A Midsummer Night’s Choice
In this Shakespearean comedy adventure, can forbidden love conquer adorable fairy outlaws?
“A Midsummer Night’s Choice” is a 190,000-word interactive fantasy novel by Kreg Segall, where your choices control the story. It’s entirely text-based–without graphics or sound effects–and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.
“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind”
When your father, the Duke, tries to force you to marry, you’ll leave civilization behind as you flee in disguise, cross-dressed, into the enchanted forest. Mistaken identities, inexplicable bears, and tiny but fearsome fairies await! (Seriously, they wear little walnut shells for helmets, and ride armored baby bunnies into battle.)
Will you fall into the mysterious Faerie Queene’s clutches? Will you (or your identical doppelganger) find true love? Or will your father’s spies find you first?
Hold on to your heart! The course of true love never did run smooth.
- Play as male or female, gay, straight, or bi.
- Inspire the world with your noble deeds, or play everything for laughs.
- Star in a play within a play. (Er, within a game…that you are playing.)
- Become a jester, a diplomat, a knight, a poet, a shepherd–or leave the world behind and join the fairy court.
- Why is there a bear?!
Steam User 23
Sometimes anticipating twists does not ruin your enjoyment. If you are familiar with Midsummer Night's Dream, there isn't anything that will surprise you, but the setting is different enough that you aren't reading an exact translation. It's still a romp in the woods. You've got star-crossed lovers, magical enchantments, and nobles-in-disguise. The faeries read a little more like Artemis Fowl than Shakespeare. There's more tiny wings and petulance than innuedo and bickering. (Your reading of Artemis Fowl may vary.) Of interest, this game only has a Faerie Queen, and no Oberon or Puck. Even so, I enjoyed the game. There's some options for replayability. It's a nice way to spend a few hours.
Steam User 9
I liked this one more on its second play-through than the first. It is well-written and long enough to make it acceptable at its price. The writing is clever and tongue-in-cheek. Another reviewer compared it to Artemis Fowl and I think that's apt. I definitely felt that the major supporting characters each had enough distinquishing personality to make them interesting. The choices that I made seemed to effect the overall story which is something I really like in a CYOA novel. It isn't necessary to be familiar with Midsummer's Night Dream to enjoy it but I think it would definitely help and make a player more appreciative of the style and characters. I would not call this a parody nor a reboot of the play, just a cleverly inspired little game.
Steam User 13
I enjoyed A Midsummer's Night's Choice better than some of the other Choice of Games' selections. The writing is quick and jaunts along, much like the game's narrative. The plot itself wasn't necessarily unique, but it is imitating that sort of starcrossed romantic comedy thing and it didn't bother me. If you're looking for a serious story, you might want to turn away from this one. The characters were endearing and it felt like my choices did make a difference in how the story proceeded. I'd have to play another run through to be more sure of this, but there were definitely a few times my choices didn't go as planned because of how my stats changed.
A lot of the choices and selections don't feel as in depth as something like Choice of Robots, but it did not detract from the story immersion. There were some areas that could have been edited to flow better (redundant word usage was also a bit of an issue in certain places).
Overall, this was a really enjoyable CYOA and I'm looking forward to playing it again! If you're looking for some light-hearted comedy-romance, then this would be a fun game for you!
Steam User 6
From the title, you may expect a CYOA version of "A Midsummer Night's Choice," and while there are clearly strong elements of that play in the work, it's safer to say that this is a tale that relies heavily on Shakespearean comedies in general. This game weaves together mistaken identities, tangled romances, and a bit of fairy glamour to create a reactive story that feels like you're playing through one of the Comedies--it's vibrant and familiar, without feeling derivative.
The focus is on the story and your choices, but there is a light stat system that means success or failure in certain events depends on your previous choices, while not constraining you to having threaded a narrow needle to have a satisfying story (unless you're achievement hunting, that is). There is a lot of freedom to play your role in a multitude of ways, and chances are you will be entertained whatever the result is. I know that I laughed out loud multiple times throughout play, for example when I seduced .
There is also a lot of freedom to explore queer themes through the choice of your character's gender, and the genders of your companions--as well as even how you feel about having spent time presenting as the opposite of your birth gender. It's a surprisingly touching approach without getting heavy-handed.
All in all, if you'd like to spend a couple of hours with a reactive text, I'd say that this is a good choice.
Steam User 4
MOst importantly - it's hilarious. Well, maybe not that hilarious, but it is funny. And in my oinion, humor is the decisive factor in whether a story was good or not.
However, that's not the only good bit. The story was interesting, the characters were fun, the plot was nice, etc. etc.
10/10.
Really, the best one I've read so far. Too bad it's not cheap, because that would make it even better. Also, it's not very long. Yes, I know it says 190k words, but it took me 1:20 hours.
Still, that's one great hour.
Steam User 3
The very best you can do with a textbased game. The story is funny,and sometimes touching depending on the choises.
Steam User 3
3-4 hours to finish only the first playthrough for $3.99 is a pretty good deal! One of the best COG games. If you like their other ones you'll most likely enjoy this one. Well-written and engaging as always.