Honor Bound
By Harris Powell-Smith
☆ (9/10)
Wake up, babe, another Harris Powell-Smith banger just dropped 
Am I crazy if I say this is as good as Creme de la Crème, the love of my life? It’s wonderful seeing Powell-Smith’s writing improve with each entry, and many of my disappointments with their two previous entries have been fixed. Everything about Honor Bound is refreshing: the older ROs, deep character customization, mature plot, and transparent stats. While I have two minor quibbles, Honor Bound is Powell-Smith’s most complete work to date.
Pros:
Premise. Whenever I see “boarding school,” I let out a sigh. I love boarding school settings; I’m tired of boarding school settings. I’ve been Harry Potter/Percy Jackson/Ren Amamiya (Joker). I’ve used magic or powers. I’ve romanced teenagers (that … sounded better in my head). But pretty much any material around boarding schools has been thoroughly explored. Honor Bound is a slice-of-life that takes place at a boarding school—but flips the perspective entirely. You aren’t a student; you’re an older bodyguard, responsible for keeping students safe (and, thankfully, not romancing them). It’s rare for IF to let you play an older protagonist. Now, you can be in your late 20s, 30s, or even 40s, which immediately changes the tone: this isn’t some whimsy coming-of-age game. No, you’ll be focusing on trauma, duty, and authority.
ROMANCE. OPTIONS. Respectfully, virtually all these ROs are MILFs—or, to be inclusive, PILFs (Parents I’d Like to Fuck). Not to be a fangirl or anything, but the cast is mostly in their 30s or 40s, with some comments about characters’ silver hair. Most IF romance revolves around youth, first love, or explosive feelings. Honor Bound trades that for chemistry built on competence, trust, and shared responsibility—and honestly? It’s hotter. And this might sound silly, but they feel like adults. These romances come with history, restraint, and a sense that everyone involved has already lived a full life before you showed up. Besides age (which, you should be sold already) the ROs are genuinely attractive. There are six, but to keep it short, there’s a widowed parent, or a reserved military officer, or a friendly bodyguard, and even a priest?! Everyone is so unique. This is my favorite cast, I think.
Poly options! No one does poly romance like Powell-Smith—and I’m a strictly monogamous person IRL! But gosh, the poly paths here feel distinctly adult: everyone knows what they want, talks about it openly, and respects boundaries, which makes the whole thing surprisingly compelling. Most importantly, every poly path has sparks between all three of you, not just between you and each partner individually. I got two hands for a reason!
Character customization. Powell-Smith has the most caring and intricate character customization—almost to a fault. The game removes nearly all boundaries and sources of conflict around identity, letting you be exactly who you want to be, with little resistance from the world. There’s a nice little array of body types including broad to soft; you can choose to be religious and practicing, semi-religious, indifferent, or atheist. You can choose a battle scar (literally!) and your background in the military. I was especially impressed with the options for being trans. It’s not just a yes/no choice: there are comments on hormones, voice changes, body surgery, and names. What else? Regarding romance, all the power is in your hands. You can choose when to “lock in” to a relationship, if you want to hug or kiss your partner, if you’re shy or flirty, if you want to break up, and even control the ~spicy~ scenes! 
Do you want to stop before anything happens? Prefer to be in charge—or not? These aren’t big choices that will change the narrative completely; instead, Powell-Smith keeps adding detail after detail that builds up throughout the game. If you want to feel safe or accepted when self-inserting, this is for you.
Stat page. Not to be shallow or anything, but I knew this would be a banger when I opened the stats page. Powell-Smith puts the most love into the appearances, I swear. And I had to scroll to see the bottom of the stat page, upon which I was greeted with MORE pages. First, you have a "Character Dossier"which includes typical character customization: name, pronouns, age, appearance. Secondly, you also have some added spice: your Employer, former and current role, Injury, and Health, and what chapter you’re in (YES GOD). But then, you also have your Traits and Talents. Powell-Smith does my favorite thing and adds both a numerical bar and a description of how high your traits are. Same thing with your Attitudes (personality traits)! So my 91% Dutiful stat reads “You strongly lean towards complying with authority, rules, and regulations, and you gain satisfaction from doing so.” I’m trying to be more concise, so let me just say you have like, 15+ more stat bars regarding your reputation and character relationships. BEST OF ALL: there’s also a Stat Visibility choice, where you can see what choices raise what stats and what is being tested. Did I mention the save system? Yeah, Powell-Smith has the most informational, accessible stats out there.
I’m not done praising the stat system btw. There’s a Stat Guide that gives you paragraphs on your stats. There’s also a Character Guide with everyone’s age, pronouns, appearance, and personality—which is great for forgetful readers like me. There’s also a Character Guide for 15+ side characters and an Animal Guide. Because why the hell not? Lastly, the Setting Guide was a highlight for me. I loved digging into how Honor Bound differs from Powell-Smith’s other games; the universe just keeps getting richer and more ambitious.
Cons:
Confusing ending. First, I should acknowledge how improved the ending twist is compared to past works. In Royal Affairs, I found the ending conflict too obvious, difficult to reconcile with the main plot, and had ridiculously high stakes. The ending is much better here, with lower yet still believable consequences that were not as conspicuous. However, I wonder if wires get crossed somewhere for my playthrough. MAJOR ending spoilers but I sided with Korzha and went with her inside of staying at the school. My assumption was that we would dispose of the chemical by reporting it to the army, then I could go back to the school and explain everything to the cast, who opposed Korzha. However, you’re either with them or against them. As a result, Fiore and Saverel’s relationship with my MC was broken forever. I was a bit surprised with Saverel’s fervent opposite and Fiore having to flee, as well. I didn’t realize the stakes were that high. Additionally, I wish Matia was a bit more present in the epilogue. I was in a poly relationship with Matia/Korzha, but the next time I saw Matia was in the epilogue at the award ceremony? It didn’t feel like we had The Talk™️ .There’s no engagement or marriage plans in this one, surprisingly!
Too many side characters. I mentioned how the Character Guide included all side characters. I appreciate the detail, but in-game, I found it difficult to keep up with who’s who and what everyone’s agenda was. Besides the ROs, there’s 5 students, 7 teachers, 9 townspeople, and 7 political figures. Characters appear briefly, disappear for long stretches, and then reemerge expecting narrative recall. Instead of deepening immersion, this volume sometimes pulled me out of the story as I tried to mentally reorient myself.
Poor Raffi, no one wants a poly relationship with them 
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