Road to Empress I on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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You've never played a game like this before. Road to Empress I is a cinematic palace adventure where your choices decide everyone's fate. Tackle multiple story branches and a high mortality rate with charm, wisdom and courage? First...survive.
Road to Empress I is a choices matter, rpg and fmv game
developed by New One Studio
and published by New One Studio and Ariel.
Released on September 08th 2025 is available only on Windows
in 9 languages: English, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Traditional Chinese, French, German and Spanish - Spain.
It has received 11,170 reviews of which 9,719 were positive and 1,451 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.5 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 7.19€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Road to Empress I into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
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System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 / Windows 11
- Processor: Intel Core i3 or AMD equivalent
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Dedicated Graphics Card
- DirectX: Version 11
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 10 GB available space
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
This is my first time playing a Chinese FMV game, and all I can say is it’s OUTSTANDING! The fact that it’s set in the early Tang dynasty during Emperor Taizong’s reign immediately hooked me. I’m a history nerd, and I barely knew anything about early Tang. All I really knew was the An Lushan Rebellion, which happens more than a hundred years after this game. So this felt fresh right away. At first, I honestly thought Wu Yuanzhao was an original character. Then I did some research and realized she’s actually the future Empress Wu Zetian. That alone made me lock in and go full historical route. No hesitation. Being a historicalist, my choice was Li Zhi, the future Emperor Gaozong. It just felt right. What surprised me most is how many of the “wild” plot points are actually real historical events. That’s the crazy part. They even toned some things down, because if they included everything from the records, it would’ve been even more insane. Some events were clearly adjusted to tighten the timeline or insert the main character into moments she wasn’t originally part of, but a lot of the dialogue and events are straight from historical sources. The branching timelines are a huge plus. Your choices actually matter. I already imagined an alternate timeline where after Li Tai saves Wu after she kills her archnemesis, they form a rebellious faction and trigger another civil war or coup. Brother versus brother all over again, just like Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng. The game makes you think in those terms, which is rare. Though that would break Li Zhi/Gaozong's heart xD Now here’s the fun part. To get the choices right, you actually need to think like a Machiavellian. You cannot play this like a passive visual novel. You need to read people, calculate outcomes, and understand power. Tang court politics are no different from Western court politics. It’s the same game, just a different board. Honestly, watching Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, The Tudors, and similar shows helped a lot. Add to that the fact that I’m a political science graduate who’s read The Prince and actually applied its fundamentals here. This game rewards players who know how to play the political game. If you misstep, you pay for it. Anyway, I’m extremely hyped for Season 2! As a history lover, I already know it’s going to be insane. The Season 2 trailer alone is IMMACULATE. Huge kudos to NEWONESTUDIO. This game genuinely took my breath away. I’m 100 percent nominating this for the Steam Awards, because it absolutely DESERVES it.
