Game: Arcadia Fallen
Genre: Role-Playing, Puzzle, Simulation, Adventure, Visual Novel
System: Nintendo Switch (also available on Steam (Windows, macOS, & Linux)
Developer|Publisher: Galdra Studios | Gamesbranding.com
Age Rating: US T | EU 12+
Price: US $24.99 | UK £18.89 | EU € 20,99
Release Date: January 5th, 2022
Review code used, with many thanks to Gamesbranding.com
Time to review one of my favorite game types: visual novels with a healthy dose of LGBTQ+ representation/options. And do we have a solid title here! Normally I ramble a little bit in these intros, but this game speaks for itself. Let’s jump in.
Story
Your character is an apprentice alchemist in a small mining town. One day you see someone in trouble and jump in to help. Consequently, you find yourself bound to a friendly spirit named Mime. Pretty soon you discover that all is not well in your town. You must lead a band of magical misfits to prevent a catastrophe from occurring. Will you fall in love along the way? Play and find out!
Gameplay
Although I would personally categorize this title as a visual novel (text scenes with multiple choices being the primary means of advancing the plot) this game also has some snazzy, if relatively simple, puzzles to solve throughout. The alchemy involves adding ingredients and mixing them until certain patterns are formed, but be careful! Some ingredient combinations will combust, and certain other story elements involve similar pattern matching components. It’s fairly simple. Nothing that anyone but the youngest player is likely to get stuck on for very long, but it adds some variety.
The labels in the text choices are a nice touch. Most of the choices come with labels that tell you what trait is exhibited by the selection (sad, angry, joking, etc.) It’s helpful to not be guessing as to the emotional response behind each selection. The selections that indicate a major path fork don’t have these labels, but they have their own explanatory tidbits.
Game’s Greatest Strength
I just had to gush a bit about the world-building in this game. The world is so detailed that it felt like reading a 600-page fantasy novel, instead of a 7 chapter game. I was enthralled by the backstory, which included information on the various magical beings and races, some of the people of legend that built schools and cities, and a light dose of the political/military structure of the region. One gets the impression that there is enough story in the creators’ notes to support a much larger game, and I’d very much like to see it!
I also want to mention that there are some strong statements in here about the difficulty of knowing the right thing to do, much less doing it. I appreciated that they didn’t boil down complex situations into easy choices.
Romance
The romance isn’t the focus of this game, and I thought it a very gentle addition. I greatly appreciate that you can romance characters of multiple genders, instead of being restricted to the opposite gender only. I always appreciate games that reflect my lived experience.
The romanceable characters are a bit severe but given that they are fighting some dark forces intent on taking over their homes, that makes sense. There is still enough variety that everyone will probably find at least one character they like.
Music, Art, Voice Acting, Bonus Content
The music was pleasant and blended into the background perfectly. I barely noticed it, which is a huge compliment. In addition, the acting is very good. My only complaint was that Mime’s voice seems to be a tad out of balance and thus louder than the other voices.
The backgrounds and character designs are excellent. I really enjoyed the bold look of the lines and the color selection. It’s a little like reading a YA graphic novel in its design sensibility, and that works quite well here.
There are conversations you unlock as you go that can be accessed as a bonus feature. Also, when you complete the game you unlock a flower crown for Mime to wear. Adorable!
Any issues?
Basically, the main problem I had was with selecting items to mix or selecting where to go on the map. There are subtle cues to show when you have an item or place selected and they are a bit too subtle to reliably detect every time. At least for me. So it led to some aimless and mistaken clicking, but after a while, I finally mostly got the hang of it. It just took a lot longer than normal.
Other than a single crash of the game (which worked fine the next time I ran through) I ran into no other problems.
Conclusion
Arcadia Fallen is a great title for fantasy lovers who want good LGBTQ+ options and good world-building. The game takes around 6-7 hours if you read fast, which is a tad brief for the price tag. However, your choices can change outcomes, such as which romantic partner you’ll show interest in, so there is replay value. It comes down to how much you value the strengths of this title. As for me, I greatly enjoyed it and rate it…
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up
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