RPGFit check
Is If It Please the Court worth it for you?
We tell you who should skip it, too.
Play it if you…
Good fit- Fans of interactive fiction who want a long, choice-driven romance
- Players seeking sapphic historical stories with female or nonbinary protagonists
- Readers interested in espionage, court politics, and branching personal loyalties
Skip it if you…
Saves you a refund- Players seeking graphics, sound effects, or visually presented gameplay
- Readers who prefer short, linear stories over a 242,000-word text with many branching choices
- Players looking for action-focused spy gameplay rather than written decisions and romance
Our take on If It Please the Court
The store pitch foregrounds seductive espionage and romantic intrigue, while the actual format is a 242,000-word text-only novel with no graphics or sound effects. The spy premise is delivered through written choices, character routes, and political consequences rather than depicted action.
What is If It Please the Court?
Play a female or nonbinary royal spy recruited from Paris's slums into the Secret du Roi, Louis XV's network of covert agents.
This 242,000-word interactive romance novel uses choices to shape espionage, relationships, family ties, and France's political future. Pursue romance with a spymistress, poet, or double agent, choosing between slower courtship and direct seduction. Character approaches include disguise, sensory training, letter writing, dueling, and persuasive conversation. Decisions can support the crown, oppose the king, betray France, reunite the family, investigate a father's past, or join a revolution. The game is entirely text-based, with no graphics or sound effects. Player characters can be lesbian, bisexual, and/or asexual, and can be cis or trans.
How If It Please the Court plays
- 01Branching Spy Story
- Choices shape political loyalties, family relationships, romance, and the protagonist's future.
- 02Multiple Romance Paths
- Potential partners include a spymistress, a poet connected to the queen, and a double agent.
- 03Flexible Protagonist
- The player character can be female or nonbinary, cis or trans, and lesbian, bisexual, and/or asexual.
- 04Spy Skill Choices
- The character can develop senses, disguise, letter writing, dueling, or persuasive speech.
- 05Political Allegiances
- Story routes include supporting the crown, opposing the king, betraying France, or joining a citizen revolution.
- 06Text-Only Format
- The 242,000-word work contains no graphics or sound effects.
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If It Please the Court: platforms & release
Is If It Please the Court worth it?
It is worth it if: fans of interactive fiction who want a long, choice-driven romance. Skip it if: players seeking graphics, sound effects, or visually presented gameplay.
Where can I download If It Please the Court?
Use the Download Now button on this page: it opens If It Please the Court's store page, where you can choose how to get it.
What platforms is If It Please the Court on?
Windows, macOS and Linux.
