatural elements that detract from the earlier tone. Overall, the game is recommended for its rich storytelling and meaningful choices, but players should be prepared for a decline in narrative quality as the game progresses.

    • “The council offers a refreshing take on the narrative-driven genre, providing a rich and compelling story that will keep players guessing until the very end.”
    • “The story is engaging and filled with intriguing twists and turns that will keep players on the edge of their seats.”
    • “Absolutely fascinating and a great experience, your choices really do matter and greatly influence the story/ending.”
    • “By the final scene I was no longer invested and was completing the story for the sake of it.”
    • “The plot falls apart, characters lose their depth, and the decisions that once mattered are rendered pointless.”
    • “Unfortunately, the writing takes a nosedive in the second half, and the gameplay also feels increasingly unsatisfying when, despite all your skills, you can't stop the story from turning stupid.”
  • gameplay956 mentions

    The gameplay of "The Council" combines narrative-driven choices with RPG mechanics, allowing players to develop skills that influence dialogue and interactions. While the game introduces innovative mechanics and offers a rich atmosphere, many players feel that these features are underutilized and that the gameplay can be clunky and repetitive, particularly in later episodes. Overall, it provides an engaging experience for fans of narrative adventures, despite some technical shortcomings and inconsistencies in execution.

    • “The gameplay focuses on manipulating and maneuvering through social encounters.”
    • “The gameplay is impeccable where there is a unique RPG-style where you unlock abilities such as linguistics or erudition that can help to advance in the story.”
    • “Overall, the council is a fun and addictive game that is recommended for fans of adventure games with a rich plot and unusual mechanics.”
    • “However, the gameplay can feel a bit clunky and lacks the polish seen in other titles of its genre.”
    • “While the game offers some interesting puzzles and choices, the execution in terms of gameplay mechanics leaves something to be desired.”
    • “To sum up, this is sadly a very boring and confusing game, with complicated gameplay mechanics, dull characters and a complete lack of any kind of hook a good mystery needs to draw in the player.”
  • graphics867 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful environments, detailed artwork, and unique art style that captures the aristocratic aesthetic. However, several players express disappointment over technical issues such as poor optimization, lack of graphic settings, and inconsistent character animations, which detract from the overall experience. While some find the visuals enchanting and immersive, others criticize them for being subpar or even grotesque at times, leading to a polarized reception.

    • “The graphics are top-notch and the music suits the atmosphere very well.”
    • “The graphics, the lighting, the paintings, it all looks very beautiful.”
    • “The graphics are absolutely beautiful, especially the architecture and interior of the mansion.”
    • “Running it on a 4070 Super still leaves me disappointed, wanting more out of the visuals.”
    • “Accompanied by the fact there are no graphic settings at all, meaning also no FOV slider to reduce the nausea, settled it for me.”
    • “The graphics are lackluster and the facial animation for the characters is so unappealing that they become funhouse monster versions of themselves.”
  • atmosphere260 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and captivating qualities, enhanced by impressive graphics, detailed environments, and a fitting soundtrack that contributes to the overall sense of mystery and intrigue. However, some players noted inconsistencies, such as awkward character interactions and voice lines that disrupt immersion. Overall, the game's rich setting and atmospheric design create a compelling experience, particularly for fans of narrative-driven adventures.

    • “The atmosphere set is deeply immersive, the characters are well constructed and believable.”
    • “The incredible level of detail of the artistic and historical reconstruction, the sumptuous graphics, the depth of the characters' psychology, the plot-twists determined by the players' choices, the overall originality of the concept and the unique atmosphere of this game make it not only a recommended title, but a must-play in my opinion.”
    • “The atmosphere is fantastic and begs to be discovered.”
    • “Despite the game's attempts at being taken seriously, most 'serious' moments have awkward character movement, even more awkward voice lines, and background music that doesn't match the atmosphere whatsoever.”
    • “The general atmosphere of the game is lacking, despite the commendable effort of the developers to give life to the manor.”
    • “Overall, there are just too many things that completely break the immersion of the game, which relies on atmosphere as part of its storytelling.”
  • replayability216 mentions

    The game offers significant replayability due to its branching storylines, impactful choices, and RPG elements, allowing players to explore various outcomes and character builds. While many players appreciate the depth and variety of paths available, some express frustration over the lack of skippable dialogue, which can hinder the desire to replay. Overall, the game is praised for its high replay value, particularly for those who enjoy experimenting with different decisions and skills.

