Ambition: A Minuet in Power LadiesGamers

Ambition: A Minuet in Power Review

Game: Ambition: A Minuet in Power
Genre: Indie, Visual Novel, Adventure, Politics, Fashion
System: Steam (also available on Nintendo Switch)
Developers | Publishers: Joy Manufacturing Co | Iceberg Interactive
Controller Support: No
Price: US $17.99 | UK £14.39 | EU € 16,19
Release Date: August 18th, 2021

Review code used, with many thanks to Terminals.IO

In 2017 Joy Manufacturing Co, an independent games studio started a Kickstarter Campaign to fund their latest game. Ambition: A Minuet in Power was backed by 1,037 backers who pledged $61,503 to help bring the game to life. The game is now released on Steam and Nintendo Switch. Let’s have a walk around !8th century Paris!

Ambition: A Minuet in Power LadiesGamers
Off on an adventure

Visual Novel

Ambition: A Minuet in Power is a visual novel full of intrigue, politics, and romance. Set in Paris in the 18th century. This is the age of King Louis XVI, who rules over France from the Palace of Versailles. But all is not well in Paris, as France is on the brink of revolution and unstoppable change.

Ambition: A Minuet in Power LadiesGamers
Where is Armand?

Where is Armand?

It’s March 19th, 1789 and a young woman named Yvette Decaux has left her modest home in the south of France and is in a carriage on her way to Paris. Yvette is off to meet her fiancé, Baron Armand de Marbo, who has instructed her to meet him in the tavern The Orphan’s Feast.

Arriving at the tavern Yvette can’t find Armand and instead decides to question the patrons of the tavern on Armand’s whereabouts. Only to discover that there isn’t any sign of her beloved and no one has seen him. Fortunately for Yvette, she has memorised Armand’s address in Paris. So she sets off through the dark night-time streets of Paris and heads to Armand’s home. Here she finds his maid Camille who informs Yvette that the Barron is not at home, but she does offer Yvette a room to rest her weary head in.

Ambition: A Minuet in Power LadiesGamers
Armand’s house

Point and Click

Since Ambition: A Minuet in Power is a visual novel you have to be prepared to do a lot of reading. The game revolves around Yvette adventure in Paris while she tries to track down the ever-elusive Armand. You receive invitations to parties, which you have the choice of accepting or declining. A calendar keeps you up to date with where and when to attend a party. You’ll spend your time visiting points of interest on the map and mingling with the rich and powerful at parties.

Ambition: A Minuet in Power LadiesGamers
Accept or Decline the invitation

It is during these conversations, depending on the answers you pick, that you learn their secrets. Secrets that you then use to get the wealth and power that you deserve. Yvette may also find true love in the opulent world of the 18th century. After all, if Armand can not be trusted to turn up at the arranged time, she is sure to find a better love among the suitors that are available in Paris.

Ambition: A Minuet in Power LadiesGamers
Gorgeous backgrounds

Politics and Sell Gossip

Of course, these are peerless times in the lead up to the French revolution and you will have to be careful that Yvette doesn’t bring trouble on herself. You run the risk of offending a certain fraction as politics have a lot to do with the game. Is your allegiance to the Crown, the revolution, the church, the military or the bourgeoisie of Paris.

To make a decent amount of money in Ambition: A Minuet in Power, Yvette sells the gossip she has picked up to Perrie, the owner of the local gossip rag. You can choose to sell the gossip for coins or peddle the influence of the gossip. This has the effect of either increasing the power or decreasing the power of the particular fraction the gossip is about. So for example, if you sell a juicy piece of gossip that is about the military it increases the power of the military fraction by a little bit.

Ambition: A Minuet in Power LadiesGamers
Politics

Or Lose your Head

You need to keep an eye on Yvette’s Credibility and Peril gauges at the top of the screen. You see, as Yvette attend parties and listens to gossip, Yvette’s Credibility and Peril meters shift. The more credibility you have, the easier it is to deceive someone during a credibility check at the end of a conversation. You gain or lose credibility during conversations with others depending on the answer you choose in response to their questions.

Peril decisions you make can often get you what you want. However, it also comes with the risk of gaining Peril points. If the Peril bar fills up then it means something unfortunate will happen to you, so take your chances and you might lose your head at the guillotine. Ouch!

Ambition: A Minuet in Power LadiesGamers
shopping for new clothes

Drink coffee, Dress to Impress

Exhaustion plays its part in the game too. Attend lots of parties, become a party animal and Yvette will start to suffer from exhaustion. If Yvette is exhausted at the start of a rendezvous or party she gets a penalty for her credibility.

To cure Yvette’s exhaustion you can return to the house and choose to sleep, or go to the coffee shop and drink some coffee. Both these methods will remove exhaustion from Yvette, though returning to bed removes all her exhaustion whereas coffee only removes a little. Once Yvette exhaustion is removed, she will be ready for the next party on her calendar.

Dress in the latest Fashion in Ambition: A Minuet in Power, as Yvette has to look the part for attending all the parties. Pay a visit to the Le Petit Mogol and see what Madame Fatima has to offer. As you accept each invitation to a party, just before you attend the party, you pick the outfit Yvette will wear. Each dress has stats for its luxury, novelty, and modesty that affect the results of Yvette’s credibility and peril when she attends a party.

Ambition: A Minuet in Power LadiesGamers
Dress to impress

Risk and Reward

I’ve had an entertaining time with Ambition: A Minuet in Power. In one of my playthroughs I offended someone at a party, my carriage driver left me stranded and I had to walk home.
In another playthrough, I did better and sided with the right fraction. I think that’s the fun of mystery and intrigue in this game while you are playing, you’re never quite sure what route it will take.

Ambition: A Minuet in Power LadiesGamers
Who will Yvette meet at this party?

As Yvette has very little power or money, and you need to use your charm and wit. You are constantly weighing up your answers before you give them. Using words, deeds, and cunning and a little strategy to try to get ahead in the game.

Ambition: A Minuet in Power LadiesGamers
First meeting with Perrie

Visuals and Music

Visually Ambition: A Minuet in Power is beautifully illustrated. The visuals all look as if you are in the 18th century, from the set backgrounds to the outfits that are available to wear, it looks pretty authentic to me. The music is brilliant and perfectly suits the theme and time the game is set in. Sadly there isn’t any voice acting other than a few grunts and sighs, even a little bit of voice acting in the game would have been a bonus.

The game is controlled by a mouse, since all you do is click it works fine. It does however turn into a bit of click fest so I played the game in shorter bursts than I would normally play, and this broke up the constant click click. The game ran well on my laptop, for the most part, it did crash twice in short succession but ran fine after that.

Ambition: A Minuet in Power LadiesGamers
Map of Paris

Conclusion

Ambition: A Minuet in Power is an engrossing addition to the visual novel genre. You can tell as you play the game that the era the game is set in has been thoroughly researched by the developers. With 6 suitors to romance, there is plenty of choices to pick the “one”. It’s a fun step back in time, in the ever-shifting alliances that grow more dangerous by the day in the game, just be careful you don’t lose your head over it!

Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot  I like it a lot

 

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