When Choices: Stories You Play launched in 2016, it quickly captivated players with its cinematic storytelling experience. Unlike Pixelberry Studios’ previous success, High School Story, which leaned toward simulation, Choices takes readers deep into interactive stories where their choices shape the outcome. In just eight years, it has become one of the top story-driven games on mobile, consistently expanding its content, improving features, and refining its immersive interface. Pixelberry Studios wanted to create an experience that felt like a blend between reading a novel and watching a movie—but with the thrill of making meaningful choices.
Since its launch, Choices has added a number of stories across multiple genres, expanding from the initial few. The team frequently releases new books, keeping players engaged with ongoing story lines, seasonal releases, and thematic series. The variety of genres—from romance and historical to sci-fi, slice of life, comedy and heartwarming keeping the app dynamic and engaging for a broad audience. I will also point out the interesting addition of other languages, making it more inclusive! Pixelberry introduced seasonal and holiday-themed events that reward players with special content, free diamonds, or exclusive scenes. These events align with real-world holidays, giving the game a festive feel and encouraging consistent player engagement.
Choices has built up a robust library of stories, spanning genres such as romance, historical fiction, science fiction, slice-of-life, comedy, and fantasy. Pixelberry releases new books frequently, and the apps library has something for nearly everyone. If you’re into romance, you can dive into The Royal Romance series and live out a fairy-tale romance with a prince or princess. For fans of fantasy, there’s The Crown & The Flame—a tale of kingdoms and warriors. The variety of genres keeps the app fresh, inviting players to explore different worlds and try out various stories without feeling restricted to a single type of narrative. Recently, Pixelberry has even expanded Choices to include translations into other languages, making the app accessible and inclusive to a wider audience.
A feature of Choices that stands out to some storytelling games would be the auto-play feature which allows the reader to easily glide through the story without having to continuously tap on the screen (and you could also change the speed!). Another touch is the estimated reading time shown before starting each episode. This is ideal for busy players who want to know how long an episode might take—whether they’re squeezing in a quick read on a lunch break or settling in for a longer session. And after playing a story, users have the option to “like” it or mark it as “not for me,” a feature that allows Pixelberry to gather feedback and gauge interest in different genres and story lines.
For the customization aspect, it allows you to customize in limited versions the face and hairstyle of the character, hence not making the gameplay as immersive but if the reader does not mind, then it would be an issue. As of this writing, all stories that are published on the app are passed through the studio and are written only by their hired writers so the use of diamonds is sure in all stories. The customization is even more limited as some of the options would require spending on gems, and with a starting diamond of 54, clicking three choices would be enough to lead your diamonds to zero. This is not alarming as Choices does have several ways to earn those diamonds back, just not as fast as it is spent!
The characters take on a realism look to them, which may not be as attractive or may be depending on the preference of the reader, the background effects and art scenes make up for the areas that are lacking. I do find it quite odd that there is such limitations of the MC, yet the background characters have more diversification in their appearance, and frankly more intriguing. The interface of this app gives the reader the opportunity to have a look at their wardrobe at anytime of the story to change their characters attire which is an intriguing addition. Living up to it’s name, all stories on this app has a good amount of choices both mild choices and those that would affect your relationship with a character; although, these choices do not have an impact on the next episode.
Sometimes, Pixelberry offers “VIP” subscriptions, where players can pay a monthly fee for access to additional perks, such as extra diamonds and the ability to play new stories first. This tiered system allows players to decide how much they want to invest based on their gaming preferences. Due to Choices not being opened to community stories, the only way for prospective writer to be paid is through contract jobs with Pixelberry. However, Pixelberry has occasionally opened limited opportunities for writers to submit stories for inclusion in the app. These submissions are carefully vetted and edited to align with the high-quality standards and storytelling guidelines of the platform, allowing for a few select fan-created works while maintaining overall quality control.
While Choices doesn’t have in-app community features like forums or comment sections, the strong presence on external platforms such as Reddit and other blogs fosters a highly engaged fan community. Players often create their own fan groups, sharing experiences and discussing story branches and character choices.
Choices: Stories You Play continues to be a fan favorite for mobile players who crave a mix of cinematic storytelling and interactive choices. Pixelberry has created a polished, immersive app that resonates with a broad audience, thanks to its diverse stories, engaging choices, and professional quality. The combination of high-quality stories, limited but curated community contributions, and an active fan-base ensures Choices remains a top choice for players seeking immersive, story-driven experiences. Whether you’re in it for romance, adventure, or mystery, Choices gives you the power to create your own story (literally).
