Henchman Story
Review

Henchman Story (2021) is a narrative adventure about being a supervillain's henchman. It features a cast of animated and fully voiced characters who carry the story, including your villainous employer, the blundering Lord Bedlam. It's like an interactive storybook, where each of your actions and interactions with characters help lead you toward one of the game's 11 endings.

You play by selecting your responses to conversations and what actions you take. It starts simply but soon becomes apparent that each choice has a consequence, with some being harmless and some defining the storyline's progression. Despite appearances, you need to think carefully about how your character acts to get the result you want.

As you progress, the result of your previous actions create branching plots, like romance or friendships between characters, or even a promotion opportunity. The aim of the game isn't really to beat it, it's more about having fun inside your very own whimsical superhero story and seeing what your actions do to the story.

Impressively, Henchman Story manages to make being an unappreciated henchman surprisingly enjoyable. The backdrop of classic comic book aesthetics helps to create the right atmosphere, and it has great repeatability for some players, since it can be challenging to find every ending to the game.

Our examiner, Joe Eaton, first checked Henchman Story 13 months ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 13 months ago.