*Sees 131k word count* *Sees time (12:30 am).* Welp, this is going to be a long night.
Review to follow
In short, this was a great journey. Prophecy had well crafted locations, lore, and interesting events to keep your attention and the digital pages turning. There's also a substantial amount of content, and it kept my attention for the whole 3.5 hours it took to go through every route I could find (~12 epilogues). Prophecy has a good number of things going in its favor, and a few that are not.
(minor spoilers)
//Things that work well
- The substantial and varied locales you visit in order to get the plot coupons are fun to picture in your head
- The intricate descriptions of a number of settings, the opening is particularly well detailed
- The backstories and lore are intriguing, though not as prominent as they could have been
- A couple of the characters (Mira and Dikiz) were well written and had their own depth, which were expanded upon in their routes
- The ogre side story towards the end
//Things I have mixed feelings about
- The romances changed a fair bit of the flavor text throughout the latter half of the journey, and they were wittily written. However, one or two of the endings (if you had a romantic partner) came across as a bit jarring
- The larger story arc driving the adventurers was interesting in its resolution, but perhaps could have had a bit more foreshadowing. The ideas the arc touched on were interesting though.
- The endings were varied, however I felt that a bit more meat to them would have been appreciated (they often felt more brief than they needed be)
//Things that didn't work
- It was entirely possible to miss story critical information in situations where you only had time to talk to one party member, leading to confusion as to where a certain choice was hinted at.
- The linearity - outside of three decision choices, and one boxers vs briefs clothing choice there were very few things that you could do that didn't kill you AND affected the story in a meaningful way down the line.
- Decision making - there were a number of occasions where you would have two or three choices, and honestly not much information to help you choose the right decision (the others would usually leave you dead). More information would be appreciated
- The token minorities - you go around picking up followers like a stamp collector, and always one at a time. That cliche slightly taxed my willing suspension of disbelief
- Consequentiality from certain actions felt lacking
- Typos - There were many, however I look forward to them being patched out
- The voice - this one I take particular issue with. The author often would have his characters engage in tirades or mouth off at something, but the wording used was distinctly modern, and highly unlikely to have been appropriate in the setting it was displayed in. This was a pretty strong immersion breaker, and would benefit from being written with more fantasy contextual insults
(/minor spoilers)
While it may look like there were more negatives than positives, that would not be a correct assessment. The author is a seasoned writer and knows how to build an epic story that keeps you engaged. Prophecy is a great work, perhaps not the greatest, but I'd gladly recommend it as a great experience.
