Affairs of the Court: Choice of Romance - Play as the Consort DLC

Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 387: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆☆☆ (6/10) [i]Affairs of the Court: Play as the Consort [/i]is a fascinating idea that almost works. A political fantasy where you can rise from courtly nobody to royal consort, navigating lies, ambition, and love in equal measure—that’s an ambitious setup. And this DLC, which lets you take on the role of the monarch’s partner, could’ve been the emotional and moral climax of the story. Instead, it reaches too high. It’s not that the DLC is bad. It's not at all; I actually liked Part 2 the best. But it has all the same flaws of the base game: same light worldbuilding, same stat juggling, and the same romantic hollowness that made the base game so frustrating. But underneath that? You can see the authors trying. You can feel the bones of something grand: a tangled web of power, morality, and intimacy. And that’s what makes it so disappointing tbh. It could’ve been magnificent. 🤴[b] Pros:[/b] [list] [*]Fresh perspective. Getting to play as the royal consort does shift the story’s tone. Suddenly, you’re not clawing your way to power: you already have it, and you’re balancing love, survival, and legacy. It’s a clever inversion of the original. [*]Ambitious worldbuilding. The series still has that spark of intrigue, with its mage factions, court politics, and moral dilemmas about loyalty versus personal ambition. You can tell a lot of thought went into its scope. [*]Player freedom. You can be virtuous, power-hungry, or just trying to make it through the week without getting poisoned. The sheer range of possible tones in your playthrough is still impressive. [*] Good price for content. [/list] 👿[b] Cons:[/b] [list] [*]Same flaws, new coat of paint. This DLC doesn’t fix the base game’s core issues: flat characters, tough stats, and shallow relationships. Everything still feels like a stat check wrapped in dialogue. [*]Romance with no pulse. For a game about love and power, it’s shockingly unromantic. The monarch feels less like a lover and more like a plot device who happens to flirt sometimes. There’s no spark, no banter, no chemistry, just obligation. There's also a subplot where you're trying to stop the monarch from sleeping with someone else sooooo yeah. [*]Lack of descriptive depth. You’re at the center of royal intrigue, but the world feels sterile—no vivid imagery, no sense of place. Just dialogue boxes floating in a void of potential. [/list] [hr] If you enjoyed this review, please check out my curator page to find more: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45814768-Verdict-Play-or-Pass/]Verdict: Play or Pass. [/url] Also, please leave a like and visit [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Indie_Gems]IndieGems[/url] and our YouTube channel for more reviews like this one. [/hr]