The Council: The Mad Ones

Ever since the first walking dead game I’ve regularly searched for games that can satisfy that craving for episodic goodness! Episodic games are some of my favourites whether it’s Life is Strange or The Walking Dead.

The Council certainly satisfies my love for the genre. First discovering it thanks to the source of all knowledge YouTube the game is a new episodic game set in 18th century Europe.

With one episode out the story is still unclear with a number of elements only just beginning to take shape. The premise is that you follow the story of Louis de Richet a well off Frenchman in search of his missing mother on Lord Mortimer’s Island. The catch is that your mother Sarah is the French leader of the Golden Order, a mysterious group who deals with the occult.

The setting is one of those I love with various hints and mystical goings on but with no explicit proof the occult is real, and with it plenty of scientific explanations. On top of that searching a mysterious island where the rich and powerful gather to discuss secret matters put magic to the back of your mind and spying and deception to the front.

Graphically The Council looks great with a style and setting reminiscent of games like Dishonoured or Bioshock. The only slightly odd thing would be some of the faces, possibly as a side effect of the style some faces look overly detailed and a bit, well strange!

Most episodic games have very similar systems what stood out in particular about The Council is the use of a skill tree. Unlike in other episodic games dialogue choices and situations are effected by what skills you have. This also provides an added initiative to explore and search for texts which can be used to boost your skills.

An isolated manor, secret order of the occult and some of the richest and most powerful minds of the 18th century. What a great setup for the episodes to come!