Every week it is a new upcoming game to spotlight, and this week is no different. Arietta of Spirits has been on my demo playthrough to-do’s for a bit now. Check out this week’s in-depth demo review of the upcoming game set to be released this year (2020)
A hero origin story that crosses the spirit realm. You are Arietta, and you are entrusted with protecting the spirit realm from the dark roaming spirits that want to feed on your and other spirits’ energy. With your trusty spirit guide, you will defend and guide souls to move on and upgrade your abilities and gear. As a bound, you experience things people have never dreamed of or heard. The story will keep you on your mission, the skills, controls, and the clean art style will have you looking forward to your next battle.
Story Driven Adventure
You are Arietta, a Bound, guided by Arco, your spirit guide to keep you from being lost or taken by the dark spirits that would harm you. Those who would steal your energy so they can take over the spirit realm. Arm yourself and protect your family, yourself, and the spirits that are calling out for help. By interacting with unique spirits, you can upgrade yourself to take on the next threat.
There is a lot of great dialogue in the game. The developer has put in a lot of their own heart and soul into this game. The feelings associated with loss, acceptance, and the will to fight what is upcoming are implemented in such an excellent way, and it is not over the top. Having dealt with a loss recently and the world in the state it is now this game’s story has a feeling of hope that I am curious to see what the full game does to play on those feelings.
Looks and Feels Like a Polished Super Nintendo Game
The first time playing through this game gave me some thoughts about Zelda A Link To The Past. Perhaps I am letting it bleed into the games I review and not the other way, but it’s hard not too when a sword swipe gives the same hero yell I hear when playing those games. It also has an art style that is in line with Stardew Valley. While you are not cleaning up your farm, you are taking care of business and battling bugs of enormous size. There are no artifacts or weird game glitches when you do something you think is out of the norm. Maybe a reduction in frames when you hit a tree that does nothing is needed. But everything feels done consciously and precisely.
The world feels alive around you, from a boat rocking on the water to your father sharpening his ax and telling you to be careful—the audio queues when you change levels. Or when there is a shift in the mood, it is done in a calculated manner. There is an enormous attention to detail, and that is what makes this game special. There is a freedom to the game, letting you do what you want but still giving the linear storytelling without forcing it.
I would like to see even more world interaction, making some red apples fall, taking down birdhouses, or just a little more interaction with the objects around you. Even if its just an extra and not directly tied to the plot. It is crucial to have a world that feels alive and can change by having the player be able to modify it even if it is just a slight change. There are still plenty of things currently in development. Until the game’s full release, we can’t give a comprehensive review of the entire experience, as this is just a slice of what will be the final product. I am sure there will be even more immersion generated from interacting with other spirits, items found, and the world explored by Arietta.
Control Experience
The control scheme is intuitive and easy to master. The game allows the use of QWERTY style, arrow keys, or if you want, you can change the key bindings in the game’s settings. The developer helped the player feel comfortable with the controls. They even went so far as highlighting keys for interaction above the player, so you do not have to memorize interactions. The highlighting is key in improving player immersion without having to distract and break away just to find what the interact key is. In this, I am choosing to praise the developers in their choice of the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX).
The movement controls felt solid and took me a little bit of time to get the battle mechanics down. It was mainly an issue with me jumping between the two primary playing styles, QWERTY versus arrow keys. I finally settled on using arrow keys, and using the interact and roll keys (X and Space) no longer became awkward. The defined play styled helped stop me from dying by getting hit easily by the enormous bugs and animals rushing towards me, let alone the big boss battles that use all the mechanics you learn earlier. I stood victorious and enjoyed the battles and dodges required.
Recommendation
This game is worth adding to your Steam wishlist. If you are not into the storyline, it might feel like the dialogue keeps going and going. But if you like the conversations and interactions between the player and the NPCs, then it will be great for you. The demo only shows you a single upgrade on your weapon for plot reasons. There are potentially more mechanics, features, and abilities currently being fine-tuned as we speak. If you check out their twitter, you can see some sneak peeks of some of those very things.
Please consider supporting this indie developer studio. They have put so much effort and polish into this game that it is worth a try. Check out the demo and give it a whirl. It is roughly an hour-long, and able to show off what it is offering. Not all games are for everyone, and that is okay. Show your support and give this studio some feedback after you play the demo. Let them know if you enjoyed it and what things felt off. It is what helps define and make indie games great, the community behind it.
Download the Demo from steam here or if you are on itch.io you can download it using itch.io launcher
Rating
- Lots of Polish
- High quality Pixel Art
- Solid Mechanics
- Engaging Story
Learn More From The Developer
Developed with Game Maker Studio 2, as I find out more info on game development tools and software I will update this article (or the full review when the game comes out).
While not much is actually publicly stated about the developer house Third Spirit I certainly hope to continue to see amazing work come from this studio. A lot of heart and soul went into creating the demo, I am sure the game itself will leave me wanting to become bound and ward the dark spirits away.
Follow Arietta of Spirits on their Socials below