The Council Episode One: The Mad Ones

Why you should never take your mother to a party

- Ian Evenden

BEING INVITED to a lavish party on a private island is something that happens to us only rarely. So when it coincides with meeting a buxom duchess, a creepy cardinal, various historical figures from the 18th century, and a lord who may or may not be immortal, the only thing that can possibly spoil it is your own mother.

Given that you start the game having been tied to her by a mad German, it’s clear that you and your mom have adventures together. They’re probably something to do with the secret society she runs. But now she’s gone missing, and you’ve come to the private island party in an attempt to find her.

The Council is a narrative adventure game, a third-person point-and-clicker with way more dialogue than violence, and a neat way with social manipulation. It’s also episodic, this opening installment taking around three hours to play through if you don’t rush, and ending on something of a cliffhanger.