    • “The RPG elements spice up the old traditional formula, adding a bit more to replayability.”
    • “This aspect of the game adds a layer of depth and replayability, encouraging players to explore different choices and see how they influence the story.”
    • “There are so many ways to truly control your own narrative, and there are countless offshoots that give this game a high amount of replay value.”
    • “This is supposed to increase replayability, but the issue is that there are no manual saves, and so you can't just go back to where you want to go to see what might have been.”
    • “I really, really wanted to like this game, but the replayability of this game for me is zero. If you are prepared to and have the patience for going through and listening to the very long cutscenes and dialogues for the second or third time, without any skip, then yes, there is replayability, but not for me.”
    • “Although the game has some replayability, I don't think I will ever pick it up again.”
  • optimization202 mentions

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with many players reporting severe performance issues, including stuttering, low frame rates, and poor graphical fidelity even on high-end hardware. Despite some positive aspects like voice acting and story, the overall technical execution is deemed unacceptable, leading to a frustrating experience for many users. Players are advised to manage settings carefully, as the game struggles to run smoothly regardless of the configuration.

    • “If you don't mind the optimization issues, I'm sure it's probably a great game.”
    • “Also, the game looks beautiful in all the environments, even if technically it isn't the most solid; it could be a bit janky - but just search for guides on how to raise the performance/fps - it takes just a little time and can enhance your experience greatly.”
    • “Nice narrative and interesting characters, but optimization could be a lot better.”
    • “It's not often I encounter a game so poorly optimized as this.”
    • “I wanted to like this game, but with the abysmal frames due to poor optimization, I was barely getting 40 fps even with an RTX 3080 and i7-9700K at 1440p.”
    • “The optimization is so confusing and bad.”
  • music180 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its ability to create atmosphere and enhance the game's themes of mystery and intrigue, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking diversity. Although the soundtrack is described as generally pleasant and fitting for the setting, many players noted that it fails to leave a lasting impression or match the emotional weight of key moments. Overall, while the sound design is considered well-executed, the music itself is often seen as average or underwhelming.

    • “The graphics are top-notch and the music suits the atmosphere very well.”
    • “Music and sound effects also add to the atmosphere of the game, emphasizing its mystery and intrigue.”
    • “In regard to the soundtrack, it is quite immersive and it fits like a glove in the game and contributes to this atmosphere of mystery, suspense, and occultism.”
    • “The background music and sound effects serve their purpose in creating atmosphere, but they don't do much to enhance the overall experience.”
    • “The soundtrack is lacking and has like 2 tracks on loop.”
    • “The musical score for the most part felt the same throughout the episode; no tension-fueled notes when a climactic event was happening, nor were there any somber tones during a more quiet human moment.”
  • grinding108 mentions

    The aspect of grinding in the game has received largely negative feedback, with many players describing it as tedious and repetitive. While some found the story engaging enough to endure the grind, others felt that the excessive backtracking, convoluted puzzles, and lack of skippable dialogue significantly detracted from their overall enjoyment. Overall, the experience of grinding is seen as a major flaw that can diminish the game's appeal, especially for those who do not find the narrative compelling.

