Project Pastorate Reviews

I can be quite short about this game: I like the game, and i agree with many of the things user wrote in their reviews. The game has quite good graphicss ( i mean the art used in the game) the story is also good, good dialogues. Story has a nice progress throughout the game , sofar still playing the game but it starts well from the beginning so i expect some nice dialogues and encounters in the game. Price of the game is okay, and value for money is also very good. My rating would be 85 from 100 for the game, looking forward to see more of this game and possible new games like this one.

Project Pastorate is a game that caught my attention a while back, when devs were showing awesome-looking concept art and unique ideas behind the setting, early in the development. Actually playing it was a bit disappointing, but not because of the art or the fictional world presented in it were below my expectations, but rather because of the gameplay mechanics and the technical side of things. I actually still dig the general setup (a corrupt, totalitarian state governed by a theocratic leader being the last enclave of the humanity after a global disaster) and the early-modern, Easter-European aesthetics. The main characters, who are part of the elite police force known as Devoters, are not exactly what I expected - acting more like dirty cops than religious/political police, which goes even to the extremely foul language and brutal investigation methods they use. The contrast between a cynical veteran in the force and his young, idealistic partner is a very standard trope and could be done in various different setting, but here gets additional spin through the political pressures and devoter's responsibility to protect the good name of the state. In general though, its a crime story more there anything else, at least in the already-available episode. Putting other details aside, I think the story was fine and things like the in-game encyclopedia, full of pompous state propaganda, make the experience pretty atmospheric. Everything else is a bit more problematic - especially the card game combat system, which is somehow both basic and counter-intuitive - it's all about finding hard counters to enemy moves, but more often than not I had to find it by trial and error, dying repeatedly and having to note down the combinations after finding the right responses - and really, none of that process was fun. There's was also just too many fights - two or three could've been a nice addition and add to the immersion, but as they were implemented, they simply distracted from the narrative (I think they're all skippable though). The game also has a slightly clunky UI, which looks mobile-oriented and lacks convenient skip or auto-play options known from Ren'Py VNs. It is still quite an interesting and unique experience and I recommend giving it a chance - and I also hope that the devs will continue this story - even with the questionable gameplay, they've created quite a promising foundation here, one that is definitely worth expanding upon. -------- PS If you're interested in more quality Western VNs, check out [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32980295/]my curator page[/url].

worth the couple bucks. fun little story, paced well. cool art style. really enjoyed being able to change the music (which is great, by the way) to fit the scene. if you enjoy point and click stuff and you are looking for something that doesnt require much effort, this one will give you 1-2 hours of fun. this is no 'myst'.. its pretty much impossible to fail or get stuck. just wish there was more!

If played top to bottom, everything read carefully and every achievement popped - the game will last 3,5-4 hours which is kinda good for the money they're asking for it. We got a "good cop - bad cop" kinda motion here that is set in a very bizarre (but in a good way) post-apocalyptic theocratic orthodox-KGB world. I know it sounds like one crazy mix but somehow it all sticks fine together. I personally also liked sound design, I mean most of all - atmospheric sounds for the backgrounds that you hear while playing. It really submerges you in this unusual setting. So, + Strong story and characters + Good music and sounds + Great intro animation - Seemed a bit on the short side but I skipped most of the battles - Not so sure about the riddles (if they're supposed to be here at all) - More choices would do no harm Final verdict: 7,5-8 out of 10. Nice visual novel. I'm waiting for what happens next with Vinnie and Lenny )

Nice one! Actually, Psy Rob could do just few things better. First is fighting mechanics - card game is a good choice but it feels just a little too random. Second is soundtrack, it is very generic in my opinion, and if you really want to feel the atmosphere I would recommend turning the music off. Imho the atmosphere is truly a highlight of the game! This is fantastic and remind me of good old adventure games I played back in late 90s – early 2K … Dialogues is something worth mentioning as well – you can feel the characters behind the words. Overall PP is enjoyable experience)

I did have some pleasure playing this game. The story is absolutely fantastic, I really loved it! Music and art is ok too. However I had some difficulties trying to figure out how to beat the opponent in a card mini-game. You gotta sit down and write all the moves if you want to succeed. They also have riddles in this game which spill some more light on this particular setting. Although I'm not so sure about not so many choices we have to make during the playthrough, they could've added more diversity there. Overall the game's good, especially the dialogue. If you're after a good plot and true characters, then give it a spin.

I wish there was a middle ground between a thumbs-up and a thumbs-down, but my verdict would lean towards not recommending it at least for now. The story has a lot of potential, and have lots of parallels to the real world, The problem is the presentation could've been a lot better. The game is essentially a visual novel with a turn-based card game combat, yet it's both below par, A compelling narrative still needs an exciting style if not gameplay for it to work. I hope this get addressed in the next episodes if it's still in development.

