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Choose Your Own Adventure Retrospective: The Curse of Batterslea Hall by Richard Brightfield

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The Curse of Batterslea Hall  was always my favourite CYOA book – it was also, for reasons I'll get into, one of the more unusual ones. It sparked my later love of adventure games and inspired some of my sketchy early attempts at creative writing (including a thinly veiled recreation on 90s 'edutainment' program Storybook Weaver ). It also deepened my devastation when I returned home one fateful school night to discover my mum had donated my extensive CYOA collection – precious gems tremblingly unearthed from the dusty Mills and Boon-straining shelves of my local Scope – back to charity. Around twenty years later, and I took the obvious next step for a mildly lockdown-crazed 90s kid squinting down the barrel of their thirties: sourced a copy inflated by just four times the original cover price through eBay. But was it worth it, and does it still hold up? Dust off your bootcut jeans and fire up your Walkman – it's adventurin' time, 90s* style... The premise Battersl...
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Bravely Default Game Review: Your Princess is in Another Castle

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This is a gorgeous game with a cast of fun and well-voiced characters (if not somewhat typical for the genre) and stunning music to match; I had high hopes for this title. However, the exasperating 'your princess is in another castle' gameplay pattern that emerges after the first chapter is a serious let-down. I felt slightly hoodwinked into playing on in the conviction that [they couldn't possibly make me do everything again, *again*, right]?! (highlight to view spoiler)

Granted, many of the repeat tasks are optional, but after a certain point the game offers little that's new in terms of gameplay, plot – or even dialogue. Extra quests and activities should enrich the gaming experience, not drain the life out of it. Unless you get a kick out of recycled mega bosses and grind-fests, in which case this could be the game for you.

You are rewarded with some intriguing character revelations, but it all gets a bit lost in the sheer repetition of it all. You might say that the meat of this game is in the tactical battling and character class system (there's also a pretty cool bonus 'buildable village' for unlocking new items). However, I would've preferred these elements in a more well-rounded diet of plot progression and varied content.

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Having said all this, I nevertheless ferreted out every last damn quest, but I'm not sure if that says more about my completionist tendencies or the compulsivity of the game itself.

Verdict: A gorgeous game with great potential, but disappointingly repetitive.

Score: ★★★☆☆

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