Game: Arise: A Simple Story – Definitive Edition
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam, PS4 & Xbox)
Developers | Publishers: Piccolo Studio | Untold Tales
Age Rating: US E | EU 7+
Price: US $19.99 | UK £17.99 | EU 19,99
Release Date: April 28th, 2022
Review code used, with many thanks to WireTap Media.
Arise: A Simple Story is an adventure narrative game about an older man living in a pre-agricultural tribe.
Arise: A Simple Story
Starting on a sad note, as you begin the game, you take control of an elderly gentleman as his funeral pyre is lit, surrounded by the solemn looks of his neighbours. Then, the game’s story revolves around his travels to the next life as he begins a pilgrimage to revisit memories of the life he has left behind.
Arise: A Simple Story is an adventure puzzle game with many great ideas in its gameplay. Without voice acting or text, the game tells its narrative through visual storytelling and cues in the environment. Additionally, there are plenty of opportunities to leap from platforms, swing on ropes and clamber up walls in a classic platform style.
Old Man, New Tricks
The old man has a trick up the sleeve of his heavy coat; he can manipulate time and space. Each level in the game allows you to shift time forwards or backwards and, in doing so, affect the area around the old man, allowing him to progress.
For example, you can use the time to change the tide level around an archipelago in the first of his memories. Lowering the water level will allow him to walk across the seafloor in certain areas. You can also rewind time to lower a falling rock to use as a platform or use the old man’s grappling hook to hitch a ride on a bee flying past.
Control Time
The workings of the time mechanic differ from level to level. Sometimes you control a period of several hours; other times, it’s seconds. Sometimes you have control over everything on a level, such as the weather or particular incidents, like rockslides, but for the most part, the mechanic is used uniquely. There is a little bit of overlap in some of the levels in terms of how you use time, as some ideas are reused. However, the time travel puzzles are satisfying throughout the game. They are neither too difficult nor too easy, with plenty of variety in the puzzles.
So while the game can be played through to the completion of the story in around four or five hours, there are collectables to be found. The collectables are additional memories in the form of beautifully drawn image stills which you don’t want to miss.
Niggles with the Camera
While the game’s story is heartfelt and will pull at your heartstrings (you might need a box of tissues handy), the camera’s position for the platforming portions of the game can be a little off-putting for the player. You can’t move the game’s camera from its static viewpoint, and the view you have of the old man is from a drawn-out distance.
In addition, the camera’s angle during some of the platforming can fool the eye. It can make you think that the old man is closer to a platform than he actually is. This results in him missing and falling to his death (again) or falling into water and drowning. The charming but bumbling white-bearded old man plummeted down a cliff or drowned so often that I lost count of how many deaths he had during my playthrough. Poor soul, as if dying once at the beginning of the game wasn’t enough without repeatedly dying throughout the game!
Visuals and Soundtrack
Camera aside, the rest of the control system worked fine. Another stand out feature in the game is the music and the graphics. The music reminds me of The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild. The music itself is brilliant, and the way it ebbs and flows, from being quiet and building up to a climactic cutscene, perfectly fits the game’s storyline and draws you in.
In addition, the game looks great on the Switch; I especially enjoyed the scenes with the Sunflowers as they look so lifelike. The Nintendo Switch version of the game also includes the 18 Track Original Soundtrack as part of the Definitive Edition. Additionally, there is a 110 Page Artbook and a custom photo mode.
Conclusion
Arise: A Simple Story – Definitive Edition is a bittersweet tale of an old man’s life and the memories he shared with a partner. It relays a tale of love, heartbreak, hardship, and an emotional journey through his life. It’s a story that stayed on my mind well after the closing credits. The platforming sections may prove fiddly; however, the storyline, narrative and visuals make up for the platforming shortcomings.
Final Verdict: I Like It A Lot 