Arcade Spirits Reviews

Arcade Spirits is ranked in the 67th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
7 / 10
Feb 26, 2019

Arcade Spirits is a successful experiment in creating an inclusive and immersive visual novel experience, it just needs to nail the "novel" part of that experience. Yet, for as flawed as the line-to-line writing of Arcade Spirits can be, I still found myself really enjoying the overall story of the game. Arcade Spirits already won a lot of points with me for being a relatively bite-sized adventure, but I also loved the cast of characters and the casual nature of the entire experience. Unfortunately, a lot of rough writing and dialogue in the game keeps me from truly loving it.

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9 / 10.0
May 9, 2020

A visual novel happy to include everyone, with a message of togetherness and characters you want to spend time with. The arcade setting is charming, and the writing is impeccable. An easy recommendation to anyone interested in dating sims, the arcade scene, or romantic (or platonic) love.

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76 / 100
May 23, 2020

At first glance, Arcade Spirits may appear to be only fun and pleasantly nerdy, but it is actually a visual novel packed with unexpected and heartwarming lessons.

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8.5 / 10.0
May 13, 2020

Arcade Spirits presents an intriguing world filled with vibrant characters and deep emotional feeling. The story is beautifully written and provides a clear path with plenty of choices along the way to really make your story unique. While there are some conversations that repeat depending on choices made the game flows smoothly. All in all, it is a truly enjoyable story with plenty of little treasures for fans of both modern and classic gaming.

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7 / 10
May 5, 2020

While it's a simple game, it's definitely one that's worth your time.

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75 / 100
Mar 2, 2019

It doesn’t really bring any innovation into dating sim world but it is one I can easily recommend.

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7 / 10.0
May 24, 2020

Regardless, Arcade Spirits is a unique visual novel. It has a lot of humor as well as dourness, which will have gamers guessing their fate while simultaneously shaping it themselves. As you go from floor assistant to something much more, you'll find true love along the way. The dream of working a job you adore while finding your soulmate: a hardship in real life, but achievable in a few short hours with Arcade Spirits.

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7 / 10
May 6, 2020

Arcade Spirits is a niche title that will nevertheless find its audience thanks to some great writing and a very inclusive selection of diverse characters to interact with. While there are a few flaws in the sound design area, including some poor voice work and an overall low volume output, the gameplay is engaging and the plot intriguing, making this the perfect choice if you're after a fun, lighthearted experience or a well-written gaming nostalgia trip.

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3.5 / 5.0
Apr 30, 2020

In the end, Arcade Spirits isn't a bad game, it's just a rather quirky and romance filled visual novel. Even though it can't transcend genres in the way Steins;Gate and a few others do, the strong focus on following your heart gives players something to enjoy. Toss in some silly references and genuinely interesting characters and it's honestly interesting if you can put in the time to see more than just the surface.

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Alana Hagues
Top Critic
80%
May 5, 2019

Arcade Spirits's warm heart can be felt under its clumsy exterior.

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6.5 / 10.0
Jun 8, 2020

Despite not reaching its full potential, I still found some entertainment in Arcade Spirits. By ignoring the romantic aspects, I was able to play it as someone with an appreciation of the heyday of arcades. The charming setting made for a promising launching point, the audio is excellent, and the story (with smart pop-culture nods and humor) has page-turning qualities to some extent.

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7 / 10.0
May 1, 2020

While it does not do anything radically new with the visual novel style, Arcade Spirits has plenty of charm and personality to make it a worthy addition to the genre. Now to imagine a world where ET the video game didn't completely suck. What a happy place that must be.

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GameSpace
Brandedwolf
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Feb 5, 2019

Overall Arcade Spirits is well worth the price of admission for those seeking something a bit different but made with love to give the player a story to remember. It has a great soundtrack that matches the style of the neon glitz of the arcade and might just give you the feels.

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Cubed3
Nayu
Top Critic
8 / 10
Jan 31, 2021

The distinct graphic style and story based on friendships and gaming, adds to the fun factor of Arcade Spirits. It is suitable for any player regardless of the level of arcade system knowledge, as a lot gets explained. It isn't solely an arcade history lesson, though. There is a slightly supernatural element that creates a lot of mystery and thrills, making a sequel rather desirable. The solid plot combined with retro style colours and game appropriate menus all add to the arcade machine feel of this visual novel, which most will appreciate and enjoy.

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Digitally Downloaded
Matt C.
Top Critic
May 11, 2020

This is a warm, funny, moving visual novel, with a delightful cast of characters to get to know and potentially fall in love with, dressed up in a loving celebration of arcade history.

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GameSpew
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
May 11, 2020

If you enjoy getting lost in a great story based around realistic characters, then you shouldn’t hesitate to play Arcade Spirits.

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5.5 / 10.0
May 3, 2020

Ultimately, the dialogue and points system just wasn't engaging enough to keep me fully invested in the narrative, and its comedy leanings prevented the romance elements from feeling genuine. It doesn't help that the writing is littered with far too many pop culture and gaming references. Those who devour visual novels like Gauntlet would devour quarters might find Arcade Spirits worth playing through, but everyone else should probably cash in their prize tickets for something else.

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Adam Wilkin
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Mar 11, 2019

A great visual novel, with intricate and interesting writing, a distinct and detailed artstyle and a catchy soundtrack. Well worth picking up for fans of the genre and newcomers alike

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Feb 14, 2019

A must play for any fan of not only visual novels or dating sims but the arcade game genre.

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7.5 / 10.0
May 1, 2020

I’ve always found that visual novels are tough to evaluate for general audiences as either their art style, themes, general background, or characters are typically geared in a niche direction of some sort… making them, by nature, hit or miss depending on your appreciation for that niche...

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