Elite Status: Platinum Concierge

Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 576: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆☆☆ (6/10) IIIIIIII honestly don't know how to rate [i]Elite Status: Platinum Concierge[/i] (ESPC). For 80% of the game, I was invested! Why does the game only have 10 reviews with a Mixed rating? It's [i]so[/i] underrated! First, it has an incredibly unique premise. Have you ever watched [i]The Devil Wears Prada[/i] (2004), starring the incredible Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Anne Hathaway? Yeah, it's exactly like that with YOU as the assistant. You play as a concierge (basically a problem solver) for the elite elite. But these are not your basic problems! Within the first five pages, you will have to transport an important speaker across town within thirty minutes (I used a helicopter), then deal with the fallout of this important person being [i]dead.[/i] Oh, it's not the death part you have to worry about—it's losing face and appearing unprepared. ESPC has some of the best player reactivity I've read, with flavor text being both dense yet meaningful. Each chapter has a new problem to focus on. The famous Emily Short's writing is witty and downright hilarious. So why the thumbs down? First, the ro…

The best way to describe my experience was complete and utter whiplash. It's like being put in a chair, spun around a hundred times, walking around a room blindly, then repeating again. This was a really odd and out of pocket writing experience from Harris Powell-Smith, because I quite enjoyed Creme de la Creme and Royal Affairs, two pieces of work that felt cohesive at its core. It was hard to follow any plot lines because they were so disjointed, and it felt like a really punishing read, like half the game was cut. I can't say I enjoyed myself x.x

I really wanted to like this game but it was just too difficult for me personally to read. This isn't political but I know people may take it that so please read this knowing it comes from a place of a learning disability and not judgement; one of the characters I had to interact with a lot uses they/them pronouns, again I'm not judging people for this but I absolutely can not follow when characters in written material do this. I have difficulty reading at times, despite my love of text based games, and this is just one of those things that I struggle being able to read, this isn't the first story I've struggled through and it won't be the last but I don't know if I'll revisit it. If you don't struggle with that sort of thing or are actively looking for representation of non-binary characters then what I could follow of the story may appeal to you. Just not for me, I guess? Maybe I'll try to give it another shot someday when I can have someone else play with me and read it for me or if I learn some kind of trick to make it easier to read. I'm aware this is a me problem not necessarily a problem with the game. Again, this is not intended to be political or rude, just serve as …

Having played other games both from Choice Of, and indeed in this genre, I was generally looking forward to this. In terms of the positives, it's a well written game with some interesting characters involved, and most of the scenarios appeared to be fairly realistic in terms of what one might expect of someone in this line of work. It nicely deals with some of the challenges involved in working with such clients and indeed some of the human side of the worlds of power and prestige, such as clients encountering sudden wealth, dealing with nepo babies etc., and most of it manages to do so in a manner which is nuanced and fairly balanced. In terms of the negative, my three main criticisms are around coherency of story, player agency and substance. In terms of coherency of story, there's really not a single thread which I was able to follow in my playthrough. My character bounced between a primary client who I was assigned after the prologue, the general issues of a secondary client and their overbearing parent, and then the general issues facing the Agency, and none of those events seemed to follow in line with my character's role or expertise, or indeed tied together, and the …

love it

I enjoy the work of both listed authors and this is no different. Some really interesting situations and characters! Some routes take a little puzzle solving I suppose you could say, but they are fun if you figure them out.