Games of the Monarch's Eye
Choice of Games · 2025 · RPG, Adventure, Interactive Fiction, Choose Your Own Adventure, First-Person
PC
8 user reviews25% · 8
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About Games of the Monarch's Eye
Steel, strategy, sabotage - or forbidden magic? How far will you go to defeat your greatest rival and win glory in the grandest tournament in the entire realm? Will you win back your honor or spark a revolution?Games of the Monarch’s Eye is a Silk Road inspired interactive fantasy novel by Saffron Kuo. It’s entirely text-based, includes hundreds of choices, without graphics or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.After a decade in disgrace, you have returned to your home city of Varze to compete for the title of Monarch’s Eye. In this grand tournament, the bravest Varzians compete in games of Intellect, Heart, and Might. The winner becomes the Monarch’s most trusted guard and advisor, gaining wealth, fame, and honor – everything that you have lost. The only catch? The current Eye - and therefore your main competition - is Casiola, once your childhood friend and now your bitterest rival.But while you were gone, the city has grown volatile. Powerful factions vie for dominance and the guilds’ professional differences now spill over into political rivalries. On one side, the idealist Artisans, rumored to still dabble in the ancient magic of Celestia as they seek perfection in their crafts. On the other, the ambitious and pragmatic Merchants, constantly chasing fame and profit. Caught between them is the Monarch, striving for a peaceful revitalization for Varze - if only it can happen before the city tears itself apart with an all-out revolution. And the Games might make the perfect opportunity for the factions to make their first moves.As you prepare for the Games, you must also navigate this factional strife. How will you forge your path to victory? Will you hone your blades, charm the public with your silver tongue, try to get ahead of your opponents with your careful observation of their strengths and weaknesses, or just cheat your way to the top? Will you dive into politics, currying favor with one faction or the other; or will you try to float aloof above them? Do you dare to seek wisdom in the stars, or from forgotten ancient tomes? Whatever path you take, your old rival is right on your heels - and if you’re not careful, you’ll fall behind and lose your honor once more.
- Play as male, female, or nonbinary; gay, straight, bi, pan, or aromantic.
- Push Varze’s culture towards commerce or craft, peace or war, tradition or modernity.
- Compete in high-stakes tournaments to test your wits, strength, and eloquence!
- Regain your lost honor through a performance of stellar integrity - or deceive, and sabotage every single one of your opponents! And what will you do if you find yourself fighting in the ring against your true love?
- Uncover lost tomes of once-forbidden magic, and reveal the secrets of the stars!
- Romance your brooding childhood friend-turned-rival, a passionate glassworker Artisan, a shy and principled archivist, a charming and showy Merchant - or even the formidable Monarch herself.
- Negotiate peace between the warring factions and return the city to stability, or destroy them both - or fan the flames of revolution and let Varze burn!
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
[h2][i]Games of the Monarch’s Eye[/i] is an interactive novel with a vivid, immersive setting but lacks depth in politics and relationships.[/h2] You play as a former citizen of the city of Varze, having returned after an absence of ten years. What has drawn you back are the Games of the Monarch’s Eye – a series of competitions to become the Monarch’s top dog. There’s just one problem: you competed ten years ago and lost to your childhood friend and rival, who’s the current Eye of the Monarch. Will you be able to defeat them and claim the title? Do you still want to? And how will you deal with the two warring factions of Varze, whose conflict has only grown worse in your absence? [u]A railroaded 6 out of 10 for me.[/u] It’s been a while since I picked up a [i]Choice of Games[/i] adventure, but the premise of this one really intrigued me. I was very immersed at the start; the author has a talent for vivid descriptions of the world they’ve built by invoking all five senses. The city of Varze – and other locations later on – felt incredibly alive. The customization of the MC was extensive; I love it when you can even choose details like a favorite drink! However, everything invol…17 found this helpful
Another below average CoG game... Despite its potential, this game ultimately left me feeling numb. The characters lacked depth and charm, making it hard to connect or care about any of them. The faction war, which should have been interesting, felt superficial and inconsequential...more noise than narrative weight. As for the romance options, I found them entirely unengaging. I skipped the romance paths altogether, not out of oversight, but because none of the ROs sparked even mild interest. What disappointed me most was the absence of any real sense of adventure or tension. The story trudges along a rigid, somewhat predetermined path, offering little room for meaningful choices or surprises. And just when I hoped the finale may redeem the story, the ending arrived...abrupt, unsatisfying, and devoid of emotional payoff.9 found this helpful
A clever sci fi story which is more of a find a right path tale than an rpg. The tale increasingly bogs down in a woke swamp of political correctness.8 found this helpful
fallout 4 ahh dialogue options hyped up because the art for this game actually looked good, rather than the corporate stuff that CoG loves smartest thing in the story is how the demo ends at the perfect time for you to spend your money buy it if you have nothing else to read but dont bother if you have better CoG games this isnt an RO game, even with the option enabled (frankly dont bother) worldbuilding seems cool with interesting stuff that I wish was explored more, but unfortunately is not if you wanna have fun just cheat and pick the weirdest options3 found this helpful
Writing is decent, but it's so shallow that I barely get wet.1 found this helpful
So-so
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