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TLDR: This is a fun and well-produced FMV game about ancient Chinese palace drama with some weird side features (some of which I didn't care for) and an at times wonky translation, but which is ultimately well worth its asking price. FMV games have been making a comeback lately, and Road to Empress uses the format to mix a classic historically inspired TV drama with a death-heavy trial-and-error rise to power story (more commonly found in raising sims) and an otome visual novel. This confluence of genres allows it to transcend some of the usual issues I have with otome games - first and foremost, that of the same-y, bland ingenue protagonist. Yuanzhao starts out sweet, but this is ultimately the story of her development into a ruthless and competent schemer, compassionate when circumstances allow, but out to protect herself first and foremost. She's a great character and I grew really attached to her over the course of the game. Both of her love interests are at least a bit shady and untrustworthy, haha, but Yuanzhao being like that herself helps make it feel like more of a push and pull and less of an innocent girl being exploited. Non-romance-able side characters also get a lot more development than they usually do in the genre and some of those stories really messed me up. Road to Empress I is always dramatic and at times downright silly, but it doesn't pull any punches when it comes to the messed up reality of the time it is set in, even for those born into wealth and comfort. If you're new to far eastern dramas, the exaggerated acting and editing might be a bit jarring at first, but once you get used to it, the story is quite enjoyable. In terms of gameplay, I'd say that Road to Empress I suffers from some of the typical issues of choice-based games - "that is not what I thought that dialogue option meant" - and some less typical ones with regards to weird and unnecessary side features such as the "Leaderboard" and the style-incongruent "trait sketch". By and large, though, since going back to redo choices and ignoring things outside of the main game are both pretty easy, those aspects didn't sway my rating here, even if I might deduct some points on a numerical scale, at least for that second issue. Other than that, it's a visual novel with lots of bad ends and some pretty easy quicktime events, there's not much else to say about it. When it comes to production, I'd say that the translation is sometimes off, but you can always generally understand what's going on, and that the weather effects and wound-related make-up aren't super great at times, but they clearly put a lot of effort into the costumes, which is perhaps the most important part if you're going to write a story about the rear palace. Those outfits are consistently gorgeous. The music is also very nice. Ultimately, my conclusion is this: It's great to finally see an(other) otome game with a well-developed protagonist who is complemented rather than defined by romance. If the asking price were 20 bucks, my recommendation would come with some qualifiers, but for 6? Absolutely worth it if you like historically inspired stories about intrigue, betrayals and the scarce human connections formed despite it all.
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If the Buddha can hold the whole world in his heart, why can't he tolerate my feelings about you? It's quite unexpected for this genre to hire and be able to afford actors who can actually act. This is by far the highest production quality FMV game I have played, and probably the best to exist to date. It's also very game-y: collectibles, wiki, leaderboard, items, achievements, and a microtransactions store! (However, it's completely and utterly optional and adds nothing to your experience except if you want to get higher on the leaderboard) All this scheming, under-the-table deals, and behind-closed-doors agreements, and so many poisoned soups. Where I come from, we believe in the saying "women's plotting is indeed immense," and nowhere is that more evident than in this game. A bloody, at times, and delightful at others, trip to olden times China and its Rear Palaces and their women. There were not many downs in this game, but there were quite a few highs that make you appreciate whoever wrote and acted in it.
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This game gives you the experience of being a transmigrator (thanks to the immersion). Now I know that if I transmigrated into an Imperial China webnovel, I’d probably die within two cutscenes. Jokes aside, this is my first FMV and I love it sooo much. I really hope Road to Empress 2 gets released soon. If anyone knows a similar game (FMV, female-oriented story), please leave a comment 🥹 Thank you!
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only thing i dislike is you have to be connected to the internet to play this game..... a single player.... cinematic game....like what?????? other then that its worth 5-6 bucks (sale price) for the entertainment it gives. definitely gives you the Chinese drama vibe
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Frequently Asked Questions
Road to Empress I is currently priced at 7.19€ on Steam.
Road to Empress I is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 7.19€ on Steam.
Road to Empress I received 9,719 positive votes out of a total of 11,170 achieving a rating of 8.48.
😎
Road to Empress I was developed by New One Studio and published by New One Studio and Ariel.
Road to Empress I is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Road to Empress I is not playable on MacOS.
Road to Empress I is not playable on Linux.
Road to Empress I is a single-player game.
There is a DLC available for Road to Empress I. Explore additional content available for Road to Empress I on Steam.
Road to Empress I does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
Road to Empress I does not support Steam Remote Play.
Road to Empress I is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Road to Empress I.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 10 March 2026 19:33 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 08 March 2026 11:29 |
| Steam price | 15 March 2026 05:01 |
| Steam reviews | 15 March 2026 01:47 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Road to Empress I, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Road to Empress I
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Road to Empress I concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Road to Empress I compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
122
Developer
New One Studio
Publisher
New One Studio,
Ariel
Release
08 Sep 2025
Platforms