RecommendedSteam player
I'm getting mini-heart attacks each time I see osmanthus soup. Getting PTSD from soup wasn't on my 2026 Bingo. Love the rest of the game thoShow moreShow less
6.3 hours at review61 people found this helpful
Road to Empress Ⅱ
Players who would rather steer court intrigue than merely watch it get an expansive live-action story shaped by their choices. Reviewing petitions and issuing edicts add more than dialogue decisions, while roughly 1,000 minutes of footage make this a substantial narrative commitment. The offer is $10.11 at 
Eneba; its tracked low makes this a timely option for interested players, not a reason to rush. Consider the language fit too: the interface supports English and Simplified Chinese, with full audio in Simplified Chinese. At $14.24, Road to Empress II is available at the offer’s tracked low; its interactive court drama suits players ready to settle into a long live-action story.
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Price History
Past 36 months · Updated dailyHistorical Low~ $14.242026-07Current Low Across Stores~ $10.11EnebaAt its historical low now
Prices cover Steam and 39 authorized stores; only legitimate offers are counted. The chart shows weekly market-wide lows and Steam's official price across the past 36 months.
01About Road to Empress Ⅱ
Road to Empress II is an interactive live-action court drama in which you struggle for influence and shape a dynasty’s fate. This single-player story combines dialogue choices with reviewing petitions and issuing rewards or punishments. It contains around 1,000 minutes of live-action footage. The Steam PC version supports English and Simplified Chinese interface languages. Player reviews: 80% positive from 7,982 reviews.
Credits
Developer
New One Studio
Publisher
New One Studio · Ariel
Lowest recorded in 36 months
$14.242026-07-18 · SteamBase game · same records as the chart above; USD history, not a regional Steam low.Language support
| Language | Interface | Subtitles | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Traditional Chinese | Yes | Yes | — |
| English | Yes | Yes | — |
Show 6 more languages
| Language | Interface | Subtitles | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| French | Yes | Yes | — |
| German | Yes | Yes | — |
| Spanish | Yes | Yes | — |
| Korean | Yes | Yes | — |
| Thai | Yes | Yes | — |
| Japanese | Yes | Yes | — |
Steam PC edition data · 2026-10-21
02Before you buy
Interactive solo story
This is a single-player drama told through live-action scenes and choices that shape the story.
Language and audio
The interface supports English and Simplified Chinese; full audio is available in Simplified Chinese. Other listed languages have subtitles.
03Frequently asked questions
Who do I play as?
You play a nun at Ganye Temple who rises through factional struggles toward the height of power.
Are there interactions beyond dialogue?
Yes. Alongside dialogue choices, you review petitions and issue edicts that can reward or punish ministers.
What happens at the story's end?
The story ends with a personalized profile of your approach to power, crises, and control.
Popular Steam reviews
Native-language selection · 10 reviewsSelected helpful reviews in this language show both recommendations and criticisms. This selection does not represent the overall positive rating; opinions reflect the version reviewed.
