Royal Affairs
By Harris Powell-Smith
☆☆☆ (7/10)
I can’t help but feel a tad disappointed after finishing Royal Affairs, Harris Powell-Smith’s fourth work published and third in the Crème de la Crème ("CdlC”) universe. I honestly couldn’t say why. It’s technically sound as CdlC with a lot of branching, and the cast of ROs are plentiful and more fleshed-out. There’s also an addition of your royal family, consisting of your mother, the Queen, your older princess, the Heir, and your younger brother. The new political addition to the school slice-of-life is light enough to be enjoyable instead of preachy. But I didn’t love Royal Affairs as much as I thought I would. I think it was because (a) Powell-Smith had to develop two plots in conjunction, which weakened the school setting, and (b) there wasn’t enough time to get attached to the cast. I also has some problems with my chosen RO (Javi) and their romance.
Pros:
Cast. Powell-Smith has included another large ensemble cast, and from the limited amount of time I had with them, I really enjoyed them. Asher is your bodyguard and is the classic golden retriever, childhood best friend. Beaumont respects you but will not kiss your ass. Dominique is a bit harder to pin down, but they’re a warm, mystical type. Trevelyan is the fiery revolutionary. Hyacinthe is a shy yet talented dancer (who reminds me of Olivia from Fire Emblem: Awakening, actually). Javi is your arranged political marriage and remind me of a yowling cat. I honestly wished to romance everyone; romance is clearly Powell-Smith’s strongest point. They’re all charismatic in their own ways.
Family. I adored the addition of the Royal Family. I had a good relationship with my mother, and she struck a good balance between a shrewd politician and loving mother. Your older sister is sweet, if not a bit skittish, and your younger is just a delight. He worships the ground you walk on and is a brave boy. Having a family fleshes out the main character besides them being a blank slate. It’s nice to come back from school drama or political tension and have people who clearly care about you, not just your reputation or usefulness.
Setting/worldbuilding. One of my critiques about CdlC is that we didn’t get much worldbuilding. I knew we lived in an vaguely English aristocracy with little religion but that was about it. I didn’t find it necessary to explore more lore, but it would have been nice to. Well, Powell-Smith has created a lovely Setting Guide and taken the reader to three different nations: Zaledo, Jezhan, and Teran. Each nation has its own culture with different ruling styles. And each nation also has their eyes on your fragile Westerlin. I especially enjoyed learning more about things like differing religious attitudes and normalized polyamorous relationships. It made the setting feel lived-in rather than just a backdrop for school drama.
Mixed:
Much easier difficulty than CdlC. It’s funny, you’re balancing many more stat bars in Royal Affairs, yet the game feels much easier. I didn’t have to do anything (or, at least it seemed like that), but I had high popularity with the students, my friends, and the public. I chose to study twice in my free time and breezed to an A. This effect is also prominent in the narrative, as well. Since you’re royalty, everyone is kissing your ass. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun—I like a power fantasy as much as the next guy—but I think it made Royal Affairs have less stakes than CdlC. Where CdlC thrived on social friction, trade-offs, and the anxiety of choosing what to prioritize, Royal Affairs often smooths those edges away. The result is a story that’s pleasant and empowering but lighter on stakes. Being royalty is thematically appropriate, sure—but it also means fewer moments of uncertainty, fewer hard choices, and less of that “oh no, did I mess up?” energy that made CdlC so engaging to me. Still, I know some wished CdlC was less difficult, and the easier difficulty can be fun.
Cons:
Not enough time with cast. This might be a strange con—how can I love the cast if I haven’t spend enough time with them? Well, their introductions are so strong that I could clearly see the arcs, chemistry, and potential relationships taking shape. There were many scenes where you could spend time with them. Except . . . when presented with a free time interlude, you only could pick one person to spend time with. In theory, that makes sense. Time is limited. Choices should have consequences. In practice, it bottlenecks character development and romance. To initiate a romance, you need repeated one-on-one time, which effectively means committing early and hard. I chose Javi, and that choice quietly locked me out of exploring anyone else. Dominique’s triad route does exist, but there’s no real signposting that it’s an option, so I missed it entirely because I didn’t want to miss out on Javi’s scenes. I wish there were two options per choice instead and more focus on the characters. At the end of the game, half of the cast just … vanished for me. I didn’t feel as connected to Dominique and Beaumont as I did with Freddie or Max in CdlC.
Is almost too similar to CdlC. The calendar at Archambault Academy is pretty much the same as Gallatin, with engagement season at the end. This was fun, I loved it! However, there’s also a two rival professors subplot. This was also done in CdlC and better, as you could set up the teachers. Lastly, the ending plot twist is incredibly obvious, with even characters in-game commenting on how it already happened. The Fabien kidnapping Trevelyan subplot was incredibly unnecessary.
Stat checks too opaque. I encountered this problem in Fool!, as well. Your Powers of Persuasion (Eloquence/Authoritative/Appealing/Cunning/Entertaining) stat checks are usually pretty clear. But I wasn’t a fan of the Action Skills (Planner/Improviser, Forceful/Subtle, Calm/Passionate, Ruthless/Soft-Hearted) tests, as well. To me, the Action Skills should be more flavor text. But I was playing as a Subtle and Calm princess and choosing excited reactions, like clapping loudly, got me some strange looks. It made the results feel inconsistent and constrained.
Javi romance. Initially, I was hyped for a slow burn push-and-pull, enemies-to-lovers romance with Javi. However, I was disappointed when the romance scenes were surprisingly chaste. I could kiss them on the cheek or hug them, but that was shockingly it. Even when getting married, we exchanged “I love you’s” once, and I still could not kiss them. After finishing the game, I learned via the forums that Powell-Smith intended Javi as “asexual and does not do kissing or sex with the MC.” To my knowledge, Javi has one or two lines about something that’s potentially quite the deal breaker for some people. Being aseuxal has such a broad meaning, as well; there should have been a big conversation about their preferences. When reading, I felt like the romance was incomplete and oddly evasive. I felt cheated out of a fairy tale, political romance, actually, ngl. To me, a real romance has to include some physical or emotional intimacy. Big gestures, little touches, desire, a connection. But for Javi, there was no kisses, no passion, no emotional heat—nothing that makes a romance feel like a romance. I would point readers looking for a traditional romance to look at the other cast, instead.