Long Live the Queen

Overall, Long Live The Queen is a really fun game with endless hours of replay value. It's challenging and can seem initially a bit overwhelming in its vastness but will win you over with its charm and ability to not take things like failure seriously.

Long Live The Queen is an enjoyable visual novel game that provides plenty of replay value thanks to the choices and stat systems. You never know how Elodie’s tale will play out as she could end up killed if you didn’t raise a certain skill enough or end up taking her rightful place on the throne if played your cards right. It can be a little intimidating managing all the stats and those who don’t enjoy reading over gameplay won’t find this to their liking. For visual novel fans though I think you’ll find a lot to like about this one.

The subtle and ambient piano music goes well with each scene and it adds another layer of immersion in the princess’s situation. The fictional world doesn’t leave much of a lasting impression, but the characters, their bonds, and their intertwined fates are compelling, making Long Live The Queen an exceptional choice-based game with a depth of possibilities that makes it far more than just your usual ‘princess maker’ game.

Long Live the Queen is a fun strategy simulator game that adds a fun amount of replayability. It is challenging as a simulator but doesn't feel unforgiving as it gives you plenty of aid in establishing the route you want to go.

It’s cleverly designed, it’s smartly written, and there’s nothing else quite like it out there. It’s a delight to see it make a grand return after nearly 10 years of being confined to PC — and I sincerely hope that at least some of you reading this manage to guide Elodie to something vaguely resembling happiness, because heaven knows I’m still struggling.

If you expect a visual novel with cute guys or girls and lots of romance, Long Live the Queen isn’t it. Don’t be fooled by the title image, as not all is pink and rosy. It is a novel alright, but it is a story that has you making mainly political choices. Elodie has to deal with betrayal, civil wars, assassinations, invasions, and magic… Who knew leading a kingdom could be so difficult? You can’t be a universally loved queen, you will have to make tough choices. Some will hate you, some will think you are doing okay. And all neighbouring countries try to influence you to benefit them. If you like a story where you have to build stats and have trial and error lead you to various endings, this one is for you. This is not an easy game, and if you want to reach all endings, you will have to play the same parts over and over again. There is a skip button, however I do wonder if players will be engaged enough to search for all endings. Make sure you have a notebook handy to jot down the choices you make and save often. That way, if Elodie meets a bad fate, you can still reverse it!

Long Live the Queen seems to have been made for the Switch. Besides the total support to the console touch screen, the gameplay is perfect for people who are rarely at home. However, a warning: Elodie's adventure is strongly based on trial and error and any attention lapse may result in a game over. If you have the patience to spend hours upon hours thinking about the best skill combos, you'll feel right at home shaping the destiny of Nova's future queen.

Overall, Long Live the Queen puts your strategic thinking to the test in a deceptively simple game with many layers. It’s fun and addictive with a great aesthetic, and is highly recommended for fans of point-and-click adventure games with a visual novel slant.

What's my final piece of advice for Long Live the Queen? Shake it off and try again. Is it worth the challenge? Yes. Being successful is gratifying. But having said that, this is a menu game; navigating menus is the core mechanic. There's also plenty of reading that is required, skipping over it makes playing this game almost pointless. The soundtrack is beyond repetitive, nearing an annoyance, but it isn't required to play. Touch controls are fantastic, elevating this to being a great game to sit on the couch and play.

Long Live The Queen is a fascinating game with a compelling narrative that suffers from frustrating systems and mediocre presentation.