Not recommendedSteam player
This game has progressively worse generative AI art as you get deeper into the story, should you reach the ending chapters you'll be rewarded with some pretty egregiously bad stuff. Unfortunately, the AI isn't delegated to just the art as the translations can get quite bad later on too. I cannot help but feel the devs rushed through the ending and filled in the gaps with AI, which is such a shame considering the quality of the writing at some points.Show moreShow less
10.6 hours at review273 people found this helpful
RecommendedSteam player
Legs are open for Li TaiShow moreShow less
2.5 hours at review40 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
I played Road to Empress I to almost 100% exploration. I am reaching the end of this game, and suddenly the story I grew to love is betrayed by those who made it. Your resort to using AI generated imaging and video cheapens and I would go so far to say as ruins the great games and story I grew to love. Shame on you. What you have done in resorting to AI for your game is an insult to the incredible work of the artists and actors who gave their all for you.Show moreShow less
13.9 hours at review241 people found this helpful
RecommendedSteam player
Barely four hours of straightforward content for the Li Tai route - outrageous - and if you're here day one for it like I was, you will likely leave disappointed, despite the few worthy moments. Historical accuracy still left more than enough room for a better script, as RTE I clearly showcased. The majority of the Western audience was excited for this route, therefore its length and the lack of depth in their relationship, cannot be excused. Li Tai himself fell slightly out of character in many of the scenes too, which didn't work in the route's favor either. However, I respect the work the actors & devs put into this game, it really does look incredible and I believe the 'canon' route is where all the good stuff went, and I want this studio to keep working on more of these unique games, which is why I still decided to support them with a purchase and a positive review. I am yet to play the Li Zhi route but I feel in no rush to do so, after this bitter experience. To all other Li Tai fans out there, may this studio's next game bring us a canon romance we deserve for supporting them through this one. There's still a lot they want to see and do...Show moreShow less
3.9 hours at review36 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
The AI use in this one is absolutely abysmal. It starts off small and gets progressively worse as you go through the game (a large part of the main ending is AI generated scenes). During the story, you would be watching the most beautiful sets and costumes, great acting, and then BOOM a shot of AI generated soldiers running into the palace. Or a beautiful scene setting up a neutral ending, great cinematography, great music, emotional dialogue and then the ending itself is the worst AI sh*t you’ve ever seen. Warping shapes, twitching characters, objects with edges blending into one another. Why was this needed? Screentime percentagewise it’s such a little amount, why not just cut it? Or literally a black screen with text would be better, like they already do in many other scenes. The way it is, it poisons the artistry of everything else in the game. By the end, all these AI scenes completely soured me on the story as a whole. And as an extra insult AI use is not disclosed on the store page, so I feel lied to as well.Show moreShow less
22.2 hours at review179 people found this helpful
RecommendedSteam player
The continuation of the hit FMV game Road to Empress. You are going to choose the path for Wu Meiniang with two different storylines, either step back into the political game, win the current Emperor's favor, and climb the social ladder, or take a whole different path away from the palace and try to stay alive. Either way, you are going to shape her life and decide her fate. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3743808830 The direction of the filming is breathtaking, and the actors did an outstanding job delivering all the emotions, especially the main actress. You can shape her personality by her actions. While some choices are linear and follow the story, others affect Wu's outcome, turning her either into a cruel person or a good one. The choice is yours, which leads to multiple endings. I haven't unlocked them all yet, and there is an achievement for unlocking 100 endings. This shows the high replay value of the game. While some of those endings are dead ends and you have to replay a specific part of the chapter to unlock the right path, they are still well-written endings. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3743808684 After finishing each chapter, your choices will be turned into points showing which ability you have grown in (Resilience, strategy, ambition, decisiveness, prestige), and the more you fill in, the more it is how people around you perceive you, and they may even change their view on you and perhaps stop trusting you if you've been deceiving them. Some choices are crucial, and you'll receive this warning before you choose your answer. And of course, there are the QTEs, which require your quick response or action. The timeline is helpful for jumping back to and checking the path you've taken; you can always change what you did and continue from there. I liked the character profile and the lore section, which provide in-depth details that will help you know who is who, especially when you are being introduced to multiple characters at the same time. Once you finish a path in the game, you'll unlock a couple of mini-games that you can play daily. These are more like phone games, but they are not bad. