The Council - Episode 1: The Mad Ones

 PlayStation 4
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

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  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, fantastic mechanics, great plot!
  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 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    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    … Expand
  3. JaxDagger
    Mar 15, 2018
    0
    I was surprised to see so many high ratings for this game as I found it utterly droll and slow, the mechanics certainly don't feel new or innovative as I was lead to believe and the character models my god i've seen better on the playstation 1, it feels rushed like minimal effort was put into the design and look of the game, character and it's world. I cannot help but feel that maybe theI was surprised to see so many high ratings for this game as I found it utterly droll and slow, the mechanics certainly don't feel new or innovative as I was lead to believe and the character models my god i've seen better on the playstation 1, it feels rushed like minimal effort was put into the design and look of the game, character and it's world. I cannot help but feel that maybe the very positive reviews on some sites are coming from people either paid off or given the game for free simply so that the fact they didn't have to pay for it didn't influence their decision with it not coming from their own pocket. Honestly would not recommend to any fan of any genre as I am honestly flabbergasted that this game isn't around the 2 or 3 out of 10 range... some reputable sites even giving it 4 out 5..... really? laughable. I've never given a zero before but this time it is well deserved, sorry but it was just awful.… Expand
  4. christhewiz
    Mar 18, 2018
    8
    What a surprising jewel of a game. Although this episode is rather short and parts of the game (inconsistencies in facial design, clunky animations, choppy voice acting) are unpolished, The Council's story and characters feel refreshingly different. It is obvious that the developers put much effort into this game, and I hope they are rewarded for their courage. Keep it up! I look forwardWhat a surprising jewel of a game. Although this episode is rather short and parts of the game (inconsistencies in facial design, clunky animations, choppy voice acting) are unpolished, The Council's story and characters feel refreshingly different. It is obvious that the developers put much effort into this game, and I hope they are rewarded for their courage. Keep it up! I look forward to the next episode.… Expand
  5. marco88
    Mar 20, 2018
    9
    What a game, if u like choices that change story, and actually the way ull play other episodes when released, u like narrative games, and lots more , Just get It, is even cheap to try First episode, i finish mine in a way u dont wanna know , cant wait for the second One, u gotta be' very carefull what u answer, how you answer , and the actions u Will take, well , i got so Much to Say butWhat a game, if u like choices that change story, and actually the way ull play other episodes when released, u like narrative games, and lots more , Just get It, is even cheap to try First episode, i finish mine in a way u dont wanna know , cant wait for the second One, u gotta be' very carefull what u answer, how you answer , and the actions u Will take, well , i got so Much to Say but this masterpiece for his gender, is gonna be' popular later on, so original, u spend less then a pack of **** and then u Can tell . U gotta try il if u like this tipe, is just so Amazing. Cant really understand bad reviews , is about the experience , not the 4k graphics, or whatever today everyone expoect, is a game, and really does the job. Well done developers.… Expand
  6. SeriousGameFan
    May 7, 2018
    7
    I actually give this game a 6 out of 10, but bumped it up to 7 because the Duchess has huge cleavage and a bare back. I saw the trailer for this and it looked interesting --- full of mystery and intrigue. But when you actually get to play the game the whole tone is off. The main character, Louis, is called to a private island of some shadowy nobleman because his mother who was there,I actually give this game a 6 out of 10, but bumped it up to 7 because the Duchess has huge cleavage and a bare back. I saw the trailer for this and it looked interesting --- full of mystery and intrigue. But when you actually get to play the game the whole tone is off. The main character, Louis, is called to a private island of some shadowy nobleman because his mother who was there, had gone missing. The entire first episode 1 'The Mad Ones' has you finding clues and such to her whereabouts.
    The problem is that there are no hints of grander things to come, and the missing mother is not much of a motivation or lure. You meet with some other high profile people (like George Washington) but there isn't a sense of any conspiracies or happenings to look forward to.
    The character models for the most part are really creepy (wrinkly faces and dead eyes). Voice acting isn't as great as it could be to provide the tone. I feel that this episode lacked a clear direction on giving the player some reason to care about Louis' story. I'll check out Episode 2, but so far this is a pretty forgettable game. I don't recommend it, but I don't regret it too much. The Duchess Emily is sexy.    … Expand
  7. darklord353
    Nov 28, 2018
    9
    Apart from the facial models and animations, the game is just perfect! Intriguing scenario, a very well mixture of RPG elements into adventure genre, always get surprised, etc. A must play!
  8. Saeed9020
    Apr 29, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand 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.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    May 9, 2018
    70
    This mysterious mish-mash doesn't always work but nonetheless has my interest piqued and keeps my ears pricked up for the next bit of juicy gossip. [May 2018, p.94]
  2. 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.
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  3. Shacknews
    Apr 13, 2018
    80
    The Council isn’t a perfect start, but it is quite a wonderful foundation to build upon.
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See all critic reviews »