The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood
Earlier this year I praised the "narrative based gameplay" genre as the one to watch out for in 2023. For years, the concept of conveying a complex story through unique measures that are both on-brand and thought-provoking has led to games like Undertale being critically acclaimed classics. When I first played The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, I wasn't sure what to expect from the premise alone. This was one of the games I missed a chance to check out during February's Steam Next Fest so a special thanks to Devolver Digital for giving us an early copy to form my thoughts and muse on!
At the time of this writing, there will be plot spoilers ahead but it is relatively light and done within the context of my own experience. Due to the nature of this game, not everyone's playthrough will be the same. Likewise, there are strong topics addressed that touch upon mental health and its awareness. As it turns out, having divine powers and the ability to make anything you predict "come true" is a dangerously heavy crown to wear for a witch.
The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood involves Fortuna, a witch currently in exile for predicting the downfall of the coven that she was a part of. Due to this and having an extreme amount of clairvoyance, everything she prophesizes comes to reality. Either that or she always guesses correctly on whatever the cards come up as. Turns out the elder already knew about this and decides to send Fortuna in exile as punishment for scaring the witches in the coven and being "cursed with a blessed power"
During her long imprisonment, 200 years in, she makes a pact with a demon who grants her the power to make divination cards based on a custom arcana. These arcana are made up of four elements, water, air, stone, and fire. Air represents freedom, water represents emotion, the stone is the body, and fire is passion and torment. Almost referencing that with great power comes great responsibility, the demon allows the player to choose their fate. However, when even the devil himself is afraid of how easily you can read him, you know you're in the power of greatness.
Depending on the dialogue options chosen, players will earn pieces of each element, which are then used to make cards. These cards are then used in tarot readings which can influence direct events depending on what's drawn. Things like diplomatic solutions to the most chaotic and impulsive decisions are all determined by the card drawn and the more cards created, the more possibilities given to Fortuna.
Along the way, she will meet several allies including close friends from the coven and other interesting characters. Each scene plays out similarly to other games like Coffee Talk where depending on what response you give a visitor, it will decide their fate as well as the trajectory of their relationship with Fortuna. The more you interact with others, the more pieces of an element you receive, which is then used to create more cards.
The overall story is nothing short of relatable as many topics, including self-worth and valuing yourself after being abandoned for two centuries, can do a number on even the strongest person.
There's one scene where Fortuna reunites with an old fling, Dahlia, and the question she asks is "How does Fortuna feel after spending 200 years in isolation?" As it turns out, feeling abandoned by the coven and sisters you were in love with does more damage to one's psyche than one realizes and every reading given is basically "I hurt myself, tried to kill myself several times, resented the both of you (there's two friends who visit her) for not coming to save me, I hate myself I hate my voice I hate everything I hate everyone"
How does Fortuna play this off? By feigning ignorance and not being truthful with her emotions, as Fortuna tries to grasp her sanity, there is also this obvious feeling of resentment. As more visitors from the coven and beyond visit Fortuna on her space rock, I realized something. For my first playthrough, I had no idea what components would lead to which card was being built. Each element represents a different psyche on the divinity scale but it is truly up to the cards that decide everyone's fate.
The one agency the player has is deciding which fortune of the cards to read to her peers. It's beautiful because while Fortuna states she has no power as it lies in "the cards," she has more control over everyone's fate than others realize. Does Fortuna know the extent of her power? If she does, is it to the point of benevolence or manipulation?
All these questions and more began to form as various character plotlines unfolded due to my decision-making influenced by the cards I created from the mortal psyche. I realized how deep the Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood was outside of its deceptively simple premise when one of its main plot points resolves midway through the game. It casts a mirror to the player as Fortuna becomes self-aware that she weaves the fates of others rather than simply reading them. Depending on how much she deliberately chooses a selfish decision over a selfless one, it may even form wedges in between relationships.
This journey into the unknown is why I highly recommend playing Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood blind, as the whole "fate" theme ensures that Fortuna and the player have no idea about the path of their journey. This is also the reason why players can't manually save as once Fortuna writes someone's fate, it's something that she has to hold on to for the rest of the playthrough. The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is a very emotional game that unravels itself slowly to the player as they learn more context. While the card creation is novel, it is the fantastic writing that drew me in, making it one of the strongest narrative games of 2023 so far.
The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is available on Steam and Nintendo Switch.