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3743808377 I have noticed the excessive use of CG in this part, unlike the previous game, it isn't bad, but noticeable. I also wondered why they had to postpone the game by a couple of months due to an issue with one of the actresses. They mentioned they had to reshoot the scenes; however, in the game, the exact scene doesn't last for two minutes. Pros: +Two different routes to choose from. +32 main chapter +Choices and consequences (It changes how the characters perceive you) +Good soundtracks (some of them are from the previous game) +Outstanding acting. +Good character personality development. +Multiple endings and routes. (You can go back to any choice to change it) +You can skip previously seen scenes. +Characters profiles. +Hinting system (Shows the missing timeline) +Mini games (Unlocked after beating the game) +Steam achievements. Cons: -Nothing During my gameplay, I've only encountered one issue with server connectivity, and it has been fixed. The developers are actively fixing any reported issues. I enjoyed every part of it and highly recommend it to finish Wu Meiniang's journey. The developers went the extra mile and made the second game even better than the first. Other Reviews: Road to Empress I Review 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑐𝘩𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑚𝑦 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑛𝑎'𝑠 𝐶𝘩𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 Follow IndieGems for more reviews like this one.Show moreShow less
22.8 hours at review35 people found this helpful
Received for free
Not recommendedSteam player
Uses AI without disclosing such. I do not want my money to support lazy images that take money away from real artists. But since I bought this on release and didn't get around to it steam denied my refund request. Frankly it does feel like they purposely hid it in the back part of the game so that steam players could not refund it once it was apparent, especially since they did not put it on their steam page as other games using ai typically do.Show moreShow less
1.7 hours at review178 people found this helpful
RecommendedSteam player
I loved it really, especially how it's based of Wu Zetian However, there are some critiques about Li Tai's route and AI usage in the game. Li Tai's route, it just felt bittersweet and incomplete. It's definitely disappointing to those who really like him especially since the marketing differs from how the game is regarding his route. I hope the developers will add a dlc expansion pack for his route one day. As for the ai, I didn't really notice it until the end. And I must say, it's very disappointing now that I do. You can see that the game quality is actually good and has high budget. It's really an insult to those who did put such effort into the game like the actors. Pity to have spend so many hours in a game without finding out about it earlier. I still enjoyed my experience in the end, but knowing this now also just kinda ruined it for me. I would rate this game in between good and bad.Show moreShow less
27.6 hours at review34 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
For a game with such an amazing story and compelling characters, it really disappoints me to see them fall completely flat when attempting to execute the ending. Like the first game, the acting, presentation, story, and characters all worked well together to create a cohesive and unique experience. However, as the game progresses it loses steam more and more until it becomes unrecognizable from what it once was. I can't say what the reason truly is but it feels as if they were either strapped for time or resources and had to cobble together an ending as quickly as they could. The biggest indicator of this hands down is the use of generative AI. At no point in the store page's marketing does it claim to use generative AI, but it very clearly does. At first, it only appeared as if there were a few scenes here and there that used it, which while disappointing I could overlook. However, I cannot overlook having the entire last chapter, everything that the game is building up to, be almost entirely done with AI generated cutscenes and images. It feels like a slap in the face when the rest of the game had such great artwork, sets, and actors that they decided not to use. Another way the game appeared to lose itself as it went on was with the ending scenes. At the beginning of the game, whenever you would die a unique scene would play showing your end. It might be similar to another one, but with some unique dialogue that might give a hint as to the correct option. By the end, you will be seeing the same, UNSKIPPABLE, cutscene you have seen at least 5 times already. It's incredibly frustrating and serves as an annoyance more than anything. Building off of that last point, it really feels as if by the end of everything your choices matter very little and have little to no consequence. For a game where previously every choice mattered and could lead to your downfall, there are quite a lot of choices that don't really seem to affect anything and serve only to boost your "stats" that are completely meaningless. I would give it a pass if the choices were interesting or if they contributed to a grander plot, but they could be boiled down to "kill or spare this guy 1000 miles away who wont appear again" or "build this thing with no pushback from your council." There are other issues I have with the game, including dropping all subtext in the last chapter and slapping you in the face with the theme over and over again, having no agency once you begin coalescing power, and the broken (and sometimes missing) translation. All said, all these factors combined lead me to be massively disappointed in a game I was very excited to play. I unfortunately can not recommend buying it.Show moreShow less
11.2 hours at review159 people found this helpful
Source: original Steam user reviews. Helpful votes are an archived snapshot, not live data. Last collected: 08/15/2026.