Arco

Excellent adventure in a vibrant fantasy world. The semi-turn-based combat system is well-designed, although the ghosts (which randomly show up to hurry you along) can be a bit stressful. Also worth replaying to get the alternate ending, which adds some extra challenge but isn't punishingly difficult.

Loved the first 2~3 hours of the game but after 5 hours I decided to give up at the start of Act III. Think of some cons that might caused the decision. 1. Change of character. Act II was using a archer guy and leveled it up quite a bit at the end of Act II. Act III start with a melee character which looks boring. The combat is already kinda repetitive by the end of Act II. Have no confidence a melee character will make it better 2. The combat characters action order/speed are very unclear. You know enemy is going to shot you next round, but you wont sure how fast he started shooting and how far the bullet will travel. And also the enemies reinforcement, almost every battle enemies always get reinforcement. If you are in a bad position you are pretty much screwed. Combined with the unclear combat mechanics it makes players restart the combat a lot to sort of learn it by trial and error. Not fun for a turn based strategy game. Especially the game is not easy and you cant refund skill ...

Really love this game. I think the trailers do a great job of giving a sense of the vibe, but the dialogue in the game sets this tone that adds even more charm and levity and weight than I expected. You gotta love when a game knows what it is trying to be. This game reeeeally knows what it is in a great way. Awesome game

What a lovely surprise this was! The stand-out to me was the combat: it is simultaneous turn based - basically you pick your moves, but then you and the enemies execute moves at the same time. You advance forward and unlock new abilities - at the point where you feel like you have it mastered, you'll hit an act break and you'll be controlling a brand new character. It scratches a really satisfying itch that I haven't seen any other game really dig into. Rest of the game is like a RPG-lite, where you're travelling along paths following quests & (some) side-quests. The world building is solid and fun, with an anti-colonial theme. I enjoyed the art, but I would recommend it even for people who are tired of this era of pixel art, just for the quality of the rest of the game. For negatives, I found the writing a little...cutesy modern, if that makes sense. Characters use emoticons in the dialogue to convey tone or unspoken expressions, which was fine for me but I could see putting someone...

Great story. Charming characters and dialogue throughout. The overall theme of revenge played really well with guilt and ambition. The combat system was fun, fair and forgiving. The pixel art took some getting used to in the over-world but grew on me quickly. My favourite indie game of 2024. 10/10

[b]A flawless reminder that simplicity can outshine complexity.[/b]

Amazing game, the gameplay has very good design, art is beautiful and the story is interesting. One of the best games I ever played.

peak good music

Arco is hands-down one of the best games ive ever played. The pixelart is gorgeous, the combat is solid and fun, but to me two things stand out above the rest: the absolutely *incredible* soundtrack by Bibiki, and the moving story that plays out.

Arco is a beautiful game that tells an epic tale of revenge, spanning three interwoven plotlines. It plays like a light point-and-click adventure title, where you explore various drawn scenes, interact with characters, and unlock areas based on dialogue choices, key items, and general exploration. I couldn’t get into it for a while, since I found the early combat encounters pretty challenging, but once I figured out how to successfully evade bullets and kite enemies, it all clicked into place. I’d say the asking price is quite fair, even though you can complete the game in around 10 hours; it’s clear that the team poured a great deal of love and effort into its development, and I’m all for aggressively supporting independent game developers. If you enjoy tactical RPGs, you’ll appreciate this title and the fresh take it offers to the genre. I’m glad it’s in my collection. [spoiler]Rest in piss, El Gallo.[/spoiler]