[Reviews]

Reviewing The Council: Part One

The Council
The Council Logo

See all parts of review here.

In a nutshell, The Council is a murder mystery that’s L.A. Noire meets Eyes Wide Shut, set in the 1700s. The span of the game takes place over five episodes, all of which I’ll review as they’re released and as I play them.

I can’t quite place it, but I’ve always been drawn to horror with the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s set as the backdrop. More likely it’s to do with how these periods are depicted in fiction than they are in actual history. Think Marquis de Sade from Waxwork, The Village, Hellraiser 4 (1700s sequence), The Witch, Amnesia, and just an overall Stanley Kubrick -esque aesthetic and atmosphere and perversion. The wigs, the make-up, the hedonistic and posh behavior; it’s all a bit eerie.

And while I’m not particularly a big fan of the subject of history all on its own, when it comes to being woven into stories, I absolutely love it. I love how it can anchor a fictional story to reality, both in look and feel. I love seeing actual paintings appear in video games for example. I think Resident Evil must have been the first (or one of the first) to enrich their games with such decoration.

Over the past 15 years, we’ve also seen games evolve so much graphically, that using actual celebrity likenesses has become very popular. Being a lover of all storytelling mediums, especially movies and video games, I welcome any and all crossing over to continue to blur that line. After having watched the trailer when it was first revealed…

I admittedly got very excited about the prospect of schmoozing with the likes of George Washington and other historical figures amidst a murder mystery. Well… mainly just Washington, as you’ll see from my snaps as I played through the game. I got a little excited and perhaps overdid it with taking pictures of the old man. 📸

It’s also fun to play alongside a character who is very definitely, heavily inspired by Eva Green, who’s donned a Victorian-era dress more than just a few times.

While the idea of episodic video games is a novel and fun idea in theory, it’s usually more of a gimmick to price-gouge you than it is about just a cool choice of storytelling style, so I’m often left annoyed. However, in this case, the entire season (the entire game) is only $30. Considering how enjoyable it is to play, I have to say, that’s a pretty fair price. I definitely recommend.

Grab a Copy

I’m very excited for episode 2; I hope things get really weird. 🕯️

Snaps of My Journey Through Episode 1: The Mad Ones

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