While booting up episode two of The Council I was both excited and nervous. Big Bad Wolf Studios absolutely knocked it out of the park with episode one, a review of which you can find here. I had concerns that the studio wouldn’t be able to live up to episode one, but five minutes after starting those fears were completely put to bed.
Not only does episode two “Hide and Seek” live up to the promise of episode one, but it improves upon it. The story continues to get more in depth and more intriguing. The characters continue to grow and be fleshed out as the story progresses. This is all helped by the stellar vulnerability/immunity system that works so well.
I can honestly say that throughout my time with the first two episodes I haven’t noticed a single instance where an NPC acted out of character. They feel like real people, with real agendas and motives.
I don’t want to retread old ground with the mechanics of the game. If you are interested in that then by all means go back and check out the review of episode one, but one thing that has changed a little is the added emphasis on puzzles. There are three puzzles to solve in episode two and as with the rest of the game they have been cleverly designed and executed.
Should you be struggling with any of the puzzles in the game so far I have put together a handy playlist of short videos showing you how to complete each one. It’s located here.
The other reservation I had after episode one was how long we would have to wait in-between episodes. Well so far, so good! Episode two releases almost two months to the day after episode one dropped. This is the timescale I was given by the developers and they nailed it. If they can keep this up for the full season it would be a great credit to the small team putting this together.
The only minor gripe I can find is the lip syncing. The characters mouths don’t even come close to making it look like they are actually talking. Countering that though you have some amazing voice acting which more than makes up for any shortcomings.
As you would expect the story picks up right where you left off in episode one trying to find your mother Sarah de Richet. She has went missing on Lord Mortimer’s private island and it’s up to you to uncover what has happened and find her.
I want to be as vague as possible when it comes to the story. It’s safe to say if you are reading this review that you either played episode one or have an interest in doing so, so I want to be careful not to spoil anything. All I’ll say is that if you liked the first entry like I did, you won’t be disappointed. The feeling that your choices and interactions with characters are having a meaningful outcome on the story is even more prevalent.
In closing this game is so far, 2 of 5 episodes in, a MUST play. I have played a lot of good games so far in 2018 but this is the one that has stood out to me the most. If you have ever played a narrative adventure game and had an ounce of fun, you will love this. Outstanding.
-Craig ✌️