I’ve decided to make this only about the Exceptional Stories of the last 12 months (aka the last 4 Exceptional Seasons), to avoid an unwieldy poll-monster with 23 options (or 24 with Flint). You can still see the results of last year’s poll here; and also those of the very comprehensive poll about all Fate-locked stories by rahv7.
It would probably be best if only people voted who have played at least two thirds of these stories.
None of the past year’s ESes stood out as especially weak to me, so Failbetter is clearly doing something right. After a lot of deliberation I went with The Century Exhibition. All the options in the first half of the story being Airs-based made trying to see every option extremely frustrating, and the second half didn’t feel very cohesive to me. edited by Optimatum on 5/22/2017
There were a lot of fun/cool/creative/emotional stories these past 12 months, so it was tough to choose one I didn’t like. Our Lady of Pyres’s ending really ticked me off, but I just can’t vote for a story that had one of my favorite characters in it (seriously, writers, why wasn’t there an option to scoop up the Sear-Eyed Visionary in my arms and take him home with me? :P )
Finally decided on the Heart, the Devil, and the Zee. I do enjoy smaller-in-scope, character driven stories like this, but the characters need to be interesting. None of these guys were, and helping a trio of unlikable losers sort out their love lives didn’t really resonate with me. Ending the story with having some smug devil gleefully tell me how much I f*cked everything up didn’t help, either :P
That said, even that story just left me feeling kind of "meh," and if that’s the strongest reaction my least-favorite story elicits in me, the writers are definitely doing a LOT right :D edited by Kukapetal on 5/23/2017
As always, I love all of the exceptional stories (Our Lady of Pyres was one of my favorites), but I have to cast my vote for The Clay Man’s Arm. For some reason I can’t quite place it didn’t feel nearly as tight or coherent as the other stories. Still very good, though.[li]
[quote=Robin Alexander]How is the Clay Man’s Arm so unpopular? 0_0
I’d be very curious as to people’s reasons behind that :-S[/quote]
Some people don’t like body-horror (especially since the premise is that this is forced on your character, not chosen by you).
Also, when the story was released, some have expressed displeasure that to unlock the story it launched you into a (relatively) lengthy sequence of mandatory actions before you could stop and come back to it later. (Some players just unlock the monthly story in order to really play it weeks or months later).
This made me realize that I have actually played Fallen London for about a year! Time flies, indeed! As for story, it was coinflip between Five Minutes and Final Curtain. I chose Five Minutes simply because of how forgettable it was. And it was my very first ES! Final Curtain, while having interesting mechanic, felt like it was…rushed? I don’t know, it’s just how I feel when I think about that one.
Same here, though I’m not so much sad as kinda baffled. But then I really liked the Court of Cats too and most players seem to regard that as a weak story, so maybe it’s just me.
ive decided to vote for the century expedition not that i disliked it exactly but because i didn’t find it as strong as the others ive played (everything after were you and i must go is what ive played) but i still enjoyed it.
now not to derail but it feels appropriate to ask weather you and i must go is worth playing?
you see as i mentioned ive played everything that was made after that but it feels bizarre having played the middle and end of that season but not the start the beginning. edited by crazyroosterman on 5/24/2017
[quote=crazyroosterman]now not to derail but it feels appropriate to ask weather you and i must go is worth playing?
you see as i mentioned ive played everything that was made after that but it feels bizarre having played the middle and end of that season but not the start the beginning. edited by crazyroosterman on 5/24/2017[/quote]
I’d recommend it. Even if you don’t enjoy the story you’ll still get the Seasonal story/reward after you finish it.
[quote=crazyroosterman]ive decided to vote for the century expedition not that i disliked it exactly but because i didn’t find it as strong as the others ive played (everything after were you and i must go is what ive played) but i still enjoyed it.
now not to derail but it feels appropriate to ask weather you and i must go is worth playing?
you see as i mentioned ive played everything that was made after that but it feels bizarre having played the middle and end of that season but not the start the beginning. edited by crazyroosterman on 5/24/2017[/quote]
Where You And I Must Go was really strong, in my opinion. Good lore, good story, good writing. Plus, playing it and then doing the season epilogue is probably a really good idea, since a lot of stuff that happens there calls back to that story.
Have to go with Five minutes to Midday, mostly because of the lack of effect if you tell the constables or the devils about the plot. The clay man’s arm is a similar situation for me as well. I’d have liked to experiment more with the arm, but only with willing subjects. Also you can’t outright kill the clayman mad scientist.
Outside of those gripes I still enjoyed those stories. The weakest for me has still got to be the waltz that moved the world.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the body horror element of the Clay Man’s Arm, it was my favorite part. It was the structure of the story that kind of bummed me out a little. Oh, and the choice at the end was amazing! I wanted the arm, but wanted to help my friend, but… and so on. One of the most difficult choices, for me. Only my least favorite by the slimmest of margins. Still an awesome story.[li]
Awwww poor 7 Day Reign. Despite my whining when it came out, I actually thought that story was awesome. Lots of fun and a great villain. Only the ending ruined it for me.
wonders why she loves stories everyone else seems to hate