Last updated on December 5th, 2025 at 03:40 am
A Study in Steampunk – Books Game Review
A Study in Steampunk is a Books/Roleplaying/Adventure game from Hosted Games LLC, first launched in 19th November 2015.
It’s rated 12+ and currently has 122+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes A Study in Steampunk Stand Out
Steam-powered mechs meet forbidden sorcery! Inspired by Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, Jekyll & Hyde, and Jack the Ripper, "A Study in Steampunk: Choice by Gaslight" is an epic 277,000-word interactive mystery novel by Heather Albano, co-author of "Choice of Broadsides," "Choice of Zombies," and "Choice of Romance: Affairs of the Court." Your choices control the story. It's entirely text-based–without graphics or sound effects–and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.
The game is afoot! In a world of gaslit streets, mysteriously long-lived foreign nobles, and master criminals, will you defend your Empire from spies or overthrow it from within? Advocate science and reason or learn forbidden magic? Romance men, women, both, or neither? End as a healer, a freedom fighter, a vigilante, or a traitor?
The fate of the Empire is in your hands!
This Books game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, A Study in Steampunk is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 25th August 2023
Recent improvements include:
Now you can delete your saved games. If you enjoy "A Study in Steampunk", please leave us a written review. It really helps!
Download & Availability
A Study in Steampunk is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Get A Study in Steampunk on App Store
Requirements: Requires iPhone 5s / iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
There are many paths through this game with hugely divergent outcomes. But whats even better is the depth of your character. While its true youre always playing a man, theres so much room for him to develop in different ways. This is a fairly long choice game, and greatly rewards multiple playthroughs.
This has been, to say the least, one of the finest stories we have had the privilege of enjoying. Only a minute ago we completed our first play through, and Im about to start right over again. Our only complaint is that the display options dont seem to be functioning properly, but we would imagine thats an easy fix. Other than that, this has provided, and will continue to provide, hours of enjoyment. The author is a remarkable writer and we will surely look for more titles from her.
This is one of the best choose tour own adventure stories. Excellent writing mixes science fiction with Victorian settings. We really like the numerous and various choices. Has strong replayability. Interesting characters.
Fair warning, the character is locked in as a male. That being its only offset however, we still think the story is amazing. Its everything promised in the description, serial killers, steampunk, long lived nobles, and much more. We think what makes it one of hosted games best is that it has characters that stay relatively consistent throughout the story. With a few exceptions most decisions matter. The system of stats may not be super complex but its simplicity and great story is what draws us in. Being a casual choice of games and hosted games reader games with a lot of stats confuse and ruin the experience most of the time for us. But thats just our personal opinion. Great for a story and if youre looking for some simple stats with mostly meaningful decisions.
Definitely one for your collection of CoGs. Im a small time Sherlock fan, so after the first few pages and we realized this was a Sherlock and Watson tale where the Watson character was the focus we were very much pleasantly surprised. The setting is rich, the backstory and world building excellent. And Grace! God Grace. We wont spoil anything on that front, but those that chose to romance her probably know what we mean. If we had one gripe, it would have been that we never had the option to ride in a steampunk Mecha, or if we could we never found that path. Would totally love a sequel/prequel some type of continuation of this universe.
We dont want to give a bad review because Im sure its a well written story. But we paid for the game and then realized you cant play as a female. We just feel like its unfair to not put that in the description. Why leave it out? We wish we would have known. We dont mind a male protagonist being at the center of a story. We just wouldnt purchase it because we play these games to feel like we are role playing as ourselves in a different place. We cant help but think it was left out because the authors believed people would be more reluctant to purchase if the choice was not to play as either gender. Probably a good story from what we read in the beginning but we were so sad to discover we didnt have any say in our characters gender….especially because majority of these games give you the choice.
Ive always had a bias toward Sherlock Holmes, with the mystery aspect of it but especially the relationship between our favorite detective and John Watson. Ive seen several portrayals of this relationship, but this one is our personal favorite, even if you do not choose to romance the character based off of Sherlock. Of course, that is not the only reason we love this game. It is fantastically written! The storyline and plot is interesting and you are able to choose your sexuality, though you are male as default. Bravo to this writer and we hope we see more of these works.
