Goodbye Volcano High Reviews
Part visual novel, part rhythm game, part interactive animated movie, Goodbye Volcano High taps into the sacred relationship between music and coming-of-age in ways that would be impossible in any other media format.
Goodbye Volcano High is a heartfelt coming-of-age drama about a group of teen dinosaurs confronted with an uncertain future. Dreamy pop ballads and an absorbing dialogue system offer a gateway into an introspective story about being young, queer, and chasing your dreams in the face of impending disaster.
Goodbye Volcano High is a story of growth, friendship and love and how all these things, already great when taken individually, become giants when mixed together. Thanks to intelligent game mechanics, the story progresses forcefully by affirming the identity of its protagonists while allowing the player to make crucial choices, while the soundtrack (which ended up straight among my favorites on loop) is much more of an accompaniment: it's a co-protagonist, who embodies the anxieties, fears and dreams of this ramshackle gang of friends, dealing with nothing less than an apocalypse.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Goodbye Volcano High is a charming visual novel packed full of great ideas, with a really interesting way of handling narrative choice.
Goodbye Volcano High executes solidly on its unique concept, delivering well-etched characters, engaging rhythm challenges, and a collection of memorable original tunes. That said, those looking for juicy high school intrigue will be disappointed, as the game is relentlessly nice, to the point it often lacks drama. We may not know exactly what finished off the dinosaurs, but Goodbye Volcano High comes close to killing itself with kindness.
Goodbye Volcano High is an absolute delight. While the rhythm gameplay segments are a bit of a nuisance by way of their design, the only other real issue is the sorry state of the Trophy list, something that should be easily remedied. If you can look past those fairly minor hitches, then what you'll experience is an exceptionally written game filled out by a cast of characters without so much as a weak link. Combine the incredibly impressive roster of characters with the high caliber of writing capable of delivering an emotional gut-punch just as easily as raucous laughter, this is not one worth sleeping on.
Goodbye Volcano High is a cute looking game about modern western teenagers with some fun characters and memorable indie music.
Review in Russian | Read full review
At its best, Fang and their friends' journey is affecting and thought-provoking, and while their time threatens to be cruelly cut short, the time we spent at Volcano High was mostly well-spent.
There’s not as much control over that as one might like. While the dialogue is good, the choices regularly given to the player during the course of that dialogue don’t really come to bear until the last chapter of the game. But the journey is still a unique, effortlessly charming one that proudly wears its heart on its sleeve. It treats its numerous marginalized characters with such love, warmth, and care, and the music they make even more so. In Goodbye Volcano High, the world end not with a bang or a whimper, but an eye roll and a middle finger.
Goodbye Volcano High is something truly special. It takes a well-conceived gameplay idea, drops it into an immensely unique and superbly crafted world and marries it with sharp writing and wonderful tunes to produce something unmatched. More than just an experiment in adding rhythm gameplay to a narrative experience, it's an earnest, mature, queer, warm and heartbreaking invitation to the end of the world.
Goodbye Volcano High tells the tale of eight high school students living out what's possibly the end of their existence and determining what is important to them as they face the end.
Goodbye Volcano High is a very intriguing graphic adventure that intelligently explores sensitive themes such as those related to the LGBTQIA+ community and climate change. It weaves a compelling story around these topics and presents a cast of characters that are easy to connect with. While it may have some minor flaws that prevent it from receiving higher ratings, it still manages to offer something meaningful to anyone who plays it – and that's no small feat.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Goodbye Volcano High is a terrifically-crafted slice of high school drama that succeeds thanks to the strength of its lovable cast of characters, amazing music and a sweet story about perseverance in the face of uncertainty, be it the possibility of your best friends moving on or the possible end of the world.
Goodbye Volcano High hits a few promising notes, put intended, with its good musical numbers, decent dialogue and nice art. However, notable issues and inconsistencies with the main story plus a few minor technical quirks keep this fantasy tale from reaching its full potential.
I can barely find the words to describe the emotional experience that is Goodbye Volcano High. While there are a few sound blips, the music, voice acting, and story were phenomenal, and these teenage dinosaurs were truly relatable.
For a game about dinosaurs and the end of the world, Goodbye Volcano High’s coming of age tale ironically plays things far too safe. Those looking for a comfort tale akin to an anime will enjoy its trappings, but those who have already graduated have no doubt seen what this title has to offer.
As the lyrics from the song Reunion asks, was it worth it all? I can happily say, yes. Despite its problems, Goodbye Volcano High is every bit worth it, and I'd happily spend more time with Worm Drama if I could.
Goodbye Volcano High is a fantastic narrative that provides themes and stories that are relatable to players of all ages and experiences. The team at KO_OP balances the wonderful teenage angst with meaningful storytelling, fantastic music, and animation that few can match. Goodbye Volcano High forced me to look within and see how I approached scenarios as a know-it-all 18 year old versus how I would respond some 10+ years later. This six hour adventure is required playing for those that appreciate a powerful coming of age story that is presented in a new and unique way.
'Goodbye Volcano High' features a great narrative, fun mini-games, and relatable characters, making it one of the top games this year for its genre.
There are parts of this game that are highly relatable. You can scroll through social media and see what are essentially Tweets (or Posts, thanks Elon), mostly about the impending meteor impact, that capture Twitter (sure, X) culture with hilarious accuracy. The third act also shines, with tensions between characters finally bubbling over and leading to huge blowouts that feel very true to the nature of teenage friendships. Fang’s relationship to their parents and brother Naser also feel very complex, more than any other relationship they have with the other characters. But none of this is enough to carry the weight of the game’s slow first acts or make up for the game’s unrealised thematic potential, and that’s a shame. What could’ve been a meaningful meditation on the importance of community turned out half-baked. The seeds of something great were there, but it never quite had the payoff it deserved.