Play the Debut Episode of The Council on March 13th
The Council is finally ready to make its grand entrance next week when it launches its first episode, The Mad Ones, on March 13th.
In case you haven’t been keeping up to speed, The Council is an episodic narrative adventure series set in 1793. You play as Louis de Richet, a secret society member, who accepts an invitation to Lord Mortimer’s private island to investigate the whereabouts of his missing mother. In addition to searching for clues on the island, Louis must also interact with the island guests, including Napoleon Bonaparte and even US President, George Washington.
A brand-new gameplay trailer — which you can view below — has also launched today. Not only does it show off lots of in-game footage, but it doubles as a developer diary of sorts with plenty of insights from developer Cyanide Studio.
As explained in the video, The Council’s core gameplay comes from manipulating and manoeuvring through character encounters using what it’s calling the Social Influence System. As its described on the game’s official website, “during confrontations, skills and limited resources can be used to gain the upper hand and achieve the desired outcome.” Players will be rewarded for their knowledge of each character along with their psychological vulnerabilities and immunities. In other words, you’re going to want to pay attention to what makes each character tick.
What’s really cool is that there aren’t any do-overs in The Council. Failing an encounter doesn’t mean Game Over. Your choices are permanent and they’ll stick with you all the way until the end of the fifth and final episode. Your character may even suffer psychical injuries or mental traits along the way that may help or hinder your adventure.
Surprisingly, The Council also boasts RPG mechanics such as specific skills that can be developed to “align with your chosen approach to the adventure.” There are 15 different skills that can be used and invest in. Some examples include solving issues with diplomacy, expanding historical and scientific knowledge, or boosting detective skills.
The Council seems to be serving up a meatier narrative adventure experience when compared to the Telltale games.
The debut episode will be available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 13th. The remaining episodes will release regularly throughout the year.
What do you make of The Council? Let us know in the comments below.
SOURCE: Press Release