Nikola Tesla: War of the Currents

Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 611: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (9/10) Wow. I know I say this all the time, but [i]Nikola Tesla: War of the Currents[/i] ("[i]War of the Currents[/i]") truly is an underrated ChoiceScript gem! I wasn't expecting much tbh—(1) it only has 19 reviews on Steam, (2) focuses on science and history, two fields I am notoriously awful in, (3) and is somehow only 225,000 words?! But somehow, it's become one of my favorites. You play as Nikola Tesla's laboratory apprentice, and it's just ... everything. I'm not selling this very well, but when reading, I had an experience similar to Kevin Gold's [i]Choice of Robots.[/i] Yeah, THE [i]Choice of Robots.[/i]. Both games have that same magic where you feel like you’re actually participating in the development of something huge. You’re not just watching history happen: you’re in the lab, experimenting, building prototypes, arguing about ideas, and trying to push technology forward. Just like [i]Robots[/i], [i]War of the Currents[/i] spans your whole life, with the focus on your young adult to adult years. And along the way, you're truly [i]living[/i] in 1886. There are moments where you make a h…

Not being able to romance Tesla is the evilest thing this author could have done.

For a single moment in history, there was the conviction that science could electrify the world in one perfect harmony. That is the beauty of the period known as the War of the Currents, one that had both plenty of ramifications in the collective conscience and not the popularity that you would think. So little is taught about it in schools (I can speak about the Italian side of things, at the very least), in fact, that this videogame has often the cadence of edutainment, and I mean that in the best possible way. Rich with historical facts, precise with its contextualisation, passionate about bringing to life the characters as well as their mentality: War of the Currents is a project born out of passion, you can tell as much as soon as you read its vibrant descriptions. However, you could be easily tricked (I certainly was) into thinking that this premise would make for a pretty railroaded experience. After all, there is always a certain risk that comes with rewriting history and the fates of the characters in it, the kind of risk which an historian seldom takes. That’s why WotC isn’t made by an historian, but by a physicist-turned-writer, videogame writer to be specific. There is …

Enamoured by Tesla, excellent aroace representation. The characterisation is wonderful, I have an attachment to Samuel Clemens and his avuncular vibe. 10/10 would join his bookclub

I didn't expect to get so hooked on this game and at the same time learn a little history.

Rarely are games written with so much love and passion for the subject, and with such high quality. A must-read.