Question about story progression

[Aether]

I keep trying to get into the game, but I also keep seem to hitting a....wall.

Is the ONLY way to progress through the...visual novel by agreeing to serve the twins?

Bluntly, I'm not very...submissive, and being forced to comply leaves a Very bad taste in my mouth in regards to the story.

Question is, is that the ONLY way to progress?

[D I V I T Y]

Yeah of course, thats what the entire story is about. You are being forced to serve them or you can serve them because you like what they stand for. And then over the still developing story, you either try to sabotage or help them

[Spimmy]

The story for this game is pretty much come back in a decade and there is a slight chance it will be finished .

[MasterFool]

Well, if you can't see how it would be fun to 'serve' two demons, then yes, you are at an impassible wall. Serving them isn't the story though.

The hero's arc, a plot line as old as storytelling, progresses through phases. In this case, Rowan (The Hero) has already had his story and fairy tale ending. His arc has been completed... but it actually hasn't. Now it begins anew and he has to be brought so low as to serving the children of the Demon Lord he helped cast down. This is all to save his wife, supposedly the love of his life... or is she?

Those are all questions that you, as the player, have to answer for him. It can only be done while under service to those that try to rule over him. Will he figure a way out, to beat the two demon children? Will he succumb to temptation and fall from the grace of being a hero to something far darker? Can he keep his heroic resolve and walk a fine line between good and evil to accomplish a continent changing series of events that would bring true justice to the world?

These questions are what the story is really about. Who, how and what Rowan becomes is entirely up to your choices. You also make choices for Alexia, his wife, and what she becomes as a result of her own service to the demon twins.

But you do have to serve them, your only other choice is to die as the hero of the original arc, unbowed to serve the twins even though your life and Alexia's are forfeit by doing so. That is the only 'good' ending for Rowan in the games' current, unfinished form. We are assuming there are other good endings as well but those will be in subsequent acts.

[Archnemesis]

Way to ruin a game, MasterFool, gawh! ;)

Kidding aside, can't really add much, but to say this is one of the better CYOA (Choose Your Own Adventure - just in case you are wondering what it stands for) game I have had the pleasure of playing. I was actually surprised by the depth of the art work and the choices given and it has kept me wanting to see this game through to the end. I've enjoyed seeing the characters throughout get better and better with each update and can't wait to see how this journey is going to end for Rowan and Alexia and even for the Twins.

[MasterFool]

Originally posted by Archnemesis:

Way to ruin a game, MasterFool, gawh! ;)

It is the fools job to rob the King of his pride... in this case... the game. Sorry but not sorry, just doing my job! :p

I always thought CYOA stood for "Cover Your Own Ass"! Damn, now I have to adventure with my ass exposed... (Cmere Donkey, Donkey... sorry, my ass is stubborn!)

[rALYNN]

I had a similar concern, but that’s also part of the drama, needing to make impossible distasteful choices. You will be able to avoid most of that stuff later, but occasionally you will run into things you hate that can torture both you and the MC.

I was happy that most of the game I was allowed a dominant path and turned most everyone into “sleeves”. ‘‘Twas fun. Going back I’d change a few things, but I might do a second play through.

Really my major complaint is that the wife is not more involved and the MC “cheats”. Considering all the events there should be an option for open communication. At one point you’re accused of the lie of omission, but it exists because I didn’t find a choice to have the appropriate conversation. My character was always honest.

Maybe also all the bugs and typos or misused worded/entire lines missing. The story is top tier though. Definitely dark and the MC can die if they don’t navigate correctly.

[MasterFool]

There are other threads where we discuss how to keep Rowan alive. It's not all that hard and you can keep him and Alexia fairly pure through the story line if you want. This is basically a 'vanilla' pure run. It's actually hard to do once you've played through a lot of the story lines because you know the 'short cuts' that make the game easier to play through, but some corruption points happen, less pure at that juncture.

I would strongly recommend playing it through a few times making edgier choices that challenge your own biases and desires. Not to corrupt you the player, but to see how the game plays out in different ways. It gives you perspective on the writing and the game itself. I don't think the game itself will change anyone's mind on how they are and what they like, it just doesn't strike me as having that kind of attraction. I really like the game and I still feel the same way about myself as before I played it, but it made me think about how others think and do things. I've played almost every possible path, only a couple small ones left I haven't worked on. I can say it's made me think the most on how things fit together for a hugely broad story.

The only other game on Steam I've played that is close to this level of broadness (maybe even broader because the MC can have radically diverse abilities) is "The Survival of Sarah Rose" and I recommend that one along with SoC to anyone that likes either of them.