    • “It had a good start and ending, but the middle part, due to backtracking, got a bit annoying but not tedious.”
    • “If I had to give a one-word review of this game, it'd be: tedious.”
    • “The puzzles are a bit tedious, not very complex and don't give you a lot of satisfaction when solved.”
    • “However, by the last episodes, running around the same palace over and over to find the last remaining potions becomes tedious.”
  • character development86 mentions

    Character development in the game is generally praised for its depth and integration into the storyline, with many players appreciating the impact of choices on character progression. However, there are criticisms regarding inconsistencies in character design and voice acting, which detract from the overall experience. While some players find the character designs intriguing, others feel they are unpolished or historically inaccurate, leading to mixed opinions on this aspect.

    • “It's a choices matter game with an interesting storyline with good character development.”
    • “This game has fantastic character development that weaves into a deep story and graphic content.”
    • “There's a sense of character development and advancement and a feeling like your choices are significant which provides some replayability.”
    • “On top of a few bugs that result in odd outcomes in puzzles, overall the character development suffers as some paths or options in a walkthrough don't work 100% of the time (I had instances where the walkthrough would give options to do something, but I didn't have those in-game).”
    • “Ultimately where 'The Council' fails is in the character development, the voice casting/acting/audio quality, and the horrible script.”
    • “All these intrigues, conspiracies, manipulations, secret lodges, story building, character development - forget about it.”
  • stability73 mentions

    The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting various bugs and graphical glitches, particularly related to character animations and subtitle synchronization. While some users experienced minimal issues and found the game relatively stable, others described it as "buggy as hell" and unplayable at times. Overall, the game appears to require further polish to address these stability concerns.

    • “The game didn’t crash for me once in around fifteen hours, and it appears to be otherwise relatively bug-free.”
    • “It runs well, and I experienced no glitches whatsoever.”
    • “No glitches or bugs.”
    • “When I played this previously, the game was beset by all manner of bugs and glitches that made it pretty much unplayable.”
    • “I can't recommend this game due to the fact that it's a buggy mess.”
    • “Episode 3 clawed it back, but is buggy as hell and really could've used more polish.”
  • emotional58 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game receives mixed feedback, with some players appreciating the connection to real history and the impactful choices that make them feel consequential in the story. However, criticisms arise regarding inconsistent voice acting and facial animations that detract from the emotional weight of key moments, leading to a disjointed experience. Overall, while the game offers engaging emotional sequences, it struggles to maintain a consistent tone, leaving some players feeling puzzled or disconnected during pivotal scenes.

    • “The story, the connection to real history, and the emotional connection amazed me.”
    • “A really good adventure game is a singular pleasure, an experience that can touch you emotionally and intellectually like none other.”
    • “The council's decisions actually made me feel like I was changing the game's story, for better or worse, unlike Telltale's games where just a text would come up stating a character would remember that.”
  • humor56 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, often stemming from its poor voice acting and awkward animations, which can be unintentionally funny. Players appreciate the wacky character interactions and plot twists, finding enjoyment in the absurdity of the dialogue and scenarios, even if the overall story feels disjointed. While some moments elicit genuine laughter, the inconsistent quality of humor and voice performances can detract from the experience for some players.

    • “The council has an interesting character system and totally wacky setup that's lots of fun while you're laughing with the writers.”
    • “There are so many dialogue quick time events and hilarious opportunities to use skills you develop along the way that you'll want to play through it just to see what you can get away with saying!”
    • “I had to stop a couple of times because some events were so hilarious I couldn't stop laughing.”
  • monetization4 mentions

    The monetization strategy in the game has been criticized for potentially restricting access to content, which some players feel detracts from the overall experience and suggests a focus on profit rather than player engagement. Many reviewers express disappointment, likening the approach to a cash grab following the decline of Telltale Games.

    • “I feel like the devs really missed the mark with this game and just wanted a cash grab ever since Telltale died off recently.”
    • “The wrong choice can block you from parts of the game, which makes you pay attention and adds to the challenge.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

70% average critic score

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Play time

20hMedian play time
17hAverage play time
14hMain story
19hCompletionist
9-24hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 18 analyzed playthroughs

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