We. The Revolution

From the very beginning, the game is very interesting. You can be a fair judge, but sentencing an innocent person to death can help your own political career. This contrast with moral choices is great! Additionally, the artwork in the game is absolutely magnificent.

I was initially very positive on this game. I thought the courtroom mechanics were fun enough. True, it could be deeper, and the "associations" you have to make between the key parts of the indictment can be a bit illogical, but this is the core of the game and it is what kept me coming back to play more. Each individual trial was entertaining, as some defendants are clearly guilty, others clearly innocent, and some more dubious. I preferred to see if I could maneuver to have a just outcome without angering any of the factions too hard. Playing this way made me invested in the cases far more than just seeing whose bar goes up or down and deciding a case solely on those grounds. I also really enjoyed the intrigue system once I actually figured it out. Moving units around to gain more of those valuable influence points, one day at a time, felt satisfying. Plus the individual intrigue subplots I found interesting. Other reviews complain about your choices not affecting the story, but your choices here (and their success or not) do impact how the intrigue actually plays out. Unfortunately, these good aspects completely disappears in Act 3. Instead, the bulk of Act 3's gameplay is a sort of battle system where you prepare a group of soldiers to defend a space. There's many problems here: the game barely explains the benefits of different unit types; it explains nothing about the tactics you employ; it becomes a greater focus than the trials and replaces the intrigue system entirely; and worst of all, it's simply not fun to play. Each battle's outcome feels like it's mostly the result of RNG, which is problematic when even one loss can make the map nearly-impossible to defend. Speaking of RNG, which of the two endings you get is entirely dependent on a luck-based minigame. Even the "good" ending is unsatisfying, while the bad ending feels like a slap in the face. I wouldn't begrudge anyone if they stopped playing during Act 3 and just watched the ending online.

The beginning is very promising. The court simulator, with some politics in the background, trying to make the work-family balance work. However, it all falls victim to several tremendous flaws, of which the greatest is the writing. Calling it mediocre would be a compliment. It is illogical, naive, ruins the atmosphere, and has no sense of logic or continuity. In a game where so much emphasis is put on making choices, the actual choices you make DO NOT MEAN ANYTHING. Everything will be just railroad down the utterly stupid path someone else came up with. The interesting mechanics of persuasion and battle prove to be shallow and deeply flawed after two or three attempts. Later on, it just becomes a chore (thank the gods for the option to auto play the battles, I would uninstall the game much earlier if it was not there). And, lastly, dice. A complete random element with more impact on the story than the player's decision. Seriously?! All in all: avoid, even at a bargain price. It's not worth your time.

I saw some youtube early plays, and never expected such a long and well detailed story. Every time you think you know what happens next the game kicks you in stomach, hard, and in a good way. Unique. Play it.

Others have said it better, but here's my two cents. The court system is really good, and you actually have to think about the evidence, and its meaning in the case. If you get all the connections right, you have an opportunity to sway the jury to the outcome you want with your questions, which may or may not line up with the wants of the various political factions you need to appease to avoid placing your head next in line for the guillotine. Alternatively, you can execute (or set free) literally everyone who enters your courtroom, damn the consequences. It really makes you feel like a Revolutionary Tribunal judge. To bring it all home, the art style is striking and unique, and gives a depth above what you'd expect at a glance. There's a reason nearly every review calls the game beautiful. Are there issues? Yeah. The audio during long cutscenes would consistently glitch every few seconds and make an annoying noise. The writing isn't going to win a Peabody, but it serves the game well enough to keep things moving. Even the sudden twists that other people complain about, and for good reason, didn't really leave me annoyed, moreso just gave me another hidden party to consider while judging, which I hope was the developers' intentions. The third act entirely feels really disjointed from the rest of the game (though admittedly I was invested enough to get really into it anyway). The dice game is completely pointless, though. I genuinely don't understand why it's there, other than maybe to add some randomness and frustration to each playthrough. If you enjoy games that make you put clues together and balance political desires (both your own and other parties'), I highly recommend this game. The political balancing and art style really make it unique and worth playing.