Hunter: The Reckoning — The Beast of Glenkildove

The Beast of Glenkildove is... a difficult game to recommend. It's got some interesting ideas in it, and it does scratch the particular itch to which Hunter: The Reckoning caters to some extent, but it's a pretty flawed experience marred by poor pacing, weak characters, and generally frustrating game design. Much like other Choice of Games titles, The Beast of Glenkildove is an entirely text-based role-playing game, this time written by William Brown. The story follows a group of friends in Ireland who are exposed to the World of Darkness' supernatural forces at a young age when a tragic encounter with a werewolf costs two of their lives. After spending years fragmented, each struggling to build a life for themselves after the traumatic ordeal, an unexpected call from one of those friends, long presumed dead, pulls you back to Ireland and ultimately into the World of Darkness itself. It's a decent concept and setup, but the execution leaves a little to be desired. For one thing, the prologue where you role-play your way through your teenage stints in Ireland overstays its welcome quite a while. I understand that it's necessary to establish both your character's skillset and relat…

Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 621: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (9/10) I am very, [i]very[/i] impressed with [i]Hunter: The Reckoning — The Beast of Glenkildove[/i] ([i]“Beast”[/i]). William Brown must have some academic background, because the game is just … quietly confident with its haunting atmosphere, bleak choices, broad freedom, and overall prose. I don’t even know where to start with this review, but I will always endeavor to do my best. Thank you to the staff! I try to get into the nitty-gritty and summarize the pros and cons of a work in the first part of my reviews. But with [i]Beast[/i], that kind of list almost feels beside the point. My biggest takeaway is the narrative as a whole. Sure, there are things I didn’t love—the frequent hard stat checks, some choices feeling more rigid than they should—but those feel small compared to what the game is doing overall. I wasn’t just making decisions based on strategy or outcomes; I was making them based on what I was willing to believe. And once you commit to a view, it’s hard to shake it, even when the game nudges you otherwise. I found myself reflecting on what type of person [i]I[/i] am. How far can I…

It was a fun read but the end felt very rushed, without spoiling the story I'll just say what we went there to do simply never happened. No explanation, no final showdown, just nothing.

4 hours in and it's already clear this one is special. It's written well and has all sorts of hints towards the wider World of Darkness that has me guessing just what kind of monsters we're dealing with. Top tier stuff.

This text-based RPG is able to deliver a wealth of choice to really shape a supernatural adventure that feels your own with intriguing options to explore, creatively building on some great Irish mythology with a bit of IT flavour. This plays with lots of World of Darkness elements in interesting ways that either provides a neat intro to the universe, or should excite fans who know about its different settings.

Great mystery/hunt set in the World of Darkness, mostly within rural Ireland. Mostly Hunter the Reckoning but there are many World of Darkness elements scattered throughout. Some good story options and a great example of how people view creatures/events differently.