Arise: A simple story Reviews

Arise: A simple story is ranked in the 89th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
10 / 10.0
Dec 2, 2019

A beautiful adventure that will stay with me forever. Arise: A Simple Story is one story told through amazing animations played through a beautiful world, accompanied by a soundtrack that makes this game a masterpiece in every piece of its design.

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10 / 10.0
Dec 3, 2019

Arise: A Simple Story is a special game and it deserves your attention. The narrative, although like the title suggests is ‘simple’, how it’s told is not, and the game deserves to be lauded for this. The puzzles are fun with suitable challenge allowing you to progress through the game and experience the unique chapters with a smile on your face. If you’re a fan of artistic indie titles such as Brothers: A Tale of two Sons, Rime and Limbo then do yourself a favour, and check out this game. Not only does this game get the rare Thumb Culture Platinum Award, it’s also a game of the year contender!

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Dec 6, 2019

Arise: A Simple Story lives up to its namesake, telling a captivating tale full of charm and heartbreak that hit me right in the feels. It's an experience I won't forget anytime soon, and while there are a few flaws, they cannot outweigh what a meaningful experience this turned out to be, and I couldn't recommend it more.

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9.7 / 10.0
Dec 2, 2019

A little and warm pat to heart of platforms games.

Review in Italian | Read full review

9.5 / 10.0
Dec 2, 2019

Arise: A Simple Story tells a charming narrative with a beautiful atmosphere in both its design and soundtrack. Controlling the progression of time forward and backward is frequently used in unique ways to keep gameplay delightful.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 2, 2019

Arise: A Simple Story is a delightful mix of stunning visuals, sounds, and engaging story. But there's also a satisfying game underneath to enjoy too.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 6, 2019

Arise: A Simple Story creates an entire package whose diverse gameplay, beautiful environments, and touching story make for a fully immersive and unmissable experience.

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9 / 10.0
Jan 7, 2020

This is simple story about life, but with great narrative style.

Review in Slovak | Read full review

9 / 10.0
Dec 14, 2019

One of the biggest surprises this year and and the great debut of the Spanish studio. Arise: A Simple Story is a beautiful artistic game that also offers interesting storie and challenging gameplay.

Review in Polish | Read full review

Dec 2, 2019

Arise offers a beautifully crafted narrative in the skin of a 3D puzzle platformer. Though it’s not a game-changer, Arise manages to excel in everything it offers to the player providing a well-refined experience.

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9 / 10.0
May 2, 2022

There were no spoken words to explain the story, yet they were still able to convey emotions through body language. Small cutscene moments would play out as you found statues that revealed the character’s life journey to the player. To bolster the impact of these moments, the orchestral melodies became a major contributor to emotional impact. It was amazing to be led down the garden path as the atmosphere would shift from mysterious yet hopeful to immediately hitting me with a pang of sadness. Even when things seemed to be at their lowest, they still managed to circle back the feeling of happiness with the addition of collectable hand-drawn memories of his happiest moments with his partner.

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4.5 / 5.0
May 27, 2022

Arise: A Simple Story is a short but fantastic game. It isn’t the most challenging game out on the market; it isn’t the fastest paced or the most mechanically in-depth… but it doesn’t have to be. It’s calm, quiet, deep, and far more than enough to make it worth playing. If you need to fill a quiet afternoon or two and need a poignant story to pluck your heartstrings, definitely make sure to give Arise: A Simple Story a chance.

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IGN Korea
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Jun 16, 2022

Beautiful scenery and scores that creates a full fledged cinematic experience. Topped with the emotional narratives which surely brings warmth to all gamers. Each chapter feels unique on their own but still keeps the overall flow in alignment with the story, which was possible with the creative map designs throughout the gameplay.

Review in Korean | Read full review

8.8 / 10.0
Dec 10, 2019

Even with occasionally questionable jumping sequences, this emotionally fraught journey is a potent statement on the nature of love, memory, and loss

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8.8 / 10.0
Dec 12, 2019

Arise: A Simple Story has done something no other media has done to me in quite some time, send me on a rollercoaster of emotions. The game’s environments are visually very pretty and often quite quirky, while the musical score is truly moving and compliments the game perfectly. While the time manipulation concept is nothing new, it is done very cleverly and makes for some interesting platforming sequences. Platforming precision may be a minor irritation but it doesn’t impede the overall experience in the slightest.

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8.8 / 10.0
Feb 4, 2020

Not much negative has been noticed. In the game there is only one collectible in the memories. Unfortunately, these small works of art only minimally awaken the discovery value of remote places, so you don't always want to deviate from the main path. Sometimes the controls get a little stuck and the camera perspective is not always an advantage, because some distances to be crossed are not easy to estimate and more often you fall into (deadly) darkness. So you often start again from a memory point. But these are set very fair. Frustrating moments did not occur. Since there is also the possibility of local co-op mode, I will definitely play it again. The two of you will take this emotional journey once again and enjoy the story to the fullest. One player controls the man and the other manipulates time. So you have to trust and coordinate with each other. A certainly beautiful, but also challenging journey. With Arise: A simple story you get for 19,99 € an atmospheric game, which becomes a real surprise with an emotional story, exciting gameplay and loving details.

Review in German | Read full review

87 / 100
May 7, 2022

Arise: A Simple Story may exactly be just that but the emotions and journey we go through is anything but. With a serene and breathtaking art style, I wasn’t quite expecting to experience such intense feelings. You really have to appreciate the love and nuanced care that developer Untold Tales put into this game. In total, the Arise is about 4-6 hours long depending on how quickly you go. But I assure you every moment is so worth it, I almost wish there was more. If this title slipped under your radar on its initial release, I would recommend picking it up for the Switch; however, I would also encourage you to have a box of tissues handy for those hard-hitting moments. You’ll need them, trust me.

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8.5 / 10.0
Dec 2, 2019

Arise: A Simple Story is true to its name and offers both function and form, which is why I'm so anxious to see what Piccolo Studio has next in the pipeline. It's a pleasant surprise to help cap off a great year.

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85 / 100
Dec 6, 2019

Piccolo Studio's debut leaves a game that will linger in your mind for long, a simple adventure in its form, but with a message as beautiful as painful. One more example that videogames are a great medium to transmit a message and, as Journey and similar games, they are playable poetry. If you like this kind of offerings, go get it without doubt.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

85 / 100
Dec 2, 2019

Even without much dialogue or long, extensive cutscenes, Arise is able to tell us a simple story that is vibrant and rich, bringing us an unforgettable and emotional experience.

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