The Eagle's Heir Demo

Steampunk universes are designed to blend modern technology with Victorian design, which means that the worlds in question end up looking fairly complex. On the other hand, it’s not easy to make them look convincing, given the fact that the very concept of steam-powered technology is fairly laughable nowadays, not to mention impractical.

The Eagle's Heir is a text-based adventure game that allows you to play a part in Europe’s destiny and choose who is going to follow Napoleon after he is out of the picture. Just like all the other games published by this developer, there are no graphics and no soundtrack, so the only thing that keeps you engaged is the quality of the story and the choices you have to make along the way.

As mentioned before, the steampunk universe features Napoleon in an alternate history where he managed to win the battle of Waterloo. Your role is to decide who is going to take over the reigns once Napoleon goes away, given the fact that his health is failing. Granted, the continent is already in a state of unrest, so you might just make things worse if you do not pay enough attention.

There’s a lot to customize about your character and his or her history, including sexual orientation and various details regarding certain preferences. Hence, you can pursue a few romantic relationships along the way too, which in turn can affect Europe’s chance at peace. Obviously, the replay value is through the roof, given all the choices that you can make along the way.

The writing is solid and engaging, as it needs to be in order to keep you entertained in the absence of graphics or a soundtrack. It shouldn’t be very difficult to focus on the story if you are an avid reader, but modern gamers might feel a bit odd not being able to follow the events visually. On the other hand, you can always put your own music in the background and create the desired atmosphere.

In the end, The Eagle's Heir achieves its purpose, but you still need to be down with the absence of a visual component. The many possible branches can be a bit confusing sometimes, depending on your patience.