At last played the thing gotta thank the official guide posted around here because without it I would surely be dying all the time with my poor lad,yes played as a male MC this is a perspective based on that,going through the game with a lass MC thatās hardcore mode knowing ancient Rome.
First off sometimes I was shocked how many times my MC who was of noble Greek background was so ignorant about the last political development of the time,like how could he not known who Gaius Julius Caesar was at the time after he did so much and was Consul in Rome?
He knew how to read and write on Latin plus Greek also was aware about Greek history and past developments like how Pontus was a Greek colony back on the day and despite that his ignore about the politics of the time and the connections between Greece and Rome by the time are astounding.
The game does not show enough your MCās background,people could know about your presumably prestigious family and make a mention of āI knew your fatherā or those traitors that fell from grace,old allies of your Greek noble family you could interact and meet during the adventure.
Even further I think there should be significant differences on the storyline depending of your MCās background including different character meetings and plot progression,like you get a certain quest as a Merchant,other as a noble,the plot should connect more the origins and do more with them.
I absolutely loved the scene when my lad joined the military discussion with Titus Brutus and the other army kiddos surprising them with knowledge that I am not sure all of them possesed,that was brilliant and an example of how much skills could matter if done well,moments like that that leave you satisfied about the execution of the games stats and mechanics are far and few thought.
Also enjoyed the recreation of naumachia (despite the colosseum not being built until after Emperor Vespasian) being able to see such historical event with Caesarās battle between Greeks and Persians well researched and done.
Other things that surprised was the presence of so many women on the fighting scene,as far as I know Gladiatrix(gotta use the modern term just to differentiate) weāre extremely rare,women fighting was scandalous to the Romans.
The game introduced lots of female gladiators for example:the girl you face at the end of the game,your friend Dyonisia or even your lanista Neniras whose presence on the plot is a little over the top like cāmmon we literally have no record of a female lanista thatās even more unlikely than a gladiatrix by itself.
Nenirasā overall cameo on the game is controversial and feels like really pushing history to the limit also kinda deceptive selling the image of something not proven by historical grounds.The role could have worked perfectly with a male lanista and really it wouldnāt feel like this attempt to warp history just for more women appearing on the cast.
It just clashes with the limits of realism and the tag this name is under historical fiction,gotta remember that the first records of women fighting as gladiators was on the reign of Emperor Nero,that during the time of Caesar women fought on the coliseum and even trained gladiators in a ludus?It betrays belief.
Also Dyonisia(the MCās friend) performing so well even slaying opponents on a few scenes was really really unbelievable(as she was a noble woman at the start of the plot her becoming such a good fighter does not cut it),the plot armour the lass had was unbelievable that she remained alive for so long,treated with fairness by the major part of people she met during her slaveryā¦gotta say she had it pretty light so far for the kind of setting and society the Roman Republic was.
I wonder if she was pregnant(if you decided to have sex with her) when she was taken away by the her new dominus perphaps some drama and horrible events might finally come to her there (perphaps losing her child, other sorts of abuses and even her death) leading to more dispair to the MC and a revenge plot our guy would have to hold back cause he lacks the power to do so.
Kinda confusing to introduce even more Brutus and Cato(way to call back to Cato the Elder) to a Roman setting but oh well,could have gone for more obscure gens,specially with Marcus Junius Brutus around stuff will get confusing to readers nevertheless enjoyed the rivalries and the nitpicks of Roman custom here and there,would have liked to see more about that but I guess gladiator politics with Pelops and Krito were enough as there is always the sequel.
Some of the crucial choices on the plot werenāt impactful at all,saving either Taurus or Gisela after giving them so little time on screen was disappointing,even their stories and backgrounds fell short if you donāt let us interact and discover,I choosed Taurus since the beginning and the amount of info game gave about him was pitiful,horribly executed as this choice would carry over to the next book it just came too soon on my opinion(could even do this at the end of the book putting them on the way to MCās āfreedomā,the three deciding their future on a final showdown,for further shock and more development time).
Which was so much for me was when you save Harim back at the coliseum he comes back to your group to thank you and my flipping MC says this(on ancient Rome mind you:āWe should fight together despite language,race or religionā like yeah thatās a good sentiment to have nowadays but giving those thoughts to a person that lived during the Roman Republic on such a sneaky way is also a funny exaggeration,it stuck with me cause thatās the writer fighting a crucial modern battle through historical fiction and everything has its time and place we need to remember that and not be so obvious.
Beyond that game could be worse had good moments but yeah the overall execution of such an interesting concept leaves much to be desired.
