The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood Review (NefariousJackass)
I really want to give this game a positive review but i just can't.
It breaks the one rule for multiple choice games.
the Choices NEED to Matter
Before i go into my review let me just say
I would be happy to revisit the game if they updated and added content to it. Because majority of the game is well executed, beautiful and very wholesome. The current problems just kills whatever potential the game has.
The Game does give the impression up until the very end that the choices have a lot of impact.
The lore around the core mechanic of the game is well developed and sets it up for having great replay value but that becomes completely undermined by the forced ending. Makes me question if the entire gameplay system had any real impact at all or if it was just smoke and mirrors, but i hope that's not the case.
I get the distinct impression that they might have had to stress with the ending since the quality differs so drastically. There's so many unique and interesting characters in the game that appear once and then never again. It feels redundant, which is a big shame. Its not uncommon for indie games to jam-pack their projects with extra features but then not stick the landing. I would forego some of the characters, and fancy graphics or scenery change for actual choices.
Game mechanics issues
Tbh they couldv'e skipped the entire political game mechanic and just used the arcana mechanic that was already at their disposal. I found the political management fun but the game didn't really need it. As soon as the campaigning starts the fortune telling ends up taking second place. It doesn't feel like it's worth making more cards since it takes so many cycles and you don't end up drawing tarots that much after that.
Choice issues
All the "evil/bad" choices they let you make, especially in the beginning. I tried to go for a playthrough with Fortuna as a selfish crazy witch. It did not matter that i had been very consequent with choosing literally the worst most aggressive choices throughout the entire game. Eliminating and pushing away all her friends. Suddenly she cared about them and her entire personality was railroaded straight into what felt like a very default ending.
Don't give the players those types of choices if you're not planning for them to have an impact.
Romance options issues
They've locked all romance behind one choice in the beginning and unless you pick this you won't get to romance any of the characters at all. You're presented with a large variety of well written characters and you're locked out of any romance that feels incredibly counter intuitive.
My biggest personal pet peeve is how the main companion Abramar is not romanceable at all. When there's so much baiting and clearly flirting dialogue options.