Who'd have thought modern story and Greek mythology would mix so well?
Euryale's Gambit's short review
Developer: Deepglugs
Genre: Visual Novel
Store: Steam, Itch.io, SpicyGaming
Reviewed version: 1.0
Censored: No
Patch Needed: No
OS: Windows, Linux
Language: English
Euryale's Gambit is a 3DVN that instantly caught my curiosity because it's the first visual novel that uses AI-generated assets, plus I always liked anything related to Greek Mythology. All I can say after playing it is that the game is quite an experience.
It puts you in the shoes of the titular character, a succubus from ancient times who gets sent to pre-civil war America to stop slavery so "she"'ll be safe. However, the conflict is much bigger than it looks, and she'll have to make allies and fight against other supernatural entities to prevail.
The way the story is told is a bit confusing. It frequently jumps from the current timeline to events that happened to other characters days, weeks, or a few instants ago. That said, it's hard not to get invested in the story once you get used to its quirks. The stakes keep increasing as the plot progresses and the protagonist and the side characters get a lot of character development.
Moreover, there are loads of different endings, most of them bad ones. For example, a bad decision can lead to Euryale getting killed, her getting captured and "reeducated" by the big bad, or becoming the antagonist's newest fashionable decoration, to name a few. Talking about the endings, I hope you like cliffhangers because the story ends with a massive one.
As for the game’s graphics, I have mixed feelings about them. The characters look fantastic save for Spoons' odd and inconsistent design, and the sex scenes are top-notch. However, the backgrounds feel lifeless and empty, as if the characters suddenly walked into a ghost town. On another note, there was no soundtrack in the entire game save for a few scenes whose orchestral track heightened their impact. The voice acting is a mixed bag. On the one hand, the partial voice acting of the secondary cast was on point, but, on the other hand, Euryale's AI-generated voice felt so off it was distracting. I ended up turning it off after a while
Verdict: Enjoyable
Euryale's Gambit is a bit rough around the edges, but you can't help but enjoy it once you get used to its quirks. Whether to get it now or wait for its sequel depends on how much you can stand cliffhangers. If you don't mind getting blue-balled at the end of the game, then go for it!