Sovereign Syndicate Reviews

enjoyable rpg. runs on deck perfectly!

Wonderfully crafted world and characters. Even if it is mostly reading, it does it pretty well and kept me interested even in parts I didn't expect to be engaged. Hope to see more in the future!

Normally, when I feel like giving a "mixed" review, I would go for not recommending it with certain caveats, but here, I don't think it's a hard "No". The game does have a fair few flaws, though, both from a presentation standpoint and narrative structure. It doesn't do anything interesting in terms of art style or overall environmental design. The writing is acceptable, even if at times rather uninspired and lacking depth. It isn't straight up bad, by any means. The plot contains some intriguing twists and turns, but ultimately it doesn't deliver a thoroughly satisfying experience. Additionally, the frequent shifts between perspectives can become frustrating, especially if you are not playing in one continuous session. I'm not opposed to the idea, it's a neat gimmick, but I do think it was done way too excessively. Overall, to give you an idea, Sovereign Syndicate is to Disco Elysium what Greedfall is to Dragon Age. It’s a solid shot at the formula with some good foundations. Is it anywhere near as great as its obvious inspiration? Not even close, but just because it’s not as great doesn’t mean it’s not a decent game on its own. You could definitely do worse.

A very fun way to spend 10+ hours - the steampunk setting is charming, the storyline is good, and the switching between character perspectives kept gameplay brisk and fascinating (comparing the various item descriptions between characters was a cute touch). Narrative-heavy CRPGs are relatively few and far between, so comparing this to Disco Elysium - a veritable masterpiece and cornerstone of the genre - feels... unhelpful. Yes, it is clearly taking a lot of cues from DE. Yes, DE is better at most of them. But honestly, if you enjoy a genre, you don't just re-read its seminal text once a year and call it a day - you explore a bunch of different options and see which elements of each work for you. For a narrative-heavy combat-free RPG, you can do way, way worse than this - a complex work with a unique world, solid gameplay and clever writing.

Interesting story, but since there are 3 main characters (3,5) not enough time for their development. Feels like there is plan for a second part.

A cool idea hamstrung by terrible pacing and safe fetch quests. Great worldbuilding, entertaining writing, but neither interesting narrative choice nor challenging gameplay.

good game, Something different, I like the classic rpg's thou where you build up one character, 7/10

A game where I’m supposed to be solving crimes, but all I’m really solving is why my detective keeps making terrible decisions. At this point, I’m more of a self-sabotage enthusiast than a detective. 10/10 would accidentally get framed for murder again.

What a little pearl of a game. Love the artwork, scenes, overall design and the characters. This game definetly scratched an itch ive had for a long time. Thank you

I enjoy the setting to a large extent and the game looks nice and it is refreshing to see a non-combat based RPG but... The game doesn't feel very RPG. The characters feel extremely defined, meaning if you don't like a character, there isn't really a way of getting them to shut up. The 'Hope' meter is super basic and makes even random dialogue choices feel like a massive non-choice, as some choices boil down to 'gain Hope' or 'lose Hope' and 'Hope' is essentially health. The stat system is also weird, as each character has a set of different stats, all of which are purely mental. It is a Non-combat RPG but with each stat being a personality trait, it is easy to forget what dialogue choices to focus on and try to level up. The game feel more akin to a beefed up 'Monkey Island' or something telltale would have made if they ever bothered to innovate. If you want a point-and-click game, it is really good. If you came for a RPG, than I would recommend doing something else.