Burning Bridges is the fourth episode released for The Council and it continues the narrative adventure of Louis De Richet on the private island of Lord Mortimer. Much has taken place since the story’s onset as Louis has finally discovered the whereabouts of his mother on the island and why she has remained hidden this entire time.
Upon learning the truth of your mother’s mission on the island, you set off to aid her and solve the puzzle of locating and identifying the Holy Lance of Longinus, the spear that was used to pierce the side of Jesus of Nazareth when he was crucified. This puzzle was very interesting as there were several spears scattered throughout the area with various characteristics. You are able to utilize clues discovered through the art on the walls, ancient texts, statues, and having conversations with guests to uncover additional details that would assist in selecting which lance is the correct one. The player is given total control over the situation as you are able to spend as little, or as much, time discovering clues on the island before deciding which lance to acquire. Your mother highlights the importance of selecting the correct one as it will have an immense impact in the near future, but unfortunately we will have to wait until the next episode to discover if the lance we selected is the Holy Lance of Longinus.
The second quest featured within Burning Bridges is a long discussion with Lord Mortimer who details information to you that will alter the entire perspective at hands. Secrets are revealed that only a select few know of and the fears outlined by your mother come to pass. Lord Mortimer also reveals to you a new special ability where you are able to utilize mind control and uncover what guests are thinking about when you are asking questions. This is very helpful when trying to uncover new vulnerabilities within quests when posing questions to acquire the information needed to pursue new options. However, tensions rise with the knowledge of Lord Mortimer’s secrets and certain guests may leave the island depending on how your conversations with them go. As the episode is called, you will have to ultimately decide which bridge to burn as you are presented with backing Lord Mortimer or Sir Gregory as the final resumption of the conference is about to take place where everyone will have to vote, which will ultimately decide the future of many nations.
There continues to be the same technical issues that we have encountered in previous episodes that deal with no lip movement when characters are talking, which dealt primarily with Louis and Lord Mortimer in this episode. While only momentary, it still presents a drawback as the same technical issues occur four episodes into the story of The Council.
The three quests featured within this episode offered an engaging experience to continue the narrative journey of Louis. The final episode is all that remains and looks promising in delivering a conclusion that will have players shocked at the outcome. The fifth and final episode will begin with the remaining guests attending the final resumption of the conference and there is no doubt that new secrets will be revealed and friendships will be shattered.
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[A copy of the game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
