The Eagle’s Heir
Defend Napoleon’s heir in this steampunk alternate history game of political maneuvering, airship adventure, and romantic intrigue! Will you bring liberty to France, or plunge Europe into bloody war?
The Eagle’s Heir is a 200,000 word interactive novel by Amy Griswold and Jo Graham. It’s entirely text-based, without graphics, or sound effects, and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.
Since Napoleon won the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, seventeen years ago, Europe has enjoyed an uneasy peace. While the great empires of Austria, Russia and England have tried to stem the tide of revolution, France has mastered steam power to conquer the air and sea. Now, Napoleon’s health is failing, and France is torn between his legitimate heir, Franz, and his illegitimate son Alexandre.
Luckily, Alexandre has you, his loyal bodyguard and childhood companion, skilled in the arts of the duel and the ballroom, and ready for anything from diplomacy to airship combat!
It’s brother against brother as you choose who will rule France, and how. Will France have a king, an emperor, or become a republic? Can you guide your lifelong friend Alexandre to the throne, and keep not just your prince but his revolutionary ideals alive? Or will you throw your weight behind his half-brother Franz? Will you defeat France’s enemies with the thunder of airship guns or forge a marriage alliance in gaslit ballrooms?
- Play as male, female, genderfluid, or non-binary; gay, straight, or asexual
- Race airships across the English Channel
- Find romance with a journalist or a lady’s maid, or ménage a trois at the Tuileries Palace
- Join a motley crew of actors in the revolutionary cause, or spy on them for your allies
- Duel aristocrats to preserve your and Alexandre’s honor
- Plan a scandalous elopement which sends Europe into an uproar
When swords cross before the throne, who will be the Eagle’s Heir?
Game Discussion
Steam User 0
“The Eagle's Heir” is a game that took me several attempts before I managed to reach the ending without losing interest. It’s a story with fantastic ideas and beautiful writing, but it only ever briefly taps into any of the concepts, relationships and themes.
For example, a few flying races are all you get to see of the interesting steam-powered airships, and similarly, the romances are just as brief. I sparked a romance with Amilia Weiss after only a few conversations, leaving me feeling that we barely knew each other, yet my character had apparently already decided they were meant to be together.
The latter parts of the game felt even more rushed. An important person had no reason to listen to my character at that point, but he did so anyway so that the ending could happen before reaching any sort of natural conclusion.
In summary, “The Eagle's Heir” is a game with a lot of potential, but only some of it was realized. The rest felt rushed and underutilized. That’s not to say the game’s bad, but I’d have preferred a neutral rating over a strictly positive one. (5/10)