Game: Choice of Life – Middle Ages 2
Genre: Adventure, Simulation, Strategy, RPG
System: Nintendo Switch (Also on Steam (Windows and Mac) and on iOS)
Developer|Publisher: Blazing Planet Studio | Redblack Spade
Age Rating: EU 12+| US Teen
Price: UK £6.19 | EU € 6,89 | USD $6.99
Release Date: February 28th, 2023
Review code provided with many thanks to Redblack Spade
Choice of Life – Middle Ages 2 is the successor to The Choice of Life: Middle Ages and one that was eagerly awaited by the fans. It’s been out of Steam for two months now, and made its way to the Nintendo Switch.
In this card based simulator game, that takes place in the middle ages, you have choices to make. You are a prince that is an orphan and has an important task from birth: how will you rule wisely? Can you prevent rebellion? As you can’t do it alone, you have to find faithful companions, otherwise, how can you survive in a kingdom full of dangers?
An Innocent Babe
The North and South were allies, until war for the throne in the South was waged. The king of the North won, and killed the king of the South. It didn’t bring him any joy: he soon lost his own life. We don’t know if it was by the hand of the squabbling nobles who only wanted to conquer all of the South, or if a friend poisoned him. We do know that he left an heir, a little baby. And that is you!
Born in a kingdom that has just lost its king, you are without a guiding parent to learn how to be a king. Which makes life very difficult and you can loose it at every turn. Fortunately Victor is there to run your affairs until you become of age. I was guessing all I had to do is stay alive, and that’s not as easy as it sounds!
You are presented, throughout the story, with choices of two or three cards before you. Every choice has a consequence, sometimes making you loose on of your three hearts. At others, you can get an extra hearts by eating. But a lot of choices lead you into danger, leading to an untimely death. If that happens, you go back to a point in the past scenes where you can try again.
Serpentine the Talking Cat and a Signature Ring
The cards in Choice of Life – Middle Ages 2 sometimes are clear in that they are the way to go forward, others have little logic behind them. For instance, one of the first choices to make occurs when you can crawl and are reconnoitring your chambers.
Play quietly or getting used to the lifestyle of a monarch? I can tell you that both don’t have a nice outcome: playing quietly means you climbed into a closet and pressed some kind of lever. And entire day later, hungry and covered in rat bite, you find your way out of the secret corridor….you loose one of your three hearts. However, the other card has the same outcome: you put on all the Jewelry you come across. You even swallowed some for safe keeping which isn’t a good idea for a toddler: you loose one of your three hearts.
The story is interesting, meeting the talking cat Serpentine kicks things off and pretty soon you are indeed in mortal peril. While out on a hunt the assassins that try to kill you fail but they do take the signature ring that identifies you as the prince and you have to run for your life.
Mediaeval Playing Carts
Choice of Life – Middle Ages 2 plays quite laidback. There is no stress, no timer and the soundtrack fits the theme. Just choose cards and try to keep alive to enjoy the rest of the story.
As you play the game you also earn titles which are similar to skills. Titles such as Rude, Liar and Kind. You can equip a title, and it might ever so slightly changes the storyline. Everything takes place on a large map, as if you are playing a board game. Points of interest open up by showing a little flag on the map, which is your cue that you can actually go there. There’s often a choice of several points of interest and you are free to go to them in any order.
The graphics of Choice of Life – Middle Ages 2 are nice, in the style of playing cards. Appropriate drawings too, as for example the Liar skill shows a face en profile with an open mouth and a forked tongue. The story that is nice and engaging, though for me the humour didn’t click. I guess that’s very personal. What is clear is that the makers must have had a lot of fun writing it all up.
Conclusion
The fact that Choice of Life – Middle Ages 2 is released is good news for the fans of the first instalment. The charm of the first title is maintained, and this time more is added in content, making the story a little longer. The replayability is still there, as choices you make on the world map and the ones you make in picking cards influence the story.
The game isn’t on the same level as Sorcery!, where you were actually reading a book. This is much more staccato, but the storyline is entertaining, even though I wasn’t a fan of the crude humour. And I feel that it’s not always logical to die from picking certain cards. But if you’re a fan of the first game, you’re gonna love this one too. And if it’s all new to you, this is a good entry point as you don’t have to play the first game to enjoy this one.
Final Verdict: I Like It