The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante

We certainly did not expect this story-driven, narratively focused game to be as good as it is. Its world is truly original, the characters inhabiting it feel lifelike and the whole game, with its book-like treatment, is simply marvellous to look at.

This game blew me away. I have never played a visual novel, but now I want more. Every single choice is meaningful, often having rippling effects that you could not anticipate. I was constantly kept on my toes, having to truly think about my choices. Very few video games achieve this, but The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante absolutely knock it out of the park in this regard.

The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is a remarkable storytelling achievement. Ironically, though the game is rendered in an artful monochrome, none of its frequent moral decisions are completely black and white. Every choice had my mouse wavering over the screen, considering the consequences of my actions. It’s one of those rare gaming narratives that’s equally tragic, challenging and exhilarating. The message I felt came across is: don’t weep for the paths not taken or the limited change one person can make, but choose the life you want to live and live it to the fullest. As painful and filled with sorrow as Sir Brante’s life is, it’s one that’s well worth living through yourself.

The writing is fantastic. Unlike some titles, the writing paints a beautiful picture of the world without droning on and on. Each event is sufficiently described with good detail but never overstays its welcome. For the whole fifteen hours! For this reason, the pacing makes for an addicting experience. Not only is it tight and succinct, but the characters come to life with each dynamic interaction. Everyone has a distinct voice, the world is appropriately harrowing and, as Sir Brante does, players learn how the world works as we become more exposed to it.

The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is one of the better games of its kind I have played in recent memory. The world-building and writing are enthralling, and the prospect of guiding your character from life to death is a fun and challenging exercise. I would have loved more interactivity, especially in dialogues, and some decisions seem predetermined and stacked against you a few too many times to truly feel open. In the end, that doesn't detract from the otherwise fun RPG adventure novel. If you're yearning for a good RPG adventure that is heavy on the reading side, I'd highly recommend The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante.

An absolute joy from start to finish, The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante puts you in a tumultuous time and gives you a starring role. The story and hard decisions you’re forced into makes this an engaging experience.

If you are in a search for something completely different, a game that looks back to the age of "choose you own adventure" books, the well written and masterfully crafted story of The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is a perfect fit for you.

Carving a destiny through The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is a surprisingly heart-rending and engrossing experience. It won’t be for everyone – it’s a text heavy game and it navigates some heavy subject matters – but if you have a soft spot for interactive fiction, this is one of the best examples of the genre for quite some time.

Those who can go through it are in for one of the more unique games out there. With its sprawling lore, detailed plotting, and intimate look at the effects one person’s choices have on the world around them, The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is an ambitious narrative RPG and a must-play for fantasy lovers.

The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is an interactive novel in which interaction is reduced to the bare bone, allowing us only to turn the pages of the book and choose our next moves from a list of options. So it should not be evaluated as a game but as a story. And from this point of view it is a brilliant tale, which manages to capture attention from the very first pages, making us suffer for the unfortunate protagonist. Like all products of this kind, however, after the first intense run you will only want to see the multiple endings, skipping most of the rest of the story.

The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante hits all the right notes of a choose-your-own-adventure game, with just enough of its own spin to stand out from the crowd. A dark fantasy world rife with pseudo-historical politics and tensions are just the icing on the cake.

A decent text-based RPG with a disappointing illogical ending.