There are so many different genre elements blended together here with a nice touch of tongue-in-cheek humor for the reader to enjoy! We cant remember if this was a bundle, but there were 4 books worth of story in here, and we are about to try all of it a second time!! Oh, the steampunk aspect seems less prominent than the Sherlock and GOT political aspects. It could easily be just how we chose to play, so if we have a totally different experience, Ill edit this review! Either way, we love it! Thanks.
This is a fantastic game, a steampunk Sherlock Holmesian mystery where the player takes the role of the Dr. Watson character. If any of those keywords lit up on your radar, stop reading and just buy the game. It is well written, nicely put together as a game, and A delight to play.
Im not sure how we survived before we downloaded this.
Like the title says. Ive read and reviewed both of these stories and this one surpasses Alexandria in every way possible. Truly a fantastic story that we never wanted to end. Well worth the price.
As a woman who absolutely loves CoG, we were a bit skeptical to see that the character was fixed as a male, but we pressed on, and we were so glad that we did. All our skepticisms immediately washed away when we realized that the character was an homage to John Watson from the Sherlock series, with the companion/love interest Finch being the eccentric Sherlock type character. Not only did we immediately fall in love with a "Sherlock in Steampunk" idea, but the writing itself made us feel as though we were holding a thick novel instead of the phone in our hands. And not to mention he fact you have a choice to romance your very own Sherlock Holmes in the taboo ages of the 1800s, which we happily took. Of course there are romancing options for straight, bisexual, and gay, and we've always found romance to be a large part of why we play these games, but maybe that's just the romantic in us. Anyways, we found our chosen romance to be absolutely beautifully written, just like the rest of this novel. And even though we're a woman playing as a man, the choice mechanics made our character feel like us. We could choose our strengths and weaknesses, develop our personality and priorities, and overall fall in love with both our character and all the other beautifully written characters in the game. Just get the game. It's so worth it.
We held off on playing this one for awhile being turned off from being forced to play a male MC but guess what. This MC is amazing. And this is the best CoG title we've played so far. As another reviewer has put it, CoG authors need to take note here because this game pulls off the strongest and most enjoyable writing we've experienced yet in CoG titles (and even in some mainstream rpg's!), and the difference is because the focus is on player character development. It isn't so much about branching plot lines (tho they are there too) but the thing is, it isn't about absolute freedom and multiple choices that end up meaningless but instead the focus is on your character and how you develop throughout the story. There isn't absolute freedom in who you can be, but the story is stronger for it because everything that you are is even more relevant in the story. You can change your perspective multiple times in reaction to the game's events and you're never punished for it, instead the game has a very natural and strong evolving story that is always thematically consistent no matter which direction you go. Instead of a huge amount of choices that don't mean much in terms of emotion or plot, instead we have backstory and conflict in our character from past decisions that affects our current choices and everything builds up in the climax and the game allows recognition of that. We hope more CoG writers take note of this kind of writing bc it's so so satisfying. This is the kind of potential that text based writing games can have. We NEED MORE.
We fall into the trap of becoming obsessed with the mechanics of Choice of Games titles, making the right choices to go along with the path we set from the beginning. This game was designed elegantly enough that we never felt we had to restart a game because we misjudged the authors intent with a choice, not having the right stats to pull off a maneuver. The branching paths are extremely robust, this is definitely one of the best IF pieces we've had the pleasure of playing.
Fun story that's well written in both detail and overall. That is, the individual scenes are well written, and the overall story arc, including the choices for the main character, are deftly handled. Choices are meaningful while still keeping the narrative goingmore of an improv take on "what does this scene mean to you" vs "how is this going to change the broad arc of history". We very much enjoyed playing through once and plan to do so again. Highly recommended.
We've played a few CYOA games online and never been entirely impressed with them, but we're a huge steampunk fiction fan, so we had to try this…and this one puts all the others to absolute shame. Great writing, intricate plot, vivid characters…the literary and historical influences are used to terrific effect. We cannot recommend this game enough.
