Arcade Spirits Reviews
...I feel that I can still recommend this game despite its flaws. I mean, the key reason to play a game is entertainment, right? While Arcade Spirits may not meet my personal metric for “great visual novel,” it was still a highly-enjoyable game, and I would say it’s worth a look for fans of the genre.
The small hitches and spotty audio don’t spoil what is an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable narrative. The diverse cast of characters, showing more inclusivity than any other romance visual novel on the PS4, is certainly welcome. Arcade Spirit is tightly written, with only a hand full of lulls, but plenty of heart and a tonne of quirk. While it’s not going to be challenging the greats in the visual novel genre, It’ll surely raise a smile or 10 on your face.
I really enjoyed what Fiction Factory Games have created. The many gameplay choices allow you to feel in control of how the story plays out. A well written and nicely paced script ensures that you don’t get lost amongst a variety of subplots and its many characters. Creating your personality was a nice touch, and how this influenced others was an interesting gaming choice. Arcade Spirits won’t tick all the boxes for the fans of the genre, but its inoffensive approach means it should be added to your library, so buy a copy here! Create your character, download IRIS and see where life will take you in this colourful and fun Visual Novel.
In Arcade Spirits the aim of the whole game is in fact to discover oneself to understand what our real ambitions in life can be.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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.
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.
Give it a shot, but don't play for too long.
Arcade Spirits is a very delightful Visual Novel to play especially if you are as passionate about gaming as I am. The writers and developers show a whole lot of passion for the gaming medium and also handle hard themes really well. That is something I really admire and enjoy seeing in a game that basically is about finding hope, video games, and having passion for what you do. I definitely have had a lot of fun working at the Funplex in-game and getting to know the various fun and quirky characters
Arcade is a pretty decent videogame. You can see the creator’s love in their work, but it needs more. Caracthers have their own story, but often in the same place, so that subracts importance when you replay the game with other route. Besides, on Nintendo Switch you haven’t the fast load option, thing that breaks the mechanic of this type of games.
Review in Spanish | Read full review