Pon Para and the Great Southern Labyrinth Reviews

This was exactly the CYOA game with lovingly-integrated RPG elements that I was craving for, and I now crave future installments. Be sure to check out the author's twitter, they've got a lot of other writing projects that are worth having a look through if you enjoy this one.

I really enjoy the lore and the plot had me on the edge of my seat! One thing bugged me however. In Chapter 10, creatures known as Paredroi are introduced. The text switches between calling them paredroi and paredros. Is it a typo? Is "paradroi" plural while "paredros" single? I can't tell.

Long, lots of choices, lots of world building, lots of characters. Feels a lot like playing the lead in a Joe Abercrombie novel, which is always going to be a good thing. Only one flaw, it's the first in a series, so you'll have to wait for many conclusions, but worth it.

The writing is interesting, so is the setting. It reminds me of Cretan Chronicles. The sections are quite long and interesting to read, at least for the first handful of chapters. After that it becomes very "same-y". Pretty much every decision follows the same formula (which is explained in the status section to be fair). On average there are three choices, all of which lead to the same outcome. It checks 2 different stats, if both stats reach the check value you get a bit of honor and possibly (rarely) a stat-up. If only one matches, there are usually some penalties. If you fail the check you generally get nothing. However where your generic run-of-the-mill CYOA does an ok job of hinting at the stat to be checked, this becomes very obscure when it involves two stats. "You quickly attack!" might require grace and warrior while "you quickly get in front of her" might require resolve and burglary ... Raising stats or "building" a character becomes a complete and utter gamble with 5+10 stats to look after. There is also (as usual with bad books) a complete imbalance between how often a stat is used throughout the game. However there is generally no difference between the choices or even passing apart from honor. So you could read the entire book randomly clicking on choices and will be at the same point at the end of the adventure. You will be a celebrated hero/priest/sage/thief if you clicked the "right" buttons. While the writing is pretty interesting at first, random stuff keeps happening to the main character. A favorite seems to be falling into something. Overall: about 3 times too long for the story. Ineffectual and senseless stats. Main character has no agency, i.e. there are no choices. One of the few choice of game books i wish i hadn't bought, not even to support the interactive fiction scene. Also: random DLC.

It's a better-than-average Choice of Games game, though not one of the best. It's long, which is nice since it means the options you choose play out over a longer period of time. I like that the setting is a fairly unique Greek mythology-inspired fantasy world with quite a bit of lore, many characters, and lots of backstory. This can be difficult to get accustomed to at first but you can pick it up eventually without having to read the codex which I appreciated. My main gripe is that it ends on a cliffhanger, which is to be expected for the first game of a trilogy. Also, you keep getting cock-blocked every time you try to do anything with one of your romance options, which is funny at first but starts to get annoying after the third or fourth time. Melaxu is still bae though.

Without a doubt this is Marquis' best showing yet. The worldbuilding is excellent, Marquis creates a truly alien Iron Age world that remains mysterious and compelling from start to end, and he does this organically without any cliches or infodumps. The characters are deep and well-written, with their own personalities and motivations. For that matter, you get to customize your party characters further! The book itself feels somewhat lengthy, but the action never lets up, and there's very little filler. The game's character generation is innovative and intriguing, with a trifurcation between attributes, professions, and personality. I played a game as an honest, patient, intelligent physician. I played one as a vindictive, treacherous, mighty warrior. Both builds, and many more, can defeat the endgame threat if you know what you're doing. Pon Para is definitely one of the greats of the genre, along with Choice of Rebels, Choice of Magics, and Tin Star. I recommend a purchase, and am looking forward to further games in the series.

Ineffectual. That's how this game makes you feel. It presents a burdensome amount of attributes for you to pursue, and then omits 75% of them during unavoidable skill-checks that offers only a few as options. It also dictates to you constantly, removing your agency over your actions or options. You are captured, disarmed and at the mercy of what the author 'allows' you to do about it. If you want to have a story that molds around the decisions you make and the character that you want to play--avoid this and play one of the literally dozens of superior entries into this genre. If you'd rather be stymied by a story and an author that wants to hamstring your agency and effectiveness at every turn, go ahead and buy this one.

I would not say that this is one of the better CYOAs I have played. Whiles its true that the story is indeed long enough to feel like you actually read something, it just doesnt pull you in. Its filled with ALOT of time wasting things that could have been done alot faster and let you move on to more interesting stuff. Instead id say at least 2/3rds of the game are spent being trapped, watched, hounded and manipulated in such a way that you as the character never really get to make any decisions other than, how to get away / do anything without getting caught, killed, crushed etc etc. Character developer for the MC is pretty involved sort of..... for some reason you get to choose what your outfit looks like, with an incredible amount of options, but you have no idea what your eye color or hair color is. Are you tall short fat skinny? Who knows, but you will have lovely clothes to get ruined over and over again. Character development for the companions is equally off, you get to know alot about what they do and what they are capable of, you even get to choose how they develop some of their skill, but you will get next to no development relationshipwise with them. You only get a somewhat sketchy background history thats casually brought up here and there but never really explained (Id give examples but I hate spoilering) and romance can be attempted but never happens. Everytime you try to get even a moment alone with them the game purposely ruins it. Your not even allowed to get to know them casually, as the game keeps you seperated from both potential partners as a matter of course, only allowing you to interact with them when the actions flying and you want them to do something. As soon as things calm down, your split apart again. For those interested the two love interests are set characters, one male, one female, nothing selectable / choosable about them at all. All in all i think this could have been an excellent game/story if the writer had taken time to allow the MC to get to know themself and those around them better. Even better yet if the MC was not constantly going from being handicapped and forced to do next to nothing but what they were allowed, to being constantly chased and running from the boogie men. To sum it all up there's little choice in this CYOA, and what choice there is doesnt leave the player feeling rewarded or excited. I spent most of the time just wishing i could finally get out of this place, or away from that threat. Buy only if like me you've read pretty much everything available atm and are willing to hope the Next Part turns out better. Avoid if your new to these kind of games, as there are alot better ones to try first.

