The Council - Episode 1: The Mad Ones

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. DarkStation
    Mar 30, 2018
    90
    The skill system, leveling up, confrontations and the immunity/weakness system are all fantastic game design choices that really get you invested in the game. Pair those with superb writing and a beautiful location to explore, and this is one fantastic start to this episodic series. If you're a mystery hound like me that can appreciate these twists to the genre, I think you'll agree that Episode 2 can't come fast enough...
  2. GameCritics
    Mar 19, 2018
    90
    The Council: Episode 1, The Mad Ones is a treasure thanks to a great story that’s well-told, some of the highest Interactive Movie production values I’ve seen, and a skill and experience system that serves to make it even deeper and more replayable than it already was. And the cliffhanger ending? It’s so compelling that I can’t wait for the next chapter to arrive.
  3. Game Revolution
    Mar 13, 2018
    90
    The Council does away with a lot of the superficial feeling that modern adventure games have, and with its skill system, invests you in the personal development of the main character. I was able to get into this game in a way I've been unable to with adventure games for the last few years. It was a treat to play, and I can't wait for the remaining four episodes.
  5. PlayStation Universe
    Mar 13, 2018
    85
    The Council Episode One is a thunderously promising start for this fresh, sophisticated and intelligent take on the narrative adventure.
  6. Wccftech
    Mar 13, 2018
    81
    While missing some of the polish other games might have, The Council feels like it could be the next step in the genre thanks to branching narratives that feel much weightier than before and a mystery you can't help but be drawn into.
  7. Shacknews
    Apr 13, 2018
    80
    The Council isn’t a perfect start, but it is quite a wonderful foundation to build upon.
  8. Hardcore Gamer
    Mar 27, 2018
    80
    It’s disappointing that some notable flaws, from dialogue and voice acting to performance issues, hold back The Mad Ones’ full potential. While the negatives can — and should — be addressed going forward, it’s not enough to take the shine off The Council. The Mad Ones captures the ethos of episodic gaming and brings a unique signature style that will have an immediate, lasting impression on players.
  9. We Got This Covered
    Mar 20, 2018
    80
    Aside from the stilted voice acting and ugly visuals, The Council gets off to an excellent start with The Mad Ones. The over-arching plot is sufficiently intriguing, while the light RPG mechanics gives the narrative adventure genre the kick in the pants it has needed.
  10. Multiplayer.it
    Mar 19, 2018
    80
    The Mad Ones is really a good start for this new series of adventures. We're looking forward to see where the developer wants to bring us.
  11. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Mar 13, 2018
    80
    A promising start. The Mad Ones builds the framework for what can be a wild narrative ride, but it’s not clear yet how far this game will go in terms of its branching paths, or if the narrative will remain interesting throughout. I’m excited to learn more about the deceptive world of The Council and what Louis will uncover in upcoming episodes.
  12. Meristation
    Mar 13, 2018
    80
    A different kind of narrative adventure that mixes historical and fictional characters in an interesting story. The Mad Ones is a promising start for the total of five chapters that The Council will have, having a good duration and introducing the new RPG based mechanics that can make the game unique.
  13. The Games Machine
    Mar 30, 2018
    78
    The first episode of The Council is a pleasant surprise. Big Bad Wolf has succeeded in inserting a snappy roleplaying system into a historical investigative-style narrative adventure, and the implications are surprisingly original, brilliant and ambitious. There are minor flows in the script and technical-wise it's quite clumsy, but it’s a good opening episode indeed.
  14. Vandal
    Mar 13, 2018
    76
    The Council tries to do something new with the narrative adventure genre and it succeeds. An very interesting mix of narrative and RPG, with a promising cast and premise.
  15. Atomix
    Apr 22, 2018
    75
    The Council is a good attempt to refresh the narrative adventure genre, that starts to feel a little bit too repetitive these days. Although it's not based on a popular intellectual property, it does offer a story full of mystery and some interesting characters.
  16. XGN
    Mar 25, 2018
    75
    The first episode of The Council gives hope for the rest of the series: an intriguing mystery with superb RPG elements in a new episodic jacket. Let's hope Big Bad Wolf fixes some of the animations.
  17. COGconnected
    Mar 17, 2018
    75
    The story is intriguing and genuinely surprising. The skill trees and RPG elements add a personal touch that other similar games simply do not emulate.
