So, I've put ~60 hours into this game and still haven't finished the story, a fact which speaks volumes on its own. As NSFW games go, this one blows 99.99% of them out of the water in terms of writing quality, but that actually isn't nearly enough of a compliment, given how low the bar seems to be within the genre. The Last Sovereign is a very thoughtfully written game, and genuinely stands out as some of the best video game storytelling I've ever experienced. Kudos to SierraLee for creating a genuinely interesting setting and lore with compelling characters.
I'm consistently impressed with the subversion and lampooning of all-too common tropes (the Chosen stand out in this regard). Stunningly for an erotic game, it doesn't shy away from, and in fact frequently directly confronts, the moral dilemmas raised by its premise. It's nice to play as a genuinely morally-motivated character who is willing to question himself and his actions. The worldbuilding is excellent, and we're able to learn a lot thanks to having a multicultural cast of characters who, in-universe, have good reasons to be learning about parts of the world. As the player, sometimes you'll have certain assumptions when you first encounter some concept, and those assumptions will later be shown, through organic worldbuilding, to have been wrong.
The characters are generally quite well-written with distinct voices (textually speaking; there's no voice acting) and motivations. There are some weak points (there's one particular relationship that I personally feel progresses oddly with insufficient development) but these can be forgiven in a sea of strong character writing. Attention is paid throughout to the characters' relationships to one another, and not just to the player character.
Erotic content in the game arises as a natural extension of its thoughtful storytelling, worldbuilding, and character writing. In a rare feat, it is extraordinarily well integrated and natural, with the sexual content feeling like a real part of the story, rather than the story being a mere vehicle for sex, or the sex being a mere diversion from the story. I honestly never envisioned this being possible, at least not on the level that it's achieved here. The art is generally quite good, most of the characters receive a fair share of attention, and the erotic writing is as high-quality as the writing is in general. This is what elevates the erotic content to excellence despite a lack of, say, animated sex scenes (which of course would be nice, but it would be just plain greedy to ask for that).
The gameplay is likewise quite good, with a pretty strong combat system that is often challenging but rarely ever feels unfair. There's a strong variety of party options as you progress. My main complaint about the gameplay is that the economic side of things seems to rely on snowballing, which means early mistakes or failures to capitalize can compound pretty punishingly. I sort of want to restart so I can do better, but at the same time, I feel like I should see my current playthrough to the end.
Some random assorted thoughts: "thoughtful" is the best adjective to describe this game's writing. It somehow makes a fantasy world with sex magic feel grounded. I'm kind of amazed that someone with this much talent for writing has channeled that into an erotic game, but I'm not complaining. The character writing is so good that a character relationship which I would normally find to be an instant experience-ruining mega-turnoff, when approached with the thoughtfulness of TLS, actually seems pretty sweet. The game has a pretty interesting take on asexuality. It also has what I can only describe as a pretty consistent pro-atheist bias, though not in a cringey anti-religious way.
SierraLee, absolutely phenomenal work. Seriously, you are a great writer, and this game is an absolute gem. It stands out among NSFW games as the best one I have played. Its merit as a game, and as an artistic project, extends far beyond its masturbatory value. Even without the "NSFW" qualifier, it's an absolutely excellent game. Congratulations on proving that porno games can have real artistic merit.
Thanks for the kind review; I'm glad you've enjoyed the game. ^-^
You aren't the only person to complain about the snowballing element of the calculations, and in fact I agree with you! The upcoming update (version 0.81.x) includes a few tweaks to make this element less punishing. It doesn't entirely remove the positive feedback loop of investment returns, but it does offer some options so that early mistakes don't leave players unable to engage with this element.
Ah, that's great to hear! I've been playing 0.79.3; I see there have been updates since I started playing and will probably switch to a newer version. Anyway, I felt like I had to leave a review because it's clear how much love and attention has been put into this project. At so many points, I've been impressed by how the writing is willing to deconstruct tropes, face moral dilemmas head-on, and refuse to take the easy way out (as I alluded to in my review, my reaction to Robin content would have been very different if it had come quickly and with the easy excuse). The worldbuilding is so cool and I really appreciate how it's explored organically rather than with an exposition dump. I could gush more but I don't want to repeat myself. Great work!