Pon Para and the Great Southern Labyrinth was one of the games that I was really looking for when I read about its release on the CoG Forum. I love fantasy settings and adventures that take place in elaborately described worlds full of bizarre creatures and deadly enemies. So I bought the game and gave it a try right after the official release. So, did Pon Para live up to my expectations? Yes, yes it did, and eventually it turned out to be way better than I imagined. In many ways. I think this game has rightfully joined the list of my most favorite CoG and HG titles. Cannot wait for the second part! This time you did not have to read the whole text of my review to find out the verdict. So, if this is the only thing you were looking for, then I was happy to help and wish you pleasant gaming. However, if you want more details, I will be more than happy to provide them. [h1]What did I like so much about the game?[/h1] [u][b]First, the world.[/b][/u] There are no pictures in text-based games, as you could have already guessed, so it is very important for the author to describe everything as vividly as possible. After all, why would I be interested in a flat and uninspiring world that has just three trees standing around a stone? Pon Para and the Great Southern Labyrinth has an amazing setting full of wonders that one has never heard about: there is magic, but not simple spells, no. The wizards are called philosophers and their art is Philosophy – the use of golden cogs, threads and liquids that form a world of their own, unreachable for simple mortals. This is a unique concept and I love it! But wait, there is even more! In addition to Philosophy, there are also powers that belong to people of religion. There are various gods that rule different domains and can grant their favor to the most devoted followers. Just make the right sign – but beware foul fraudsters as only people with the right lineage can have this sacred power! Or you will be claimed to be the sign thief, which is the worst kind of crime. And in addition to magic and religion, there are also more common ways of fighting. Ever fancied a good old sword? Or maybe you prefer spears? Or archery is your domain? The world of Pon Para has all of them! [u][b]Second, the story.[/b][/u] You might think that as a huge fan of fantasy and sci-fi I might be already tired of stories about exceptional people that are always destined to save the world. Surprisingly, I am not! What I love about Pon Para is that you do not seem to be the center of the world from the very beginning. You are more of the instrument that was supposed to guide right people to the right places. But when everything turns into chaos, it is you who can eventually save the day. The adventures you and your companions will have to go through are tedious but really interesting. [u][b]Third, the characters.[/b][/u] You will travel along a very peculiar nymph called Melaxu who will be rather cold and snobbish at first – but no wonder as she is one of the true Philosophers. Then you will meet a cunning and charming thief who might steal your heart away. There will also be a mighty warrior who was supposed to become the King, but…but you will read about it on your own. On your way to the capital, you will meet all kinds of creatures, some friendly and some more interested in eating you alive. And cruel enemies will do their best to ruin your chances at winning this battle. I loved all people that I met during my character’s journey: both friends and enemies were fascinating and well-developed. [u][b]The last but not least:[/b][/u] the writing. I am not a big fan of the author’s other work, Tower Behind the Moon, but I definitely like his style. Some parts of description were a bit overwhelming and sometimes paragraphs seemed a bit too long and dry, but I could barely stop reading. Kyle Marquis knows how to create interesting worlds, and, personally, I think that Pon Para is his best work so far. [h1]To sum up[/h1] Pon Para and the Great Southern Labyrinth is a great game and you will most probably love it if you are looking for something more elaborate than a simple love story. It has a lot of amazing features, and I can only wonder how the author will develop them in the future. All in all, I am really happy that I decided to give this game a try – it was so worth it!

Firstly, the game is played in a way that is not unlike Torment: Tides of Numenera, you can deal with various crisis events with means of persuasion, bluff, sneak, cooperation or even research rather than combat. This greatly enriches your gaming experience. Secondly, the length of the story is very satisfactory. You get to enjoy a fulfilling and immersive epic adventure without feeling you don't get your money's worth. Thirdly, the companions are well written and team building are integrated perfectly. Now, cons: Even though Kyle Marquis never failed to amaze us with his world creating ability, the story could use more work. Some of the writing felt rushed and sloppy to me. It would be great if more polish was done before the release of the game. Secondly, you only have two companions on your adventure and they are also the only two romance options in book one of planned trilogy. I realized that the author may want to put more work to make those two believable and likable characters, but what if we just don't like them? We'll have to put up with them for the entire story. We should have more options such as which one to take and more companions rather than a magic user and an assassin, but I guess this could be improved in the sequels. Lastly, I personally don't appreciate getting my feelings played by the author. Namely there is a very likable character who will get killed no matter how hard you try. At first, the author insinuates the importance and the potential for becoming your travel companion of this character, and then just like that he kills that character because "that's how the story goes", this kind of thing is becoming so cliche and infuriating that you wish you would never see it in any rpg games. A good rpg game especially a text-based one needs to make feel you have a choice or at least the illusion of one, otherwise it only serves to anger the players because WE are supposed to the heroes in charge of the story, not some puppets controlled by the whim of the author. Anyway, this is still a good game, but Kyle Marquis could really do a lot better.