A Study in Steampunk: Choice by Gaslight

Steampunk is far from a new genre in the world of video games, especially since there are classics like Arcanum floating around, or more modern titles like Bioshock. However, the theme is not as common as others, which is why it’s always nice to see a bit of steam every now and again. Even in text-based form, the concepts are still very intriguing and fun to explore.

A Study in Steampunk: Choice by Gaslight is a text-based adventure game with role-playing elements, in which you get to explore a world stuck in an age of steam and magic. The goal is to help your character make choices and pick your own course through the story, as well as tackle every event with the desired attitude. There are no grand ideas at work in the gameplay department, but that’s not the goal in the case of text-based games anyway.

As such, the game world is full of nobles that seem to live forever, as well as various criminals and an Empire that rules over everyone. Your character can learn to use science or magic in order to navigate the dangers ahead, and this choice obviously restricts your ability to use one or the other. However, you can always go back and change everything for your second or third playthrough.

The main character is customized in the beginning through a couple of questions and situations that assess your intentions. Thus, depending on what you choose to do or say, some traits are increased, while others are not. You can also choose things like name, gender and sexual orientation, and there are plenty of romance possibilities along the way, although they are not forced upon you.

The writer has done a good job in terms of atmosphere and the world itself, because you can get a sense of the environments just by reading the text. Most characters are also well-written, although some of them feel more like placeholders. Since there are no graphics to speak of, it’s important to make full use of your imagination, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

In the end, A Study in Steampunk: Choice by Gaslight is about as fun as text-based games can be, at least if you are a fan of the genre. Thus, it’s certainly worth a try if you are looking for new reading material.