Honestly, I adore this game. Originally, I purchased it because of the amount of diversity I saw on the store page. I’m not sure what I expected, and I can’t say I expected much beyond some video game references and nerd jokes, but I was beyond delighted by the end of it. The story is amazing, funny and the characters are everything I could’ve hoped for and more.

Things are pretty slow at the start; your character is looking for a job after their last one falls through and eventually you find yourself working at the Funplex and dealing with the day-to-day shenanigans that come with an arcade job. Now, this part of the story isn’t particularly amazing by any means, but when things begin to pick up and your character begins to find their footing and takes control of their own destiny, I was pretty much completely hooked. I love when a writer is able to mix serious moments with humor, and this one does that really well. I felt like I even got some life advice and gained some perspective. It also helps that the characters were all really interesting and I just loved the connection your character shared with them, and how they uplifted each other. It truly did feel like a merry band of misfits, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1870117718
Also, I’ve never related to an MC more than I do Arcade Spirit’s one. Your choices definitely shape your character’s personality and you get a lot of unique dialogue because of it. For instance, if you make your character more logical, some of the things they’ll say outside of choices will be rational. Whereas, if you make your character bold or funny, their dialogue will center around that. Because of this, you feel as though your personality is shining through the character, and it felt nice to feel like your choices really mattered and made a difference. I especially liked being able to punch that smug ass smirk off Deco Nami’s face, instead of just wanting to but being held back by someone who could somehow read my mind.

I’m also a really big fan of the variety, not just in skin tone but in body type, and facial structure as well. It’s just incredibly refreshing to see your potential candidates comfortable in their own skin and confident in themselves without having abs and a “perfect” body. Which leads me to say that the romance in this game is handled really well, it’s hard to summarize it because each route is unique in how it plays out. Sure, you’re always going to go on a date after the big Funplex event, but what happens on that date is dependent on who you’re pursuing. I’m a strong believer in the right words being enough, and for some characters, that’s all you’re getting. With others, you might end up making out on the beach. However, whether you’re dealing with a flirt or an accountant who’s all about logic, the romance is very much there, and you can tell a connection is forming. You might not be married with kids by the end of things, but it is nice to see characters stay true to themselves while letting you know they care about you.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1869073602
Now, let’s get to the bad. There were two things in particular that I just couldn’t shake off: the voice acting, and the main character art. Honestly, my biggest gripe with the voice acting came down to inconsistency, which is why I won’t shred into it so hard, plus this is an indie company at the end of the day. It was just clear some actors were more comfortable than others, thus their delivery was more fitting. For instance, I thought Francine’s was among the most confident, and Gavin’s among the least. And while I adore Juniper, I’m not really sure why they went the route they did with her. Sometimes it worked well, other times it just fell flat.

Like the main character art, which I feel the need to touch on for a variety of reasons. For starters, the store page really tries to sell you on how customizable your character is, except it’s not. Sure, you get a ridiculous amount of hair, eye and jacket colors to choose from, but that’s about it apart from three hairstyles. And, while I do commend the developers on the amount of skin tones you can choose from, once I got into the game and saw everything come into play I had to stop and ask myself, how much is too much?

For starters, the female character doesn’t look feminine at all. Honestly, she just looks awkwardly manly in more scenes than one, and I had begun to wonder if it was the hairstyle I choose that was at fault, nope! This was the developer’s intention. With no warning or heads up to be seen anywhere on the store page, the devs goal for the main character was to be androgynous. This means, your character isn’t meant to look completely feminine or completely manly, however, this fails on multiple fronts. I feel that if they had cut back on the number of color choices, or made proper presets, one for male, female and a true androgynous character, this would’ve come together a lot better-especially considering they were on a budget. Now, I have absolutely no problem with androgynous people, but I do feel that they tried so hard to be inclusive that it just comes out messy, poorly executed, and all you’re left with is few CGs involving the main character that could look so much better and way more fleshed out.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1869078238
Arcade Spirits is not a bad novel by far, flaws and nitpicking aside, it’s a solid read and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. If you’ve been searching for a novel with more diversity, humor, with a slightly more realistic take on romance then I highly recommend you pick this up as I have absolutely no regrets.

