Heart of Battle

I find this one sorely disappointing. [b]Writing and storytelling[/b] The writing is bland and generic, lots of telling instead of showing. It's uninteresting in a technical sense and just bore easily. The events of the story are rigid and just thrown at you without context most of the time. It's very mechanical, Heart of Battle doesn't flow naturally. As for the story in itself, it has redeming qualities, but not enough to be enjoyable. It doesn't surprise you or motivate you enough to continue. I was expecting a much better tale given the description. [b]Characters and romance[/b] Lots of characters are introduced at a quick pace, it just doesn't stop. It's annoying to stop reading because I have to check which character is which in the character guide. Too much names, not enough background or interest. Very cliché as well, not unlike the story. Simple archetypes, often overused, which makes me cringe a bit. Now the romance and love interests. It's a Heart's Choice game, so it s...

[h1][b] Heart of Battle [/b][/h1] TLDR: It’s good. I hope future Heart’s Choice authors take note. [h3][b]The Good:[/b][/h3] - The [b][u] characters [/u][/b]. What an important element! Shout out to all, you read that correctly, ALL the ROs in this game. Whether my character was befriending them or romancing them, I was genuinely excited to get to know each character and how they ended up in the position of working at the arena. Characters are put in enough situations to be sweet, cruel, fun, funny, and when we see them, they react to these feelings differently. It’s way more engaging to have a romance-oriented game that explores 3-dimensional characters rather than archetypes, and I’m so glad that this game did that consistently. - The [b][u]plot[/u][/b]: [u]The main plot centers around how you spend your time in the battles, how you conduct yourself, where you create your alliances, and who you romance (if you want to).[/u] Considering that the romance had a significa...

I was waiting for this one to hook me at some point but I found myself thinking I could surely find a better way to spend my Thursday night after work than playing this. It's not inherently bad, but it creates this really blurry vision of a world that is very shallow in how you fit in. This game is marred by its lack of detail, which in turn allows you less breathing room to play a complex character (not every hardened criminal is cold and uncaring, but in this game you are either have attachments to people or you do not). Having a nobility or a viciousness stat is not inherently a bad idea, but attaching whether a player will save a friends life or not to a stat is such a bad idea because it removes complexity of a person and their attachments. Instead of viciousness being attached to whether you care about people or not, have it attached to the combat. Would you save your friend by viciously mauling their attacker, or nobly taking a hit for them? Or do you not consider them a frien...

(Note: I beta tested this game, which essentially means I got an earlier version of it for free.) Tl;dr an engaging gladiatorial romance that balances intense, high-stakes drama with light-hearted moments. Focuses on character interaction and development. Has its flaws, but they weren't deal-breakers for me. [h1]WRITING AND CONTENT[/h1] [i]Heart of Battle[/i] was a riveting and well-paced read, one that explores themes of justice, power, and identity. The main plot threads are competently introduced and wrapped up. While romance is arguably the main offering, it does not overshadow the rest of the story in such a way that the fights and the intrigue of the arena feel shallow in comparison. I would say its greatest strength lies in its gritty action and stellar romances, with moments and revelations that I will remember fondly. Each of the four love interests feel distinct, having their own strengths and flaws. I especially appreciated the times when they showed an unexpected side o...

The Game tells a solid story and doesnt shys away to discribe the more ugly consequenses of its scenario, with very well written romances, but it has two major problems: 1. It doesnt tell you much about the setting beyond basics, despite the potential for a story in a pseudo-roman society. 2. The stat-managmend is rather confusing, sometimes stats incrase for no aparent reason, and the relationship with the love-interests goes up despite everything. All in all a 7,5/10, a solid game, but there are better Loves Choice Games out there. Edit: But i absolutly love it.

While a touch slow starting, this is perhaps one of the better CoG games, with a well crafted story that includes beautiful romance options and deep, believable character interactions. There's plenty to keep you coming back for multiple playthroughs as you seek out the different paths the story lays our for you.

This is the first video game I have played without graphics or audio, and I loved it! The plot was interesting and the options I was given allowed me to feel truly engaged in shaping the story. As someone who identifies as asexual, having the ability to play as such for the first time was extremely gratifying and made me feel seen. I highly recommend this game to everyone.

The writing was interesting and well done, as were the characters. The plot itself left a bit to be desired, but I found myself excited to see where things were going. My only complaint is the railroading. This is where spoilers start, so beware. At every opportunity, I went against [spoiler] the Rebels [/spoiler] , and yet the game expected me to sympathize with them! I was made to support them even as I picked options to go against them. [spoiler] The Patron [/spoiler] turned out to be sympathetic to [spoiler] their cause [/spoiler], which made romancing them a bit difficult to be invested in when I was actively sabotaging them at every opportunity. Yet even still, the game didn't give me the option to do any lasting damage! I couldn't stop [spoiler] the riot, I could only evacuate citizens or whatever. [/spoiler] The game wouldn't even allow me to kill [spoiler] the Duelist [/spoiler] like I was supposed to, and I was trying to be as obedient to the Arena as possible! Oh, but th...

I really liked this game, but I did have quite a bit of trouble figuring out what stats your actions would use early on. I often found the choices’ descriptions and the affected stats to be illogical, resulting in outcomes I hadn’t hoped for. However, that drawback was easily overshadowed by the lovely romances and exciting polyamorous possibilities. As for the story, throughout the game, I found myself wishing I could try to escape my captivity a lot earlier, even if it would’ve likely resulted in getting caught and being brought back, if not killed. Instead, when what should’ve been opportunities are presented to you, such as being transported in a carriage with just a few guards, you’re forced to stay until much later, and the reasoning you get is little more than flimsy excuses. I assume consequent playthroughs will play out very similarly, hinting at a fairly linear narrative. Most of the characters were also rather dislikable initially, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to...

Let me specific as I see that is something lacking in some of the reviews of this game (particularly from its critics). For some one who was looking for an enjoyable gladiator themed rpg, this game was enjoyable. Too many gladiator tales are just gorefests and sad tales. This was not. This game had sufficent choices for the player to express themselves and see the results of that expression which is a must have for any rpg. If I could ask the game designers for 1 thing it would be a save system so I could, first explore the choices more completely, and second revisit some of my favorite scenes at will.