Goodbye Volcano High Reviews
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 a charming visual novel packed full of great ideas, with a really interesting way of handling narrative choice.
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 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 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.
Despite all the slating going on in this review, Goodbye Volcano High is likely to appeal to those who want an uncomplicated and down-to-earth narrative experience. There are glimpses of goodness within Goodbye Volcano High’s grounds, but the bland writing, cliched characters and needlessly protracted scenes don’t do it any favours. The rhythm action sections are swell additions that break up the long-winded cutscenes, but they too are overstuffed with timed button press prompts, as they end up feeling too hectic for their own good. Goodbye Volcano High overstays its welcome in spite of its 5-hour length, lumbering along without any significant drama until the climax approaches, so it’s questionable whether you’d stay the course or find something more dramatic to satiate your appetite for good videogame yarns. If this is indeed goodbye to Volcano High, then its demise will shed only a shrug of disappointment.
'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.
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.
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 an emotional and profound game that explores the themes of growing up, acceptance and living in difficult social conditions. Despite the lack of interactive world exploration, the game offers a highly engaging storyline in which the decisions you make affect your bonds with the characters and unlock additional scenes.
Review in Polish | Read full review
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.
The cast of characters here is super-likable and is the most I've enjoyed a High School cast in a video game since Life is Strange: Beyond the Storm. KO_OP may have taken a long time to get Goodbye Volcano High out the door, but it's been more than worth the wait for this final product, which is one of my favourite games of the year.
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
Goodbye Volcano High is an emotionally charged story tragically hindered by technical issues and pacing problems.
Goodbye Volcano High is a worthy addition to the visual narrative genre. The whole team at KO_OP have clearly put their hearts into this game over several years and it shows. The writing is emotional and relatable, I especially loved how quickly the news of impending doom turned into memes and jokes all over the internet; very realistic. The artwork is vibrant, colourful and detailed, brought together brilliantly with the animation. Over in the music department, the soundtrack is solid and suits the game perfectly.
Goodbye Volcano High is a fun, nerdy, queer narrative adventure that focuses on the last days of high school, and possibly, the last days on earth, for a group of quirky teenagers. Its narrative is full of heart and players will fall in love with its concept and characters. Some gameplay elements can be a bit hit and miss, though overall, you'll likely fall in love with the snappy dialogue and beautiful, wholesome relationship between these dino teens.
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 is ambitious enough to want to cover many genres, but not so ambitious as to do it well. As a result, we have a simple story, but without depth, which is only saved by its beautiful artwork and wonderful soundtrack.
Review in Spanish | Read full review