One of the best choice of games we've played and we have played nearly every game on the site. Good job. Really loved it.
This was a game filled with many paths a player can choose to take through its winding plot. We really grew attached to the characters and we found ourselves leaning forward in our seat to read what happened next. There are so many difficult choices to make that it mirrors life in some ways. The experience felt so genuine–something hard to come by in many games, books, shows, movies, etc. Simply amazing.
What is steampunk anyway? We didn't know what to expect from this game, so let us tell you: if you think of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Sherlock Holmes, Ripper Street, Copper, or Doc Savage then you're close. The choices you make do greatly impact the story and this is a very lengthy adventure so you can play through many times and find new branches to explore. There are several factions and relationships you can explore along the way also. Your skills are fun and interesting and which ones you choose to increase is important to the narrative. This game was a lot of fun. Each chapter has a lot of content and there is a definite feeling of accomplishment upon completion. So much so, in fact, that each time a new chapter began we were pleasantly surprised- "You mean there's more? Cool!" we've played over twenty of these 'choose your own adventure' games and this one stacks up very well. It's one of the most well written and engaging stories we've seen – not once did a grammatical or spelling error pull us out of the story, as we've noticed with other cyoa games. The only thing that bothered us at all – and this is nitpicking – is that your character cannot be both Stealthy and Quick. As you increase one the other decreases. This has very little effect on gameplay that we've noticed – so long as you increase one of the two consistently. It just annoys us a little because literature is chock full of quick, stealthy characters. Don't let that keep you from playing! This game is a ton of fun and with so many options there is great replay value. It's very worth the price. Keep an eye out for future offerings from the author, this is good work. We can't recommend it highly enough.
We've played a lot of choice games and we haven't even finished this one while already knowing it's the best for us. We got really attached to the characters. Will be interesting how much different choices will impact the narrative / outcome of characters.
This game is right on our top two of the "choose your own adventure" games, of which we are a particular fan of and have played our share. Unlike the rest of the rabble, you are not constrained to a narrow set of choices to build up acquired skills for your character – instead the focus is on CHARACTER DEVRLOPMENT, meaning there is much more leeway for you to change your outlook on things as you grow with your character in the story. The story flows naturally but still plays like a game, with a plethora of meaningful choices to make. A solid and well structured narrative, intriguing characters, great gameplay decisions and replayability – if you're a fan of the genre you will not be disappointed, even if steampunk is not your thing. And if you're new to this genre of game, this is a great introduction.
We highly encourage you to read it, this book so amazing you wish you could be in it!!!! Please make another one.
If you like Sherlock you'll love this.
We've played many of these and this is one of our favorites. It was very engaging to play, and lengthy. In some choice games it seems like there is really just one path to follow no matter what you do. In this one, while the historical backdrop (society with religious conflicts, hostile neighboring country, influential figures with various agendas, etc) stays the same, there are different opportunities open or closed to you based on your earlier choices which shape your character and relationships. The choices you make have a real impact on the eventual outcome. The game has high replay value, because of this.
What a great story. The choices and the paths you choose really matter and shape the adventure. Just excellent pacing, storytelling, and choices.
Perhaps viewing its alternate Victorian Age through too much of a modern lens, it still felt quite period, and with fun references to Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, and Dr Snow (read Ghost Map, highly recommended). We only played once so we dont know for sure how many endings there are, but we felt like many decisions did matter. And it was much longer than we expected. Its unfortunate perhaps that you must play a man, but Im just as happy the author didnt have to spend her time contorting the story to allow the choice. The story she chose to do works with a male character.
We're not one to write reviews frequently, but this game is incredibly fantastic. We enjoyed bringing John H. Watson on adventures battling the enemies of Mercia, along with our pal Finch. It's approach was interesting, including having historical references to the infamous Broad Street Pump, and Jack the Ripper. Along with writing stories about our adventure, it had a perfect approach, with moral qualms to boot. And whilst we've only played through it once we would encourage EVERYONE who is a fan of Choice of Games and their work to read and play through this novel. This was masterfully crafted, and we can't wait to play it once more.
