Last month, publisher PQube and developer Fiction Factory Games unveiled their visual novel for the Nintendo Switch community. Influenced by 80’s culture, Arcade Spirits will take you on your own individual journey to discover who you really are, while making some great friends along the way.
The estimated six to eight-hour storyline will show you the ropes of working at the hectic and vintage arcade store, the Funplex. This energetic and vibrant enterprise will provide wacky characters and amusing customers. Arcade Spirits is an engrossing experience that will make you feel like you actually work inside the arcade.
Plot
Since Arcade Spirits is a visual novel, the plot is obviously the whole game. Because I follow the strict gamers code of no-spoilers, I do want to disclose a lot of plot points. I would feel morally wrong if I mention anything past the exposition.
For content sake, users should be aware of the video game market crash of 1983. From the span of 1983 to 1985, the stock of the industry dropped 97% in total revenue. Personal consoles began to arise, and PC gaming was frowned upon for many years.
In an alternative universe, these dark days never occur, and the arcade era still reigns supreme. Arcade Spirits infused this alternate timeline with a futuristic setting. In the game, you play as yourself in the year “20XX.”
While playing as yourself, your video game version of you, has recently been down on the dumps. For the past decade, your employment has been rocky. Bouncing between jobs, your roommate, Juniper, suggests downloading a new life coach app. On your phone will be IRIS, “The Identity Identifier System” that will get your life back on track.
IRIS will one way or another (all depending on your personal choices) get you a job at the Funplex. Once you begin as the new floor attendant, IRIS will carefully guide you on your adventure. Her commentary will provide great moments of humor and a warm presence throughout.
Given the title of this project, your story will be catered around your employment at the Funplex. Conflicts will arise and you will handle these situations as if you are a real employee for this made up store.
Gameplay
The guided role-playing nature of this videogame has called for minimal gameplay mechanics. The only controls Arcade Spirits requires is the selection of one of many options for hypothetical scenarios. Each option has a category assigned to the reaction: “Gusty,” “Steady,” “Kindly,” “Quirky,” and “Basically.”
For every answer put in, IRIS will track your progress and precisely record which category is being used in order to understand you better. This feature is a great addition to the title because it allows users to really begin to understand their own personalities and have a sense of who they really are.
IRIS will also track and record your progress with your fellow colleagues. Out of the group, IRIS will display how you get along and which peer favors you the most. For spoiler purposes, I will not disclose who these NPCs are.
My Personal Experience
Customization is key to this game. Everything down to the smallest detail will provide personalization and sense of individuality. This aspect of Arcade Spirits is quite advanced and well ahead compared to other titles of this genre.
I found the characters in Arcade Spirits to be quite engaging. The design provides interesting scenery and character sketches as well. Everyone that I interacted with was unique and different throughout. This aspect was quite important to me because it kept me entertained. If the designs were redundant and original, it could put off a lot of users.
Overall, my run time lasted me around seven hours. Personally, I did not pace out my time to complete the game. I attempted to speed through (quite vigorously out of curiosity for the ending) and I think this hindered my experience. Hearing from other players, I have heard of some gamers completing this game in the 15-20-hours. It is clear this game has nothing but variety to offer.
The Final Verdict
Personally, my genre of choice does not include visual story telling. I find the video game format of storytelling to be secondary to a movie or TV show. Arcade Spirits provides a decent story, but I do not believe it was exciting enough to keep me engaged in comparison to other forms of media.
I appreciated how personal this game is. Tracking personal stats does help provide insightful things about yourself that you may not even know. For gamers who enjoyed the idea of personality exploration, this game will be right up your alley.
Arcade Spirits is a hit or miss depending on the individual. For me, this game is not something I yearn for. However, gamers with a passion for these types of projects will fall in love. If you have the time and patience to see a hole in the wall arcade grow and evolve (just like you while playing), I suggest buckling down and head into the Funplex!
Final Score: 7/10
Check Out the Arcade Spirits Trailer:
Arcade Spirits is available at North American retailers for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4! The quirky adventure is also available digitally for Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.
For more information, please visit: http://www.arcadespirits.com/
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Nintendo Switch Review
Video games have played an essential role in my life since my parents purchased me my very own GameCube. Countless years and games later, I still have appreciation and love for the gaming community and culture. My passion for a variety of games has kept me close to many friends and roommates over the years. Starting in the fall, I will be embarking on my final year at Michigan State University. I am very excited to see what this year full of gaming will pertain.
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