This is a review originally written for  Opium Pulses [www.opiumpulses.com]. The full article can be found HERE [www.opiumpulses.com]. Feel free to take a look at the Opium Pulse Steam Curation page HERE as well.

Yes, Your Grace is the brainchild of developer Brave at Night. Releasing in March of 2020, it's been out for a fair amount of time. However, with the up and coming release of the sequel, Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall, it's a game well worth experiencing before the Quarter 1 release. A mixture of Point and Click with Kingdom Management, it's an absolutely unique title. Each of your choices matter as you weigh the needs of your kingdom as a whole, your people, and your own family. Not everything is as black and white as it appears, and some of the consequences of your actions are much more far-reaching than they may initially appear. With easy to understand controls, gorgeous pixel graphics, a fantastically deep story and an outstanding musical score, while somewhat short, there is so much here to love.

Step into the shoes of King  Eryk of  Davern, and bear the responsibility of the crown. Surrounded by your loved ones; Queen Aurelea, as well as Princesses Lorsulia, Asalia, and Cedani, there is often a lot going on not only within your kingdom, but withing the structure of your family. Beyond your immediate familial ties, you also have members of your court to direct, as well as managing military power, your gold income, and your supplies. To add to your list of Kingly duties, invite neighboring Lords to your castle, make alliances, and gain additional troops and resources. However, aide is never free. Weigh your options carefully. Assisting one Lord may alienate you from another, perhaps in more ways than one.

While management plays a large part in Yes, Your Grace, one of the two strongest elements of the game is it's storyline. While at first the story may seem deceptively simple, straight forward, and just about as par the course as one would come to expect from a medieval-dated RPG, players will quickly come to the realization it is the absolute farthest thing from. While the marriage of your eldest daughter, Princess Lorsulia, may just seem like another day in the Kingdom of Davern, this singular event is absolutely pivotal. Prepare for a most lavish event, making sure each and every detail is in place. You've planned accordingly. Clearly nothing could go wrong... could it?

Part of what helps draw players into the beautifully crafted narrative, is the skillfully crafted soundtrack. While most of the vibrant and rich melodies are composed by Carlos Filipe Alves, the eerie and beautiful vocals are provided by the Polish metal-folk band Merkfolk. I sincerely cannot overstate enough that this game is worth playing for the music alone. Both forces are masters at their craft, bringing life and raw emotion to the world of Yes, Your Grace. Players will all too easily find themselves humming haunting tunes when they least expect it. It is an absolutely perfect marriage of talent that Brave at Night has arranged, and I cannot praise them nearly enough for it.

Yes, Your Grace is a wonderful tale, with multiple endings. Depending on your choices throughout the game, you can have a whole plethora of outcomes. Some are more positive, while others may leave you contemplating your life choices. Post game, you get an overview of how you shaped the lives of those around you- and you could be in for some post credits guilt (though achievement hunters may just have to grin and bear it). With Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall rapidly approaching, it has yet to be seen what may or may not fall into "cannon" lore, but there is sure to be some based on the trailer. So while you may have chosen poorly in your own run, know that, perhaps, not all is lost. It is still up in the air as to whether prior decisions will impact the plot of the sequel, though for simplicity sake, it perhaps appears they may choose to go with a more established timeline.

In short, Yes, Your Grace is an absolutely unique masterpiece. It weaves together fantastic storytelling, music, and kingdom management in a way that is not too overwhelming or overbearing, keeping itself open to a broad player base. Easy navigation and user interface are a boon, and it's easy to find yourself caught in a loop of "Just One More Day". Characters are a sheer delight, each being very unique, making them fun to learn about and how they fit into the world. Brave at Night has done a beautiful job in bringing together some of the best elements of a whole array of genres, that is well worth looking into. In doing so, they've truly created something wonderful and unique that is well worth the price tag, and time.

DO IT FOR HER

I've never played a game like this before, but I loved it. Saying no was so hard, but very necessary. Every choice felt so important and, well, it was. It got me so invested into the story so quickly.

I bought it while it was on sale for $5. While I don't think I would pay the base price of $20, if it goes on sale to $10 or less (maybe even $15 if you really want to try it) I'd say go for it.

I really really want to post a good review about this game, but I can't. 98% of the choices don't matter. At first I decided to Role Play as a good king and it felt okay but lackluster, so I started again and decided to play an evil king and it suddenly became obvious that you really can't. This normally wouldn't be a problem but the game really tried to make you feel like you are on a thin line and your choices matter A LOT! It's still a good story and if that's enough then you should play it. But if you're like me and wanted to role play, that's not really an option. All this being said, I am hoping the sequel fixes this problem; and am keeping my eye on it.

The only real decisions that matter are the ones at the very end that determine the fate of a few significant individuals. Otherwise it's a very linear story where you deal with the same people and events in the same order and you basically have to try to fail or neglect upgrades in order to lose. If you're looking for any sort of real management or meaningful choice, all you'll find here is an illusion.

Boring

Intriguing to begin with, but quickly becomes tedious as you are relentlessly without gold, constantly hounded for general/witch/hunter for 2weeks with sometimes two people in line asking for the same person so if you helped the first person in line you are instantly punished by the second unless you are banking 30 gold 30 supplies to give them that instead even though it's near impossible to bank those kind of resources unless you knew what was coming up each day through simply having played before. You decline to help X person and receive -5 public approval, then you could help someone else with an agent or resources of which they ask exorbitant amounts of and the game can quite literally, and often, reward you with zero approval increase despite breaking the bank to help. Quickly found myself skipping through dialogue that wasn't with Asalia or Cedani because any dialogue with the wife/advisor/peasants is simply too predictable with too many text boxes that it is actually tedious to even skip them by spam clicking!

Short and sweet. Meaningful choices, tight resource management, good story beats. I played a game called Suzerain right before this one and this one was much more to my taste.

Happy that choices actually mattered here beyond the illusion of choice! Fun game with a variety of endings AND there's a pet bear, 10/10

An enjoyable and fun little game. Hyped for the upcoming new title.