Honestly, I adore this game. Originally, I purchased it because of the amount of diversity I saw on the store page. I’m not sure what I expected, and I can’t say I expected much beyond some video game references and nerd jokes, but I was beyond delighted by the end of it. The story is amazing, funny and the characters are everything I could’ve hoped for and more. Things are pretty slow at the start; your character is looking for a job after their last one falls through and eventually you find yourself working at the Funplex and dealing with the day-to-day shenanigans that come with an arcade job. Now, this part of the story isn’t particularly amazing by any means, but when things begin to pick up and your character begins to find their footing and takes control of their own destiny, I was pretty much completely hooked. I love when a writer is able to mix serious moments with humor, and this one does that really well. I felt like I even got some life advice and gained some perspective. It also helps that the characters were all really interesting and I just loved the connection your character shared with them, and how they uplifted each other. It truly did feel like a merry band of misfits, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1870117718 Also, I’ve never related to an MC more than I do Arcade Spirit’s one. Your choices definitely shape your character’s personality and you get a lot of unique dialogue because of it. For instance, if you make your character more logical, some of the things they’ll say outside of choices will be rational. Whereas, if you make your character bold or funny, their dialogue will center around that. Because of this, you feel as though your personality is shining through the character, and it felt nice to feel like your choices really mattered and made a difference. [spoiler] I especially liked being able to punch that smug ass smirk off Deco Nami’s face, instead of just wanting to but being held back by someone who could somehow read my mind. [/spoiler] I’m also a really big fan of the variety, not just in skin tone but in body type, and facial structure as well. It’s just incredibly refreshing to see your potential candidates comfortable in their own skin and confident in themselves without having abs and a “perfect” body. Which leads me to say that the romance in this game is handled really well, it’s hard to summarize it because each route is unique in how it plays out. Sure, you’re always going to go on a date after the big Funplex event, but what happens on that date is dependent on who you’re pursuing. I’m a strong believer in the right words being enough, and for some characters, that’s all you’re getting. With others, you might end up making out on the beach. However, whether you’re dealing with a flirt or an accountant who’s all about logic, the romance is very much there, and you can tell a connection is forming. You might not be married with kids by the end of things, but it is nice to see characters stay true to themselves while letting you know they care about you. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1869073602 Now, let’s get to the bad. There were two things in particular that I just couldn’t shake off: the voice acting, and the main character art. Honestly, my biggest gripe with the voice acting came down to inconsistency, which is why I won’t shred into it so hard, plus this is an indie company at the end of the day. It was just clear some actors were more comfortable than others, thus their delivery was more fitting. For instance, I thought Francine’s was among the most confident, and Gavin’s among the least. And while I adore Juniper, I’m not really sure why they went the route they did with her. Sometimes it worked well, other times it just fell flat. Like the main character art, which I feel the need to touch on for a variety of reasons. For starters, the store page really tries to sell you on how customizable your character is, except it’s not. Sure, you get a ridiculous amount of hair, eye and jacket colors to choose from, but that’s about it apart from three hairstyles. And, while I do commend the developers on the amount of skin tones you can choose from, once I got into the game and saw everything come into play I had to stop and ask myself, how much is too much? For starters, the female character doesn’t look feminine at all. Honestly, she just looks awkwardly manly in more scenes than one, and I had begun to wonder if it was the hairstyle I choose that was at fault, nope! This was the developer’s intention. With no warning or heads up to be seen anywhere on the store page, the devs goal for the main character was to be androgynous. This means, your character isn’t meant to look completely feminine or completely manly, however, this fails on multiple fronts. I feel that if they had cut back on the number of color choices, or made proper presets, one for male, female and a true androgynous character, this would’ve come together a lot better-especially considering they were on a budget. Now, I have absolutely no problem with androgynous people, but I do feel that they tried so hard to be inclusive that it just comes out messy, poorly executed, and all you’re left with is few CGs involving the main character that could look so much better and way more fleshed out. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1869078238 Arcade Spirits is not a bad novel by far, flaws and nitpicking aside, it’s a solid read and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. If you’ve been searching for a novel with more diversity, humor, with a slightly more realistic take on romance then I highly recommend you pick this up as I have absolutely no regrets. [code][h1] ~ Curated by: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/7593237/]Otome Rakuen ~[/url][/h1][/code]