I would be very disappointed if they did this, just as if they made it possible to seduce a canon aro-ace character or turn a gay character straight. One thing I love about CoG/HC is that identities are respected. I don’t ever want that to change.
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Well people change overtime you know-as the relationship becomes older perphaps the desire to spice things up comes to mind-(on their sexual desires too)? I would be absolutely delighted if they went with this, guess it is one reader’s opinion against another 
.
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I betaed the game so I may be biased, but I really like it. I think it handles the poly/monogamous choice well. Imo it doesn’t feel forced on you. I bought it and ran through a monogamous Julian route last night. It was as good as I remembered. His route is spicy if you choose that, but it can be sweet as well. I enjoyed it. And I think it’s worth a couple playthroughs to see all the different RO routes. I like the little acknowledgements too. Overall, I think it’s a good game with a lot going on.
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Just wondering before I download, are there any male ROs who are single at the start of the game?
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Probably not in the sense you mean, although Julian and Javier come across more as friends with benefits than a committed couple.
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I feel like this depends on how you define it, honestly. Galen is not. Julian and Javier are people who have casual relationships with multiple people, but I don’t know if you’d say they’re officially committed to anyone at the start of the game. (I think some things also shifted during beta, so I don’t want to say anything definitive if I might be remembering wrong.) You can romance them monogamously.
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Hmm, okay. I guess I’ll have to see how that plays out 
EDIT: I am only allowed one reply (??) so this is to Abbytrevor:
I’m glad I can romance either one both monogamously!! Thanks so much for your insight. Still not sure if I should try this one, but it’s been on my wish list for a while and the art is so pretty 
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I played the first few demo chapters to try out before buying the rest and the demo felt representative; if the tone and characters appeal, you’ll most likely enjoy the rest 
Edit: a couple of other things I liked about it were that I formed a real friendship with one of the romance options (while romancing other people) which I didn’t expect. And it was nicely paced. It wasn’t a doorstopper-novel length but it didn’t have to be (and right now it’s far too hot weather for me to have the brain to play one anyway 
) and was solidly substantial.
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I have completed a Queen Edenia session, and I never felt any of the characters were closed off to developing a multifaceted relationship with.
I developed a friendship with Javier as well as Julian, and the friendships felt “real” and not just pandering to the reader.
I thoroughly enjoy Leia’s story telling and look forward to trying a Princess Lissa session some time in the future.
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This one came out of blue for me, but I loved it. Great writing, very evocative. All ROs are well-developed, with very disctinct personalities. Romance get as sweet or steamy as you want.
Threesomes with Edenia and Galen were so hot 
:
I liked how a lot of scenes were very natural in the game’s flow.
Like the one, when you can help Lissa do deal with her stress during her campaign planning 
I got Edenia+Galen ending and was very happy about it.
But the plot besides the romance is very interesting as well. Sometimes it really felt like some erotic thriller from 80s, where you have to navigate your way between romance and political intrigue, both deadly. But it also had a very positive message at it’s heart, you are a soldier, but you are trying to build a bridges instead of burning them, At least I did everyting to get a peaceful resolution for everyone. Exept for that one time I used a grenade against corrupt guards 
If I would have a bit of constructive critisism, it would be that King in his portrayal is a bit, don’t know. Dense? Game tries to present him as a decent person who kinda fails to see the situation due to his bias. But if I can see his point of view with Fae, but hiring thugs to terrorise commonfolk without doing anything else to fix the probles is just a terrible thing to do. It’s somewhat explained that he felt pressed by Fae, so he choose the path of the lest resistance with just supressing people with mercs. But still it feels like unnecessary cruel move to me. He also was descriibed as friendly with Geoffa, who’s just a goon. But when I presented him with treaty and the plans to fix all this situation, he was like “okay, done, more wine please” So, more like dense than villainish 
I also loved some small details, like the fact you actually change your horses each time! In a lot of stories you just have one horse, but it’s not realistic, horses need their rest too.
Also I kinda low-key wish Bera would be a RO 
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I don’t know what I did wrong! 
There’s plenty, reportedly, I just never got any!
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I can say from firsthand experience that it is possible to have had a full, explicitly written sexual experience with any of the five ROs by the end of Chapter 5.
There’s a part of me that’s weirdly glad some readers have accidentally played the game “sweet.” I remember really enjoying the non-sexual interactions and hoping people wouldn’t just bypass them and go right for the steamy scenes. I’ve had the most fun when I balanced conversations and sexy times with my love interest, because it’s all good!
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I intend to play sweet! I’m ace/aro so sweet romance is my thang but if it feels “right” for intimacy we’ll go in that direction, too xD
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It never felt like the right time. Most of the story I was either supposed to be doing my job, or was completely exhausted, or was alone (or not alone) with someone I barely knew.
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I was really looking forward to reading this one, ever since I saw the beta announcement. Fantasy, political intrigues, Fae and all that with spicy romance? Yes please and thank you! The cover art is gorgeous too. However after going through the comments I’m a little bit confused and unsure if this is a story for me after all (preexisting relationships are typically not my cup of tea). Could someone please clarify if I understand the situation with Galen romance correctly - there is no monogamous relationship option?
Edit:
Oh I see, thank you for answer 
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I can definitely understand that. My first playthrough, I didn’t do anything sexy with Galen until the epilogue. I definitely couldn’t help wishing the game were longer, with more time for relationships to develop organically. It helps if you can get yourself into the hedonistic mindset of the characters - even monogamous Lissa talks about wanting to experience a variety of lovers before she finds The One.
I’m demi, and my first playthrough when beta testing is always a self-insert, partly so I can see what it’s like being asexual in the world of the game. I wasn’t going to insist a three-pepper HC game accommodate me in that regard, so I was pleasantly surprised how well it did, and that there are wonderful non-sexual alternatives available at every point, and they’re written with as much tenderness and care as the sex scenes.
You do misunderstand. Galen is in a relationship with Edenia when the game starts, but they’ve never been monogamous, and if you tell Galen you want him all to yourself, he’s happy to end the sexual aspect of his relationship with Edenia. So yes, it is possible to be monogamous with Galen.
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I think the best thing for anyone who’s wondering about how the romance options are treated is to try out the demo. There are several polyamorous options. There are also several monogamous options. The characters in this game have relationships with each other that aren’t easily summarized without context, and I think the way this game treats the polyamorous relationships is going to be different than the way you’ve seen them in other games. And you can discuss these things with the characters in the game. So I really do recommend just trying it out if you’re not certain you’d like it.
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Ok I might be dumb. I purchased it on steam, but when I try to restore it to the cog’s app to play it on mobile phone it doesn’t appear. 
You already restored it from Steam to your CoG account?
Just finished this. Probably my favorite hc so far. I also thought it was the perfect length, immaculately paced.
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