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Hide and Seek, the second episode of The Council, was interesting. Half of it was spent introducing more new characters while still keeping their intentions mysterious. (This is a secret society known as The Golden Order, after all.) The other half was spent investigating a murder, and you, Louis de Richet, are the impromptu detective who tries to solve it. While progression was slight, it did end with the murder of one of the masked servants. As the third and middle episode of the full game, Ripples provides a resolution for some of the mysteries thus far. Whether the answers are satisfactory depends on your outlook.

This episode starts with the aforementioned murder. Only George Washington discovers you near the body, but he agrees to not alert anyone about it. From here, you can investigate further to see if it's somehow connected to your mother's disappearance. However, that takes a backseat to the meeting where Lord Mortimer finally reveals his big plan for the meeting: Having Spain cede the lands of Louisiana to the French so they can sell it to the fledgling United States, doubling the country's size. The plan isn't well received by most of the council's members, and before further discussion can begin, it's your job to convince one of the opposing members to go with the plan.

The big reveal has an air of indifference. On the one hand, it makes perfect sense in the given time period that countries with ruling monarchs would see the expansion of a democracy as a threat, and having this expansion done in such an underhanded way is cause for concern. It's also refreshing to see that the given threat isn't as cataclysmic as expected from this sort of plotline. Then again, having such a secret meeting be about a shady business deal feels so benign that you'd be forgiven for being disappointed once it's announced.

If anything, the plan is a good catalyst for getting all of the characters to be very emotive. You'll see a good amount of tension rise up between those who are for and against the plan, and the conversational battle that ensues is a good one. While the debate is far from over, it does lead to a good confrontation that, if played poorly, leads to a significant event with high stakes.

With the revelation and debate out of the way, the game shifts into its second big reveal with Sarah, Louis' mother, finally being found while Emily and Emma are having a sibling spat that ends in pointing pistols at one another. The verbal battle here is intriguing, but it ultimately leads to a death — something of a theme. Before things get worse, you finally escape to Sarah's hiding place for another big plot point.

Much like the meeting topic, Sarah's reveal will be met with the same divisiveness. The switch from realism and political intrigue to something more fantastic will catch people off guard, and while it is unexpected unless you're really paying attention to the tiny details, it can feel hokey. You want to see where this new thread can go, but it makes the tale a head-scratcher instead of feeling as fresh as the first episode.

While everything in Ripples thus far feels middling with a few bouts of surprise, the final third of the episode punctuates how good the series can be. It starts off slowly, with a scavenger hunt that is more busywork than puzzle-solving. When it comes time to solve the puzzle, you're presented with one of the more difficult ones yet. You're already told of the consequences for failure, but the failure is saved. You only get one shot at solving this, but the consequences of the failure state are shocking and will make you ask how this changes the dynamic for the rest of the series. If anything, it serves as a point that players will want to replay to see how different things can be if the puzzle were solved correctly.

Technically, the quality has taken a big hit with this episode. There are plenty of scenes where people are talking, but their lips fail to move, which proves to be distracting once you see it. The same goes for many of the animations, which look jerky and are rife with unnatural movements. Placement of furniture also seems to be an issue, as no one looks like they're sitting properly. Clipping is a constant thing, lighting in areas is either too saturated or too dark, and there are a few instances of the subtitles being outright wrong. The frame rate has also taken a huge hit and fluctuates wildly. These are all things that can be patched, but the drop in quality is disappointing.

Ripples can be a divisive episode for some. The big reveal doesn't seem so grand, and the switch from somewhat realistic to something more fantastic can be jarring. Some of the events show that the game isn't playing around when it comes to having choices matter, and there is some intrigue in regards to where things will go next. Let's hope the game performance doesn't regress further.

Score: 7.0/10