Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Dec 1, 2021

  Piccolo Studio created a visual masterpiece with Arise: A Simple Story and they should be proud of themselves. They will be on my radar from now on. It's criminal that not a lot of people know about this game but it's one of the most beautiful games I have seen lately. Just like its name, gameplay and longevity is simple and short. You may get a little bit teary eyed while playing because the game's gist is so sweet. Also, original soundtrack composed by David Garcia Diaz (Rime; Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice) and it's definitely spectacular. Along with the visuals, it's one of the most crucial elements of the game and it's indisputable that I will listen it all the time. If you like Limbo, Ori Franchise, Gris or similar artys games with wonderful soundtrack, please don't miss it. It also looks and plays very well on Ultrawide with a community update. Made the game ten times better.
• gamedeal user

  Dec 21, 2021

  I would really like to recommend this game, as there is certainly a lot of attention to detail in the development. The design and lighting of the levels and the music are beautiful. However, the controls react very slowly and unreliably. The keyboard layout is very unusual and unfortunately cannot be adjusted. In addition, the camera rotation and thus the viewing angle cannot be influenced. For this reason I fell down several times, as it is very difficult to walk precisely in a certain direction with the keyboard, e.g. diagonally down to the left. In the second level I finally got no further because the throwing hook did not trigger, although the target was marked yellow and the instruction "Hold ALT" was displayed. I don't recommend it, because for me it is unplayable with keyboard.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 30, 2022

  This is a game that deals with the emotions of a loss. I will share that I lost my wife. She was my other half and my best friend. Every day that goes by I feel empty yet I try to be happy as she would want me to be. Playing this game brought so much emotion out of me, both devastation but the happiest of memories as well. To anyone suffering with a loss of any kind, please play this game. You will feel those memories you cherish so deeply but also that feeling of being alone without your loved one(s). To the developers, I just wanted to say thank you for giving me a few hours to feel again and allow me to escape the world for a bit. I want to give this game a 11/10 and I hope anyone that reads this review can understand that through loss you will gain strength. Even though you feel alone you are never truly alone. Arise, as the game's title says.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 19, 2022

  What cannot be written can only be felt. Depending on personal experience, this game can hit like a meteorite upon your earthly heart, killing all the little dinosaurs of your past… and not with malice either; after all, those dinosaurs were relics and memories, people and experiences in your life. Loss is a funny thing because in order to feel it, you must have something originally. You cannot lose what you don’t have. You can close up your heart and not let anyone in and, sure - you won’t suffer as much but also you won’t live at all. So much of popular media focuses on the haves especially when discussing matters of the heart, but they don’t tell you the whole story: they don’t tell how much it hurts to lose those you love, how inevitable it is and how seldom pain of such magnitude can be mended. The silent protagonist is a man stuck in limbo portrayed as a snowy mountain peak of memories. Traverse through his life, his romance and heartbreaks in a poignant tale of loss and hope. Watch him Arise, guided by the soul of his love… and hopefully it’ll make you think of and appreciate those that keep you whole.
• gamedeal user

  Jul 3, 2022

  I'm going to swim against the current here and say that, despite a lovely story, beautiful artwork, and a compelling soundtrack, I have very mixed feelings about this game, There are some truly magical moments. Most reviews focus on the emotional depth of the narrative (which is powerful) but make little mention of the game-play itself. This is where I have my issue. Arise is not a 'simple story.' It is a precision platformer with some incredibly creative mechanics. You change the environment (winding it forward and backwards) to build pathways. It is a complicated and shadowy landscape with many twists and turns. There is a lot of puzzling your way through, especially if you are looking for memory collectibles. These are often on side paths and are not obvious. I used a controller (the keyboard was not manageable for me) and the right stick shifts the physical landscape. This is quite a departure from other games that use the right stick for scanning or changing direction and it took me awhile to adjust. There is nothing like having a cliff collapse when I hit the stick, thinking I was turning my head! The camera angles are fixed and it is often hard to tell if you are positioned correctly. This resulted in me sending my character leaping to his death more times than I can count. If you do die, the game usually respawns you close to your point of departure. However, there is no save on exit so you are likely to return to a much earlier position than you had hoped for. I ended up playing more hours than I wanted to in order to avoid potentially repeating tricky segments. I am still not sure when the game saves during a chapter. Achievements are by chapter: (1) completion, (2) finding all collectibles, and (3) performing some task (touching things, avoiding things, not dying, etc.). I've already abandoned the idea that 100% is even a possibility for me, as I have died far too many times! I spent hours getting through the first 3 chapters, with success. Then, I hit Chapter 4 which adds running gauntlets of dark sorrows that swarm and kill you. Given the weird camera angle, it is difficult (for me) to run a straight path through them and I got a bit overwhelmed. Later chapters add fire that burns you, cold that freezes you to death if you don't move fast enough, and darkness that overwhelms you. Yikes! I recommend this to those with strong platforming skills and good coordination (using multiple keys or buttons/sticks in concert to perform tricky maneuvers). Most of all, you need more patience than I have. If you are looking for an emotional game to just chill and enjoy, then this may not be the adventure for you. But, if you are willing to trudge through the hard parts, then Arise is quite a ride!
• gamedeal user

  Jul 22, 2022

  I'll keep this review short as possible. Arise: A Simple Story has a great and relaxing soundtrack, nice visual style, and an interesting mechanic which is basically like going back and forth it time. It consists of 10 chapters and chapters are like 20 - 30 minutes each so it's great. I feel like if it was longer, it could have been boring, Anyways, if you enjoyed playing games such as Journey, ABZU, Far Changing Tides ( and the first game of FAR) this game is for you! I recommend it regardless of it having a discount or not.
• gamedeal user

  Jul 28, 2022

  Another example that simple doesn't mean bad. A little bit janky on gameplay, but with nice story, great visuals and music.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 31, 2022

  Truly a magnificent experience. It put the priorities back to the right place in life. Value who's around and don't take anything for granted...
• gamedeal user

  Sep 14, 2022

  I have reached the location of "Ashes". I had to put the game down for a few moments. I am an older guy, who has been through a ton. This game will tear and pull at every heart string you have. It will pull tears from you. It is a great puzzle / adventure game. You are a Viking (or earlier, bronze to iron ages possibly). You have been offered back to the Gods and now your adventure begins with memories of life, love, loss and more. Amazing. Just amazing, And beautiful !
• gamedeal user

  Sep 30, 2022

  I really wish there was a "yes, but" or a "kind of" option for recommendations. I picked yes because it's quite apparent the developers and artists put in a ton of work on this game and it shows. The story is beautiful, it's anything but simple, and if this doesn't make you cry then I dunno what will. The idea of tying time manipulation into a puzzle platformer was really neat, the puzzles are not difficult. The music as you progress through transition scenes was breathtaking. Little weirded out by the decision to use this guy's sperm as as a platform, if you don't get the connection you're basically platforming in his wife's womb for a level. Why wouldn't I recommend this? The actual game play mechanics leave so many things to be desired, most of all a functioning camera view. The locked camera made some jumps impossible, also the jumps seem predetermined so if you fight the mechanics at all to try and do your own thing you're going to yeet yourself off every cliff and rockface in the game. Not a big deal but a content warning on episode 6 would have been nice, it's only because I usually employ Game of Thrones rules when it comes to happy endings that I already knew how that was going to end (There's your content warning). I also hated level 4, I don't really do well with horror aspects. I had to put the game down several times due to the rage-inducing problem that was the inconsistent fall damage. It's for this reason I would never replay this game or attempt any of the "don't die" achievements. I would never pay $20 for this, but if you can get it on sale it is a pretty game.