Erda Cluster Tales
Far From Center

Erda Cluster Tales Far From Center was a very engaging story with decisions that felt meaningful and kept me curious about how the story would continue. I especially liked that I was not always sure whether my choice would succeed or lead to a failure, which made the decisions feel more impactful.

The pacing felt very natural and fast-paced, while still giving me enough time to understand the situation without the story ever becoming boring. The tension was also strengthened by the choices, especially with decisions about Nova’s safety.

It felt very rewarding reaching a good ending and breaking the cycle.

I have to say, I was surprised how much I enjoyed this one. I saw the cover and didn’t expect much but the decisions made sense, had tangible changes to the story and the sound effects and voice acting were great.

The only nitpick I would have is that the reading of the descriptions around the dialogue was sometimes a bit too monotone and it almost seemed like an AI. But the Dialogue voice acting was so good that it overshadows that for me!

I am happy with the ending I got and im gonna see which ones I could have gotten with different decisions!

The beginning sets you almost right into action of an investigation, setting up the pace for the rest of the story. I liked curating Nova’s case and growing to know not only hers, but her father’s ways of work.

While the story focuses heavily on action and making decisions, the narration provides enough detail to imagine the setting. The flow of the clues and character introductions was fast, so I would advise to really pay attention while listening for best experience.

The voice over volume of one part jumped higher a couple of times (and I jumped with it), but this generally wasn’t a showstopper for me.

In Erda Cluster Tales Far From Center, Nova Kohl is given a mission to retrieve an illegal blaster from a weapons shop. It doesn’t go as planned and she is forced to make a series of decisions that either show that she is like her ruthless father, or that she walks her own path.

The plot was contained within a solitary mission with only the outside of a weapons shop and the weapons shop as the two places the story takes place in. There was never a lull or any boredom in the plot. There was always fast-moving action and danger. Sometimes making decisions was not about Nova’s morality, but for her survival. It made the stakes behind each decision greater.

The characters were well defined and each had their own voice. Hiram Espinosa, the story’s author, did great work in that area. From Roads to Viktor, I suspended disbelief.

As the player of this tale, I had the opportunity to turn Nova into a more merciful person than her father and I’m glad Hiram Espinosa gave me the opportunity to shape someone into a kinder person.

Nova and the rest of the cast make for some compelling characters. The decisions I made felt like they mattered and as such the ending felt earned/deserved. What was revealed in this short adventure , about Road’s time with Nova’s dad and what happened with the plasma rifle, made only want to continue following Nova and Roads on another mission.