The Superlatives: Shattered Worlds

Superlative London trades familiar Victorian history for a wonderfully strange solar-system thriller, where Queen Victoria rules an Earth tied to Mars, Venus, and worlds far beyond. As the Arbiter, you are a diplomatic agent sent to keep a precarious interplanetary summit from collapsing, only to become entangled in an assassination attempt, a missing monarch, and an invasion-sized conspiracy. The tone balances political intrigue, pulp adventure, and dry oddball humor, with alien cultures, secret services, and aether-powered technology crowding every crisis. Although it continues The Superlatives: Aetherfall, newcomers can create a fresh protagonist and quickly find their footing.

Choices drive nearly everything in this lengthy interactive novel: you investigate murders, question suspects, negotiate with hostile factions, and decide when force is more useful than tact. Your Arbiter can approach danger as a hard-hitting fighter, a resourceful investigator, or a persuasive peacemaker, using personal skills and unusual aetheric tools such as an invisibility cloak to shape encounters. Decisions influence relationships, political standing, and the outcome of the summit, while the shadowy Divergent Conclave constantly offers support with strings attached. There are no graphics, action sequences, or traditional RPG combat systems; progression comes through branching scenes, character statistics, and the consequences of how you define your hero.

Its greatest strength is the density of its setting: Victorian espionage shares space with Jovian jellyfish people, tiny Mercurians, Martian politics, automata, pirates, and a suspiciously important cat. The writing supports extensive role-playing freedom, including gender identity, sexuality, romance choices, and the option to import a previous character for extra continuity. Multiple allegiances and moral approaches give a 218,000-word campaign real replay value, especially for players who enjoy seeing how different choices alter alliances and endings. Fans of Choice of Games-style fiction, narrative RPGs, and science-fantasy mysteries will find plenty to enjoy, while players seeking visual spectacle or mechanically deep combat should look elsewhere.