Arcadia Fallen II

If there's one thing I love in games, it's a good story. It really makes all the difference. If the gameplay and story don't come together seamlessly, I can never give top marks, but a good story can carry me a long way and make me overlook quite a few flaws along the way. However, I've never really thrown myself into the so-called visual novel genre, which, to me, used to be nothing more than a fancy PowerPoint presentation. Static images, a box at the bottom where the story is told, and digital cardboard cut-outs that are moved around depending on who's speaking. In my mind, it wasn't exactly the most exciting thing imaginable.

I must admit, however, that I've changed my mind after playing Arcadia Fallen II, developed by the Danish studio Galdra Studios, because the story actually works incredibly well and is compelling in its own right, and the game does something that others in the genre I've tried can't quite manage.

A funny little anecdote to start with: the game is in English, and so is the voice acting, but most of the names are Danish. It's quite funny to hear names like Puk, Elias and Miss Honning spoken in English. It sounds like a slightly odd mix of Danish and English.

As mentioned, Arcadia Fallen 2 is a visual novel, which is essentially an interactive book that unfolds before you bit by bit. In some games there are no choices, but here you can make a whole host of choices that have a greater or lesser influence on the story. If you're into wild action, sweaty car chases and things that are constantly on the move, then this probably isn't for you. But if you like a good story and intriguing characters, then this is a bit of a smorgasbord.

The game begins with your own character, whom you create yourself. There aren't that many options, but that isn't the most important thing either. I called myself Binky, and you start out alongside your future schoolmates Nina and Søren. I haven't played the first game, so if there are any references, they've gone right over my head. It doesn't feel as though that spoils anything, though.

The world of Arcadia Fallen II is one where magicians are taken from their families as children and sent to schools to learn to control their abilities. Magic is something that is controlled, and certain forms are seen as dangerous. It is in this context that we meet Nina, Søren and your own character, with Nina already feeling sad and missing her family right from the start. And even at this early stage, you get a sense that these three are going to be linked later on.

The game then jumps forward a few years, to when you are a teenager at school learning the various forms of magic. Depending on your abilities, different opportunities open up later in life. It is from here that the story begins to unfold, with conflicts surrounding magic and those who wish to control it.

The story starts off quietly but really picks up after a while, and I must admit I was surprised by how engrossed I became. I'm not usually very good at reading off a screen, but here I was, sitting for hours on end without any trouble.

At one point, some of the young people are hunted by the so-called Alethean Knights, and that's when the game really starts to pick up pace. One of the things that captivated me most was the characters. As well as Nina and Søren, you meet several new characters, all of whom have their own stories to follow. You can also start romances with several of them, which I naturally threw myself into straight away.

There's Puk, who is non-binary and a magical mechanic; Hannah, the quiet librarian who turns out to be capable of more than you might think; and my favourite, Cathrine, who starts off as a bit of an arrogant snob but turns out to have a lot of kindness and depth once you've worked on the relationship a bit.

The cool thing is that all these characters are woven into the main story, whilst also having their own little side stories. So you've got several storylines running at the same time, and it actually works quite well. The dialogue is really well written and full of humour, and it helps a lot that a large part of it is voiced. It gives you a clear sense of who the characters are.

It's all about choices. In almost every conversation, you can choose how to react, and the options are labelled with emotions such as sarcastic, angry or flirty. This makes it easy to play your character in a particular way. I'm not entirely sure, however, how much these choices actually change the story. It sometimes feels as though they alter the tone more than the actual course of events. There are, however, a few choices where you're clearly told that they have consequences, and that works really well.

And yes, my own slightly grumpy sense of humour crept in, so my character ended up coming across as a teenager with chronic stomach ache and a bad temper. It was actually quite entertaining.

If I had to criticise anything, there is quite a bit of repetition in both the music and the visual elements. You hear the same songs over and over again, and the backgrounds don't change all that much. It can get a bit monotonous in the long run. Whether this is a conscious choice or a question of resources, I don't know, but it's something you notice.

All in all, Arcadia Fallen II has pleasantly surprised me. I could easily see myself going back to play the first game just to get the full story. If you're a fan of visual novels, this is a really good choice with a strong story, good characters and solid dialogue. It's a quiet game. A game you play over a hot cup of coffee. Or tea with a little bit of honey in it.