Heart of the House — Chase ghosts from the heart of a haunted manor!

I’ve just finished one run of the game and it’s fantastic! There’s a lot of replay value in this title – currently figuring out how to do a golden run (save everybody) since information is so dispersed you’d definitely need to have another run to get everything – so congrats! I really enjoyed this one!

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I have to say- I absolutely adored this game. Probably my favorite one I’ve played this year and definitely lies way up there on my favorite games list.

Two main reasons why this one stands out to me so much:

1.) The ambience- There’s just never a moment in this game where it loses that sense of mystery and otherworldliness, the entire thing positively drips of the occult, of dark secrets lurking around dangerous corners. Everything felt constantly tense and curious, and that feeling of being on the verge of knowing something that almost seems unknowable practically dragged me along. (I mean, I could not put the book down before finishing it. I started it thinking I’d just read the first bits that night but oh, that was a bad idea, I just had to read it all the way through). I mean it helps that I’m already a big sucker for mystery novels but the atmosphere of the characters, the settings (and imagery was absolutely lovely in this book, the tower and thorns and rooms all stuck out to me as feeling real), everything just held it so well.

2.) Remember how I said I love mystery novels? One of my pet peeves that so many books and games just sort of hand-feed you what’s happening, they never let you figure out anything for yourself because the reader could “obviously” never come to the same conclusion as the writer- this one does not do that and that makes me extraordinarily happy. It lets you come to your own conclusions, provides enough information that you’re not waddling around in the dark with no idea what’s happening but also doesn’t outright hand you the answer, and I adore that fact. It’s so much fun to have that feeling of accomplishment when your suspicions prove to be right, or that surprise when they’re wrong, it’s fantastic and makes everything so much more suspenseful and, well, fun.

So, yes, I definitely loved this one. For those two reasons, and more.

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What an excellent book.

I’m not that good at reviews, but it really felt like the author had gone the extra mile to make it a great experience.

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Can someone tell me how to get the romance with Oriana?

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@Aereath The way I did it was: Had a high arcanum, always prioritized visiting Oriana first over Sophia when given the choice, always side with Oriana and agree to help any of her plans. Tell her you find her otherworldlyness appealing when you have the opportunities. When you first get trapped in the house, go to the gardens when you get the chance and help Oriana deal with the ghost at the cliffs (just banish the ghost). . I know that was vague but I’m far enough from playing it now that I don’t remember all the heavy details, but that’s more or less what i did, hope it helps!

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Can someone list the ROs for me? Thank you!

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@Bourbon_neat Dev, Oriana, Sophia, and Loren

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Aw, the Lord isn’t one? DX

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I was wondering that too since there’s an achievement for him. Is that a red herring?

If your referring to the “Master of the House: Open up your heart to Reaves” I’m pretty sure that is referring to Sophia, who is Lady Reaves,

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Ow… That’s too bad. =(

Thanks for the info.

If you are romantically interested in men, the Master of the House will be Lord Bastian Reaves, while if you are interested in women, it will be Lady Sophia Reaves. Both are romancible by the MC.

And I too want to say the romance in this game is one of my favorites! Dev is a treasure, and him being interested in the MC right from the start makes it very difficult to romance someone else, since I don’t wanna break his heart.

But if you don’t romance Dev, he can get together with sweet Loren, which are also very nice

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Thank you for the clarification… I noticed the author refer in the achievement "Open your heart to Reaves " instead of Sophia specifically since the author used the RO’s first name in their achievements so I got confused when someone above didn’t mention the male Reaves. I thought Sophia was the Lord’s daughter or niece. XD

XD Thanks again. I only started even though I bought it on the release day but I do agree that Dev is such a sweetheart. XD

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As someone who has romanced Lord Reaves and Dev so far (about to start my third run and trying out Loren as an RO), imo Dev > Reaves

Spoilers as to why but dang. Dev loves you a lot and his romance scene was top tier

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The lord of the house can be either Sophia or Bastian, actually, which I just found out now. Before that, I thought you guys were talking about Bastian’s mother, lol.

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I haven’t decided who to romance yet but when I first tried the demo, I wasn’t much interested with Dev at first but later on the demo, I grew to like him. I have not met Reaves so I’ll wait before I decide. XD

By the way, it is very tempting to read the blurred paragraph. Why you tempt me so!? :wink:

I actually forgot at what point the demo ends so I can’t comment :)) but he’s looking out to be one of the best romances I’ve experienced in a COG title (at least one that’s been released)

Idk man. It just felt very natural and shippable the whole run :))

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Yes, definitely, Dev is definitely my favorite romance in this game. It doesn’t help that I romances him first because he was such a sweetheart and romancing anyone else hurts because you have to outright reject Dev and ohhh my heart aches each time.

Its why everytime I play the romance with someone else I’ve gotta go back and re-romance him because I am weak and it legitimately makes me feel guilty because of how great he is. The romance just feels very… natural, as was said before, and I think is the best word for it.

That being said, the other romances are 100% worth checking out. The characterization in this game is amazing so definitely worth taking a look at the other options as well.

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Biggest mood at the moment. I could go into why I enjoyed romancing him :)) he’s really A+ material no joke. Honestly, he’s the romantic lead you want in period movies.

Like let me count the ways (don't click unless you want spoilers because REALLY THERE ARE and random caps lock moments because I have a lot of feels for this man)
  • Tall, Dark and Handsome - no explanation needed

  • Intelligent and Learned - no joke, this boy quotes some high brow lit at you for compliments and is mentioned to have had other opportunities but he’d rather stay with you

  • Supportive - if you need him elsewhere, even if he wants to stay, he will go because he trusts you. He’s loyal and is constantly like “okay, what do you need me to do” or “what’s the plan because I got you”

  • Protective - the only time he’ll not do as you say is if you’re in that great a danger because literally this boy will go to hell and back for you and then some

  • Caring - Aside from hauling your MC’s ass after a fainting spell, he’ll make sure they’re comfortable and will even spend the night in your room if you ask him to (nothing happens because hE KNOWS BETTER THAN TO TAKE ADVANTAGE). AND ALSO MIGHT I ADD THERE"S EXPLICIT MENTION OF AFTER CARE AFTER THE DO (which leads me to…)

  • Passionate - I was really like “Mmmm, yes MC. Please keep this man. He knows what’s up and is 110% after your pleasure rather than his” during his sex scene – SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO! Dev will not pressure you into sex as far as I can tell and is happy to take as much as you want to give him. But also in non-sexual terms, he’s really into his books and research and it shows just as much

  • Romantic - Okay so let’s say even if you make your intentions known to him, the dude still wants to properly court you. The only thing stopping you from kissing him early in the game is that he thinks you deserve better than a piss scented alley for that :))

  • Gentlemanly (enough) - Idk where to begin with this one but he’s always polite and courteous but will also have no problems pinning the MC to the wall for a makeout session (though in their private quarters)

AND LASTLY THIS BOY HAS BEEN IN LOVE WITH YOU SINCE FOREVER LIKE DEAR LORD IT’S HARD NOT TO RETURN THE SENTIMENT BECAUSE DEVANAND SIKDAR IS FUCKING FANTASTIC AND I WILL GO TO MY GRAVE SHIPPING THEM LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW

Everyone is interesting yes! Agree 110%!

Which is also why you have to replay the game a lot too. There are so many bits and pieces you can’t pick up in a single run so there’s always something you can go back to :>

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YES it hurts the MC’s wallet! I don’t think the MC is wealthy enough to hire anyone else to work at their business after Dev! :grin:

Sorry I know you meant romancing but I saw an opportunity and just HAD to take it

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