Just finished playing this game a few times, exploring everything, and I have to say that Citadel really packs a punch.
I know nothing about medicine or surgery, but the gameplay compensates for this nicely through the stat system and forcing me to pay attention to what info is given.
Different playstyles are accommodated–I appreciate that I can be blunt/straightforward without being a jerk, for instance. Booksmarts-type stats are usually my go-tos, but I like that there’s an option for more intuitive roleplays.
Raising stats or getting favorable comments from ROs feels earned. And order to raise stats, something else has to be sacrificed so it there are always stakes of some kind.
On the ROs…oh, the ROs. Every last one of them is interesting. I think that’s only natural in a game where all the characters are interesting, like the patients and their families. This demo is bursting with characterization, and I’m afraid that my MC ultimately turned into a shameless flirt.
(Grey and Sloan, however… Oh my goodness. They are my favorites.)
That’s not all, though!
There’s also an intriguing subplot which concerns Citadel and, more specifically, Dr. Grey. I also enjoyed being able to side with Citadel, find them suspect, or be ambivalent about them, not just with that subplot but also in general.
My only complaint is that the individual chapters feel more like subchapters within the larger chapters of the intro/cases. (But that complaint is more of a nitpick than anything substantial.)
All in all, this is very awesome demo. The gameplay presents a challenge and so do the stats, and I love the characters–your characters are so, so excellent.