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
So, I've put ~60 hours into this game and still haven't finished the story, a fact which speaks volumes on its own. As NSFW games go, this one blows 99.99% of them out of the water in terms of writing quality, but that actually isn't nearly enough of a compliment, given how low the bar seems to be within the genre. The Last Sovereign is a very thoughtfully written game, and genuinely stands out as some of the best video game storytelling I've ever experienced. Kudos to SierraLee for creating a genuinely interesting setting and lore with compelling characters.
I'm consistently impressed with the subversion and lampooning of all-too common tropes (the Chosen stand out in this regard). Stunningly for an erotic game, it doesn't shy away from, and in fact frequently directly confronts, the moral dilemmas raised by its premise. It's nice to play as a genuinely morally-motivated character who is willing to question himself and his actions. The worldbuilding is excellent, and we're able to learn a lot thanks to having a multicultural cast of characters who, in-universe, have good reasons to be learning about parts of the world. As the player, sometimes you'll have certain assumptions when you first encounter some concept, and those assumptions will later be shown, through organic worldbuilding, to have been wrong.
The characters are generally quite well-written with distinct voices (textually speaking; there's no voice acting) and motivations. There are some weak points (there's one particular relationship that I personally feel progresses oddly with insufficient development) but these can be forgiven in a sea of strong character writing. Attention is paid throughout to the characters' relationships to one another, and not just to the player character.
Erotic content in the game arises as a natural extension of its thoughtful storytelling, worldbuilding, and character writing. In a rare feat, it is extraordinarily well integrated and natural, with the sexual content feeling like a real part of the story, rather than the story being a mere vehicle for sex, or the sex being a mere diversion from the story. I honestly never envisioned this being possible, at least not on the level that it's achieved here. The art is generally quite good, most of the characters receive a fair share of attention, and the erotic writing is as high-quality as the writing is in general. This is what elevates the erotic content to excellence despite a lack of, say, animated sex scenes (which of course would be nice, but it would be just plain greedy to ask for that).
The gameplay is likewise quite good, with a pretty strong combat system that is often challenging but rarely ever feels unfair. There's a strong variety of party options as you progress. My main complaint about the gameplay is that the economic side of things seems to rely on snowballing, which means early mistakes or failures to capitalize can compound pretty punishingly. I sort of want to restart so I can do better, but at the same time, I feel like I should see my current playthrough to the end.
Some random assorted thoughts: "thoughtful" is the best adjective to describe this game's writing. It somehow makes a fantasy world with sex magic feel grounded. I'm kind of amazed that someone with this much talent for writing has channeled that into an erotic game, but I'm not complaining. The character writing is so good that a character relationship which I would normally find to be an instant experience-ruining mega-turnoff, when approached with the thoughtfulness of TLS, actually seems pretty sweet. The game has a pretty interesting take on asexuality. It also has what I can only describe as a pretty consistent pro-atheist bias, though not in a cringey anti-religious way.
SierraLee, absolutely phenomenal work. Seriously, you are a great writer, and this game is an absolute gem. It stands out among NSFW games as the best one I have played. Its merit as a game, and as an artistic project, extends far beyond its masturbatory value. Even without the "NSFW" qualifier, it's an absolutely excellent game. Congratulations on proving that porno games can have real artistic merit.
Thanks for the kind review; I'm glad you've enjoyed the game. ^-^
You aren't the only person to complain about the snowballing element of the calculations, and in fact I agree with you! The upcoming update (version 0.81.x) includes a few tweaks to make this element less punishing. It doesn't entirely remove the positive feedback loop of investment returns, but it does offer some options so that early mistakes don't leave players unable to engage with this element.
Ah, that's great to hear! I've been playing 0.79.3; I see there have been updates since I started playing and will probably switch to a newer version. Anyway, I felt like I had to leave a review because it's clear how much love and attention has been put into this project. At so many points, I've been impressed by how the writing is willing to deconstruct tropes, face moral dilemmas head-on, and refuse to take the easy way out (as I alluded to in my review, my reaction to Robin content would have been very different if it had come quickly and with the easy excuse). The worldbuilding is so cool and I really appreciate how it's explored organically rather than with an exposition dump. I could gush more but I don't want to repeat myself. Great work!