Pendragon Rising

Have you ever read a book and wished the character chose differently, or maybe taken a different path entirely? Are you a fan of reading in general? Then maybe this is for you! It's rather straight forward, you got a written story that you read like a book and ocasionally the "game" will stop and let you chose what happens next. The story will change depending on your choices, this is an idea we have seen a lot of recently, however, since this is a purely text based game it is much easier to make the story REALLY change since you don't need to change any graphics or voice acting. I can't however personally vouche for how much the story changes in this case since I only finished it once - but I did get the distinct feeling that things could have been quite different, especially after reading other peoples experiences with the story. The story itself is interesting and well written, I got the same feeling I used to get when reading fantasy novels as a teenager. Is it worth the price? If you go by the old 1$/€ per hour formula, yes, it's currently 3,99€ as I type this and I got it at sale for less than half that - and I got at least a solid 5 hours of entertainment out of it and an interesting fresh experience. I had ONE problem with Pendragon Rising and I do not know if it's title specific or common to the genre as it's the only text based game on steam that I have tried, but I did not feel like I got a conclusive ending because I did not make the right choices. The game ended on a rather bitter note and I felt like it was basically telling me "Game over, try again" if I wanted the REAL ending. Since I don't know where I went wrong a second attempt would probably mean I took all the same actions as I felt all of them were the ideal ones, and i'd change one or two things only in order to see if I could get a better ending which is by no means a guarantee, this basically means i'd spend hours rereading the same content multiple times trying to fish for the best ending which does not sound like much fun, and using a guide feels kind of pointless as i might as well just read a book in that case. In the end I had to be happy with my lackluster ending and move on. So will I recommend it? Im not sure as im typing this, I would definetely recommend text based games, and Pendragon Rising has a good story - but the issue it has is a big one to me. I will give it a thumbs up, it's good for what it is and it did provide me with an ending, albeit a lackluster one - i'd suggest to look at other text simulators before settling on this one to see if they have the same issue.

A very engaging take on the Arthurian legend that focuses more on King Arthur's ascension to power rather than the tales of him and the Round Table. Pendragon Rising frames the legend by having Arthur (or, should you choose, Arta) be involved in political intrigue in a time of war. Each character you meet is relatable and bears significant weight whether it be in that very moment or in the grand scheme of things. The story presented by Ian Thomas is well-crafted - it's told in such a manner that it does its best to avoid stepping on the toes of Arthurian historians while making it accessible to those who have no prior knowledge of King Arthur or the history of the Britons and the Saxons. Pendragon Rising differs from other "Choice Of..." text-based choose-your-own adventures in that it's more concerned with telling a story rather than asking you, the reader, "what would you do in this situation?" Rather than explore myriad choices and possibilities, Pendragon Rising asks you instead to be the best Arthur/Arta you can be. There are choices to explore and options to be had, but ultimately some choices are better than others. It's similar to a Japanese visual novel in that there are certain events you need to trigger for certain sequences to play out optimally - otherwise you find yourself at a game over screen. Overall, Ian Thomas's story is enjoyable and well worth the price. For those of you interested in text-based games, this is a very good addition to any collection. For those who are not but are looking for a good way to pass the time, I would still recommend Pendragon Rising for those interested in a medieval fantasy setting that incorporates magical elements.

It's interesting enough, plenty of action and weirdness, but it's written like some history textbook. No humor (which I find to be the centerpiece of anything I read, watch, or do, and if it's not funny I automatically like it less). Another problem is that if you die - which I did - you have to start everything again. Also, I'm not sure if your choices have a long-term effect on the outcome. It seems that your choice will only affect what happens immediately afterwards, or maybe the course of one chapter. So basically, whatever you choose has no effect except whether you die. Now, after being a total ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ by starting with only the bad things, let's move to the boring part - the good things: the story was interesting, I liked the villain (sadly, not for her personality - only because she's really cool), the setting was nice (medieval Britain -who doesn't love it?), and my character was someone important, which is a nice change of pace from real life. It's pretty long - It took me 2.7 hours, and as I mentoned, I died. So I probably had, like, half an hour left minimum. I personally think that's a good thing, but you may have your own interpretation.

The second time I played through, "The End" page did not appear to go with the story. It mentioned characters that were not in the story and made no sense.

Update after finishing the game: Can't recommend it enough! This is my first game of its kind. But I'm very familiar with the setting. I've just recently finished watching TV series "Merlin". Twice. So consider me a seasoned (or rather five seasoned) fan of Arthurian saga. Although BBC interpretation is quite far away from canon Arthurian legends, I was definitely aware of that, and I did expect this interpretation to be very different from TV show. I wasn't disappointed! One can argue if it's a good game or not, but it is definitely a very good read, which is already more than you can ask for a price of a cup of coffee. I haven't finished my first playthrough yet, mostly because I enjoy the way it's written and don't want to rush to the end. I already know there will be at least couple more playthroughs as I'm willing to try other choices in some of the key points of story. Definitely recommended for those who are at least somewhat familiar with Arthurian legends. Might be a bit overwhelming at first for those who aren't, as there are quite a few characters thrown at you from the get go, and new characters keep coming in next chapters. Not quite at Game of Thrones rate, but I understand how some people may struggle to process all this information.

Pendragon is a decent game and a very good introdcution into text-based rpg games. The game had me hooked from start to finish, and immersed me into a roller coaster ride of tough choices, interrupted with comical moments. I found that the more I played, the less I looked back on those hard choices made. Despite not ending up on the path to becoming the traditional Arthur, my experience felt richer and equally satisfying. Cons: Wished that there was more development of character relationships, reminiscent of BG I & II. Also, I just wish that the game didn't end so abruptly. I would like to have seen the Pendragon story continue for many sagas covering the whole life of Arthur. 8/10

THIS GAME IS FREAKING AWESOME

Holy crap this game. Book? Visualless Novel? How can I even describe it xD? One thing is certain. I have NEVER enjoyed reading a 'book' this much without getting bored to the bone. It's written nigh perfectly (save for a few things that were off, and some minor text bugs) and captivates one's attention. All in all, I just wish it went on longer a bit. I was curious to see how the story continues. Too bad I gotta start all over again xD.... Do I recommend it? Hell yeah. If it could captivate ME who hates reading text-only books, then it's worth all the money it can get. 9/10! (would give 10 if it weren't for those minor things and if it continued on longer o.o but in my eyes it's far higher than that)