  18. DualShockers
    Mar 14, 2018
    75
    If you can get past the slow start and some of the glaring technical problems of The Mad Ones, then you will find the most innovative episodic adventure game to come from a studio other than Telltale.
  19. JeuxActu
    Mar 14, 2018
    75
    It's tough to provide a definitive review on a chapter-based game, but The Council is off to a good start with its gameplay based on social interactions and a very nice artistic touch. A good spin on the Telltale recipe.
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  1. TheSixthAxis
    Mar 13, 2018
    The Mad Ones’ episode lays the foundation of a potentially intriguing mystery narrative, part An Inspector Calls, part Murder on the Orient Express. The Social Influence system, if implemented well through the rest of the episodes, really could be a game changer for narrative adventures, evolving a genre that has needed fresh ideas for a while.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 48 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 48
  3. Negative: 7 out of 48
  1. gavin786
    Jan 25, 2019
    10
    Great Game-I hope the publisher makes a lot more, much better than Telltale Games' offerings. Fantastic game, intriguing, fantasticGreat Game-I hope the publisher makes a lot more, much better than Telltale Games' offerings. Fantastic game, intriguing, fantastic mechanics, great plot!… Full Review »
  2. SuperkenGaming
    Mar 13, 2018
    6
    The Council
    off the a rough Start
    The council is a narrative focused episodic adventure game, this game will eventually have 5 episodes, but    The Council
    off the a rough Start
    The council is a narrative focused episodic adventure game, this game will eventually have 5 episodes, but at the time of this review there is only one.
    Episode 1 the mad ones took me around 2 and a half hours to complete and is a very slow start.
    The game starts in the year 1793, you play a Louis de Richet, a member of a secret society...
    You’re invited to a private island off of the shores of England, but your mother is nowhere to be found...
    You spend the game trying to get information and find her.
    In hindsight, this is a pretty intriguing story being set up...
    There’s a secret society… historical figures like my homie George Washington are around, you have these crazy that’s so raven visions where you’re looking through the eyes of different characters that will randomly hit you..
    There’s tons of mystery and historical artifacts and paintings... creepy and intriguing characters…
    it’s just the delivery of this game is so slow, that instead of feeling like you’re immersed in history...
    You feel as though you’re immersed in a history lecture...
    The game doesn’t start to get exciting until its final chapter in this episode...
    The other chapters are so sluggish and boring.
    The gameplay features pretty light adventure aspects, I enjoyed these short breaks to solve a puzzle, theyre not hard enough to make you look up a guide, but enough to make you stop and think... and stopping to think is important as every action made in this game has consequences...
    For example I was trying to decipher a code and by trying everything I could, I ruined half of a clue, so I had to do a later puzzle in the game the hard way, with logic and trial and error…
    There’s also an effort system in this game...
    Effort depletes by mental and physical choices within the game
    There’s a high focus here on psychology, it’s all about manipulation, deceit, and attention to detail…
    You’ll get points based off of actions you complete during a chapter and at that chapters end you can dump your skill points in different skills to unlock more dialog choices during a confrontation, our youll have the ability to unlock doors and boxes, or level up your skills so that your choices consume less effort,
    You have to choose carefully when to go for a statement or question that consumes a lot of your effort as it is limited in each chapter.. Though there are consumables to partially refill it…
    But some situations and confrontations might not be as important to you as others...
    so you’ll choose to let information go and save your refills for later if you need them…
    Characters also remember your choices from earlier, so you’ll have a penalty while speaking to them, making it hard to squeeze info out of them.. But things can be made easier by making observations during dialog scenes or conversations... as you can find a psychological weakness or immunity... the dutchess for example like most women is immune to logic. And the butler characters has a weakness when it comes to being questioned.
    The system here sounds pretty complicated, and it kind of is...
    it almost takes you out of the moment as you’re trying to shift conversations but thinking of consumables and how much effort you have left...
    It makes it hard to pay attention to a story that by itself is so slow at the start that it’s hard to pay attention to on its own..
    But by the end the characters started to pull me in and I’m decently excited to see where this story goes... though I’m not dying for the next episode.
    Though depending on your choices, other characters might be.
    I give the council Episode 1 the mad ones a 6/10    … Full Review »
  3. Saeed9020
    Apr 29, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. The game is nice but there is more than one challenges so difficult it's not difficult sometimes be impossible like skills development system if u r developing wrong skill then no way open door or box so u have to repeat chapter which be disappointing.
    Ingenral i recommended it for just patient players.    … Full Review »
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