Ambition: A Minuet in Power

I was so excited to play this game and told all my friends about how I'd be playing as a "well-respected 18th century French lady before the revolution" over the weekend, but the game wasn't what I hoped for, and it didn't make up for that in any regard. NOT recommended for: • People who think the art on Steam looks nice. The art doesn't look like this. In fact, that dark-haired character in the banner isn't even in the game! So they're really just lying here. • People who read often and are looking for some decent writing. It's not the worst, and it gets better in chapter 2, but holy moly, it is all telling and no showing. • People who want a dress-up game. You never see your character. There is no mixing and matching of pieces. You're going to buy identical outfits that have the same stats for some reason. And you really should be picking outfits based on stats, instead of based on aesthetics. (After all, you're not gonna be seeing the outfit after you select it in the dressing room.) • People who want to feel transported to a different place and time. Although I am charmed to discover that many of the characters are existing historical figures, I really could not tell, as…

okay, i admit i’ve never played a VN with real mechanisms like this one before, so it feels a bit too… grindy? probably skill issue on my part ‘cause i’d always thought i wouldn’t make a very good socialite and this game basically proved it. like, sheesh, how do people genuinely know the right thing to say or have the energy to butter up insufferable pricks? it took me a couple of playthroughs alone to fully navigate the UI and understand how things worked, mostly because the journal stored very little information even as the game progressed. i ended up having to make mental notes of every crucial intelligence i’d obtained along the way, and unfortunately for me my memory isn’t all that great either. story is decent, but romance is shallow. had to remind myself of my missing fiancé every other in-game week with how forgettable he was. there’s also zero chemistry between him and MC that i started wondering just how the hell they got together in the first place. none of the love interests really attracted me, but since romance is entirely optional (i think?), it didn’t really affect the gameplay. still, since it’s tagged a DATING SIM, my expectations were unmet. …as crazy as this m…

This is a gem of a game that focuses on balancing stats, money, reputation, and fashion. You have to play through multiple times to unlock the conclusion of all the stories. I found the characters interesting and the story delightful. Also rising to become a political power via gossip and choices was a really fun time. You can romance all the characters at once. You can also edit your save file if you're on mac. I recommend playing the way the game was intended first, but the follow up PT's are made a lot easier when you give yourself like 10k livre lol. Even doing that I still have to do another PT in order to side with the crown this time.

Although visual novels do not tend to be my first pick, this game has been quite an interesting surprise. I have to admit that I didn't start to fully enjoy it until my second playthrough, when I understood how it actually worked. The story is well written and the characters are intriguing. They both keep you interested enough to move forward. Depending on the choices you make, you can unravel all the plots, change the fate of the characters and discover all the available endings. There is also a dating aspect to the game, which I do not care much about, but could be an engaging element for some players. The fact that this is based on the French Revolution in the 18th century is the cherry on top. This historical context, along with the political conspiracies, gives this game an additional layer. As the story progresses, you can definitely feel the pressure of the circumstances building up. In addition to all this, the artwork is beautiful. The music is lovely and fitting, and helps create a great atmosphere. It becomes an additional character in the story, as there are hardly any other sound effects, and it never turns into a tedious loop. What I (slightly) disliked is being l…

Such an achingly underrated game! An absolute hidden gem that I wish for others to experience. The gameplay relies heavily on our choices and actions. Throughout, we are in control of everybody's fate. In this game, we have all the power and how to make use of it is completely up to us. The game is very very interesting and there's definitely no dull moment! The storylines are all well-thought-out. Now, this is THE visual novel (for me)!

It seems completely random whether or not you'll do well in conversations or not. Or maybe I don't know how to talk to people. I like that we have so many conversation options, it just feels like none of them really matter. It doesn't really feel like we're making impactful choices for the story.