The story is long and the setting is complex.
This is an impressive feat of adventure. We really liked the setting of the adventure, in a steampunk/fantasy light. The narrative borrows from great classics and travels across a variety of sub genres. We were thoroughly delighted by this adventure, gripping choice after gripping choice.
We love almost anything from choice of games and hosted games but this one takes the top. We're still playing threw to get all the ending but we literally can't put this game down wish all there games where this good.
We almost never write reviews but this story was so amazing that we had to spread the word. It is very well written tons of important choices for romance, drama, action and morals. Not to mention it is incredibly long. Took us a whole week to finish it. We could talk forever but if u really want an amazing adventure pick this up.
We love this game. It's by far in our top 2 with Zombie Exodus. Gripping story, lovable characters, great action and choices, and (most importantly) great replay ability. This is a must have and worth the price.
Easily the best game we've played all year.
This is truly on of the best. It had some major plot twist and actually made us think about our motivation and reasons for our convictions in today's western culture. This challenged the biases we face and showed that things are not always as black and white as they seem. Very well done.
This is one of the best CoG we have EVER played!!! Okay, our one problem (SPOILERS so stop reading now if you haven't played yet) is that we haven't found a successful way to either 1) save our spouse from the cholera outbreak or 2) save her and not have her hate us for doing so. Honestly, it's a perfect game! Highly recommend to oh we don't know EVERYONE! Keep up the good work.
This is most definitely one of CoG's finest games. The choices have real meaning, the characters truly become your allies (or enemies), the plot is twisted and wonderful! The best part for us was knowing that certain paths we chose also lead on to other paths as well that would skew the story in a different way! It's thrilling knowing that there can be a different outcome of enormous quantity when we play this! Bravo- a thousand times bravo! (we love this game but, dang, we wish we could play as a girl xD).
We are a big fan of these games, whether published under hosted games or choice of games, we find ourselves quite addicted to these little gems. So know that we do not say this lightly, but we think that this is their best one yet^^ the choices feel natural and because it allows you to change your views of the world throughout a play through, it makes the characters seem more alive, and allows them to grow. It's a fairly long game, we'd say probably twice as long( maybe more) as the deathless series, but it doesn't at all feel padded, it just elicits excitement when you see that you can keep going!^^ we would highly recommend this game to just about anyone.
We really enjoyed this game. Though we think we would of enjoyed it a little more if the main character could be female.
This game is great, very well written and a great story with a huge replay value. Very lengthy and we just love The choices, very meaningful choices which change the course of the story. Well done writer.
We have formed a habit of playing CoG stories out of boredom, only enjoying the games as new ones, or sequels, come out. We never expected this story to truly take our breath away. Fret with politics, theological debates, and raw emotion, Study in Steampunk has utterly and completely enthralled us in which we can only offer our heartfelt thanks to the author for this wonderful piece of literature.
Surprisingly long, great writing throughout.
We cannot overstate how awesome this game is. There is great variability with multiple branching storylines and compelling characters. The game is also MUCH longer than we thought it would be. Seriously loved it.
What we read of it seemed well written with plenty of choice. Would have liked to have known that the main character is male before purchasing, and am a tad peeved that this isn't mentioned in the description. We're sad to say we won't finish the story as it is. Hopefully others will enjoy it.
This story is amazing and is very interesting. We love it all except for the fact that you can't change the gender of the main character. It's feels very limited and not open to everyone's preferences. If possible please fix! But really, good job on the writing.
The description should have said that you cannot play as a female character. We wouldn't have bought this if we had known you have to be a male character.
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 1.0.6
- Size: 25.97 MB
- iOS: 11.0 or later
- Languages: EN
- Content Advisory: Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes, Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence, Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References
- Developer: Hosted Games LLC
Last updated: 25th August 2023 | Genre: Books, Roleplaying | Developer: Hosted Games LLC