I liked the worldbuilding and for most of the scenes it was hilarious. I couldnt hold my laugh when I saw the head of the family bring in his son turned donkey, that too, in a silk chain or when i picked up a choice and got banned from the temple, that was so unexpected and entertaining. It takes some time to get used to the world and its politics as half the time I had to go back to check who’s who. The writing is excellent and never fails to keep its tone light and amused even if there is a dragon throwing rocks at the barrier.
The only thing I am not sure about is the branching routes, are the branches many and varied or will it lead us down the same path. And about the ros, except for yusr, I didnt see much of anyone else though aziza and murad seem suspicious. None of the ros caught my interest for now.
I am in chapter 4 and contemplating whether to buy the game, but how many chapters before it ends? Does the ending feel abrupt and if its a standalone, then its even more important to have full fledged ending and tie up all the loose ending in a way thats satisfyingto read.
I forget how many chapters there are off hand, but for the ending? Has a nice tail after the final climax to tie up loose ends, so no worries about that.
After author’s reply below, thought id better edit this so there isnt any misunderstanding.
6 romance options, if the djinn changes with PC’s gender then:
Lesbian women get 4 (Parveen, Aziza, Yusr, Kholoud)
Gay men get 3 (Murad, Iskander, Khaled)
Straight men get 2 (Aziza, Yusr)
Straight women get 1 (Iskander)
Can you please elaborate who are trans characters?
Wait so Iskander isn’t straight?? I tried many times getting him with a male PC but it doesn’t go anywhere. Any help??
Same as any other RO, really, just spend time with him when you can. I will say he seems to react best to people who can take his sass and dish out sass in return. Also, since he’s working for Parveen, if you have a falling out with her and her faction he tends to not be fond of you.
Am I missing something or do you not get to customize your MC? Also, am I the only one feeling that character descriptions seem lacking?
You get to customize your character’s name, gender, maternal ancestry, values, and motivations. You don’t get to customize your family or upbringing.
I didn’t feel that character descriptions were lacking. I actually remember some details of their appearance and dress after several months, which is unusual for me since I have a very weak visual imagination.
Perhaps it was easy to get lost in the details compared to other fleshed out aspects (such as the extensive and refreshing cultural aspects)
AHHH so that’s why i couldn’t get him with my PC!! I’ve always sided with the magician priestess (sorry i don’t remember her name) and kinda threw the other one under the bus all the time. If you have some tips on what vital choices i should do for Iskander that would be very nice 
How do I romance iskander
I absolutely love the story!! Aaaand maybe any tip on how to romance iskander? i tried pretty hard but he just sort of disappeared into the background in the end.
Here’s what I did to romance Iskander. Not entirely sure which parts are entirely necessary, but this worked for me.
When you get the chance to go see Iskander after getting a djinn, take it. When it asks how you feel about Iskander sleeping with someone else, say you don’t like it and confirm you have feelings for him. Take every opportunity to work with Parveen that you can. When Parveen marches on the palace, help her goad Yusr and have it end in a riot. Don’t try to mediate between the two, Parveen will see that as you betraying her and that will cut off further work with her. The next day, go help spring Iskander from prison, and you should get the opportunity to hang out with him afterwards. This will let you confess how you feel and start a romance with him.
Thanks!
So it’s been a while since a CoG title caught my attention - I usually play more Hosted Games - but I really enjoyed this.
I love non-Western fantasy, and the new perspective on a classic 1001 Nights story was delightful. Additionally, I think it was the right decision to start the story on entering the city. Other writers might have been tempted to start in the MC’s hometown, and build things up with the forging and theft of the sword, but that would’ve just made it harder to gain momentum.
Stat checks didn’t feel too difficult - there were a few I failed, a few I was pleasantly surprised to pass, and nothing that stopped me achieving the ending I wanted. The writer has clearly tried to indicate which choices are testing which stats, and though I still had to pause sometimes to think about it, other times I only hesitated because multiple choices looked fun/interesting. There were enough opportunities to be flexible, and test the waters with different factions/goals before locking into a final decision, so I didn’t feel stuck on the wrong path, but at the same time I can tell there’s tons of content I haven’t seen yet, for replay value.
After looking at the Destinies page, I decided to try and tailor stats towards being a great magician, and hopefully save the dragon as well. But as soon as I was given the djinn, I could not resist immediately setting him free to stir things up. I spent some time with Murad’s plots, and some with Parveen’s (and put her on the throne), and did actually save the dragon (though I wasn’t so invested after finding out her real identity, and half of my effort was just to spite that awful sister). But it turned out my character’s ultimate calling was stealing djinn left, right and centre, and gleefully sending them on their way. Seeing their reactions to freedom was more rewarding than anything else.
I was satisfied with the epilogue overall, and the romantic confession with Khalid was nicely done, but there did seem to be a bit of a loose end with Durreya. My character had left her at a farmhouse with her ‘kidnapped’ friend, headed off to the palace to steal Alaaeldin’s lamp, freed Xiaoyu with no conditions, and…I don’t think there was any mention of what Durreya did, after that? Though I suppose that as long as she didn’t start attacking the city again, it’s fine.
Yusr is a trans woman, and I got the impression Sayyid Yehya is a trans man. There’s also the fact that, depending on the MC, Khalid could be either male or nb, but previously had a feminine identity…but djinn probably see that in a different light than humans anyway, what with the shapeshifting powers.
Personally I thought the ‘whole pronouns thing’ was great, since it has a double purpose of inclusivity while reminding the player that these characters are speaking a language other than English, with its own rules of cultural etiquette.
Thanks! Although I though djinn will be based on MC gender so female, male or nb. You’re saying djinn won’t be female even if MC is female?
I play as female and had djinn as female
I think the djinn will alway be whatever gender you are.
I think one more thing might affect the romance - near the beginning of the next chapter, there’s the choice to: explain the events of the night before to Jaafar, manage things as they happen, or to leave the palace. Don’t choose to leave the palace, at least for me I ended up not being able to visit Iskander (Instead - I supported Murad, and I end up visiting the dragon instead).