A tedious and boring game. I give a thumbs up for the very nice hand drawn scenes of the game. That has obviously had a lot of work put into it. A pity that the game mechanics, the story and reliability of the game was not. It's not clear when the next chapter is or if you've even completed it. Riddles, on the second play through, had disappeared. I was even hoping I'd get to the end of this dragging story but I just lost all patience on it. Nothing but hollow and superficial dialogue and fights with a gang, over and over and over again. Nice pictures, shame about the game.

[b]Project Pastorate[/b] is a bit of a wasted potential. I like the art style and the "religious dystopia" setting the devs are aiming for is something I find appealing. The audio fits the scenes perfectly and the writing is mostly fine, with only minor errors here and there. Unfortunatelly, the game suffers from its (supposedly) episodic nature. The characters are quite shallow and even though they do have hints of personalities, they aren't given enough space to properly express themselves and some of their dialogues feel forced (like that time Vinnie talks about his marriage). The story starts off well enough and shows us that there's something much bigger going on in the background, but it doesn't take the time to go deeper, to explore the plot twists and show us more of the world. And then the ending makes it feel like we just barely scratched the surface. That's the problem with episodic games. You just don't get the full experience until all the episodes are out (and it doesn't look like we're getting another episode of Project Pastorate anytime soon). Chances are that if this was a full-fledged game with a deeper, finished story, I'd be writing a positive review right now. There is no real in-game menu to speak of and pressing ESC quits to desktop. This is something I'm personally becoming quite allergic to. Menu screens, please! An option to adjust the text speed would be convenient, too. There are separate sliders for music volume and SFX volume though, which I appreciate. Then there is the combat. Good idea, not-so-good execution. The combat is a minigame where an enemy plays a card, then you have to play the correct card in response. Sometimes, it's intuitive: for example, the enemy plays a "Hostage" card, you play a "Negotiation" card. Other times, you just have to guess what the developer had in mind, like when the enemy plays a "Chain Whip" card and you're supposed to know that the correct answer is "Hold the Line". You can only make one mistake during this minigame, the second mistake means you're dead (note that the minigames can be skipped). Also, I have a problem with some of the features listed on the store page: [b]Lifelike dialogue?[/b] Close, but not quite. [b]Enthralling battle system?[/b] Depends, but the word "enthralling" might be too strong. [b]Unique puzzles?[/b] No. There are four completely irrelevant riddles that you can (but don't have to) solve and that are in no way related to what is going on in the game. [b]Multiple endings depending on your moral choices?[/b] No. The only "choice" you can make is whether you want to be rude or friendly on two occasions. This doesn't affect anything, there are no consequences and no multiple endings. All in all, [b]Project Pastorate[/b] isn't something you should avoid like the plague, but do keep in mind that the game isn't what it seems from the store page, and that there might never be more episodes.

This kinetic visual novel with mystery and thriller by PsyRob features a pair of Devoters Leonard Pinterro and Vinnie Boyd in the fictitious province of Phlox. Phlox is part of a secluded island nation of The League that is ruled by The Pastor. The Devoters are special investigators tasked with investigating serious crimes that might be beyond the abilities of the guards. Amidst the backdrop of a restive mining community, psylos addiction and seemingly unconcerned goverment officials in Phlox, the murder of the Prefect of Phlox at the slums has led Leonard and Vinnie to be called to investigate the murder by the guard. As Leonard and Vinnie investigate the reasons behind the murder, they will battle multiple groups of gangsters and agitated miners, and also befriend Pin, a psylos junkie as an informant. As an episodic visual novel, the first episode of this visual novel features a Velvet book that describes more about the various terms and locations used in the game to provide more immersion into the story. It also has card battles and puzzles that are both optional and can be skipped. In terms of achievements, it requires winning every card battle without skipping and solving 4 different riddles and IQ puzzles. The card battle is difficult at first, as it can be difficult to figure out or to guess an appropriate card to counter an opponent's card initially. Then it becomes repetitive with the same artwork portrait of the same enemies as there are only two types of enemies and they use almost similar cards throughout. Thankfully, the background music during the card battle is sufficiently stirring enough to try and play through all card battles until the Brawler achievement is unlocked. The first episode ends at a major plot twist and an unfinished ending where Leonard and Vinnie make a startling discovery and they decide to take a different approach in their investigation. Although this game only has the first episode for now, I would still recommend this game when it is at discount as the first episode with all achievements can be completed in around a couple of hours and the game has nice artwork. Hope this game will have Steam trading cards and a next episode in future.