Hunter: The Reckoning — A Time of Monsters

not enough climax, old kindred just forgot its morning already? come on

I'm only giving this a thumbs down not because of the prose (very well done writing), but more-so the plot. I'm a huge fan of Vampire the Masquerade and Werewolf the Apocalypse, where morality, politics, and community walk a tight rope filled with drama and difficult decisions. Which I felt was lacking here. There's unambiguous good and bad guys, and if you try and work with the bad guys.....let's just say that it doesn't offer much more than "you're bad and everything sucks now". Which is fine for the morals and theme of this story, I still respect it. I just found that it wasn't what I wanted to chew on. I missed the stakes and the intrigue. So pick it up if you want to be an extremely disempowered underdog where friendship, trust, and community are key. Otherwise, look for something with a bit more moral ambiguity in its choices.

Hunter: The Reckoning – A Time of Monsters is a text-based adventure game which allows players to create and develop their own Imbued characters (i.e. one character per playthrough) as they strive to fortify themselves against encroaching threats, from bloodthirsty vampires to secretive mages, in the crumbling streets of Metro Vancouver, Canada. Unlike Choice of Games' previous Hunter text-based game that was The Beast of Glenkildove, this game focuses more on the player's interactions between characters, from fellow Imbued to conspiring supernaturals. More specifically, the characters whom you choose to trust or suspect will not only shape how the narrative of your playthrough unfolds, but also determine which Creed you work by and how secure your Safe House may be, up to the climactic ambush from and/or against the vampiric antagonists. As an example, I played as a bold and burly yet discreet Martial Imbued, driven by Envy, whom befriended Wilson Royce, a paranoid ex-soldier whom was disillusioned by his past experiences on the Hunt. As a result, my initial character succeeded in climbing the ranks of the local narcotics gang and, more importantly, bringing Final Death to o…

Good game with interesting story options, nice introduction to the World of Darkness and Hunter the Reckoning.

I enjoyed AToM much more than the previous Hunter: The Reckoning CYOA title. While the story here takes place over a much more rapid time frame than the previous entry, it feels more focused and tense. I originally wanted to complain about how quickly the plot moved and how little time you get to spend developing your character stats and relationships, I ultimately came around on it for two reasons. One is that AToM feels less bloated than its previous entry, where many decisions and even some of the relationships that appeared to be weighty ended up being a binary yes/no with a relevant penalty/bonus. The second is that in the TTRPG this game is based on, hunters are the weakest characters, relying on their Drive and Desperation to give them so much as a sliver of hope against seemingly unstoppable monsters. So while the game has fewer relationships and a faster pace, everything ties into the story well. I would give it a 9/10 only because I do think it could have been a LITTLE longer, or given a little more "free time" during one or two of the interludes to explore multiple NPC relationships simultaneously. Out of all the World of Darkness text adventures, I would say this entry…

Good story, yet again, great writing from Paul Wang.