Arise: A Simple Story

Arise: A Simple Story tells a charming narrative with a beautiful atmosphere in both its design and soundtrack. Controlling the progression of time forward and backward is frequently used in unique ways to keep gameplay delightful.

Arise: A Simple Story was originally released on the PC and consoles in 2019 and now has found a new home on the Nintendo Switch. It’s hard to tell a concise story without the use of words or dialogue, especially one that has a goal to invoke emotions in the player. But developer Untold Tales was able to do just that by weaving a beautiful tale told through only muted cutscenes.

Arise: A Simple Story is true to its name and offers both function and form, which is why I’m so anxious to see what Piccolo Studio has next in the pipeline. It’s a pleasant surprise to help cap off a great year.

Video games often struggle to strike a balance between how gameplay and narrative are presented. For some players, narration can often be detrimental to how the game itself is played. For example, slower paced gameplay with emphasis on exploration and discovery through interaction can feel like a chore for the impatient. If you are like me, however, you may prefer strong storytelling to, say, the arcade-style, pick-up-and-play multiplayer shooters where minimal narration exists solely to excuse the vast amount of bloodshed. And I spent countless hours of my childhood in the local arcade!

Spanish developer Piccolo Studio's debut title is one that wears its heart on its sleeve. Pitched from the outset as an uncomplicated experience, it embraces that nature to tantalizing effect with a collection of levels that is sure to pull on even the tightest of heartstrings. It's a game that refuses to dabble in complex mechanics or convoluted narratives, and Arise: A Simple Story is all the better for it.

In many categories, Arise: A Simple Story is a step above many other games, and is one of the best indie games of the year, for sure. The local co-op experience being dull for the second player is an admittedly big flaw, but those that are able to overlook it will find a memorable co-op game that they won't regret experiencing.

Likening this game to the movie Up, Arise: A Simple Story is much more than what its title lets on. It forces us to take a step back and analyze life. With its time control mechanics that manipulate the world in so many ways, platforming style of play, and its ability to tell a narrative story without dialogue, Arise is one of those games that makes you question whether small titles like this are becoming the status quo.

‘Arise: A Simple Story’ is a well-designed Platform Puzzler with a very clever time manipulation mechanic.  The game is very striking visually and the musical score picks you up and carries you along the way with it.  The puzzles are not over-taxing but are challenging enough to keep you interested and create a nice, chill gaming experience.  If you are looking for a platformer game that will take you on a bit of an emotional journey, you should check this out.

Arise: A Simple Story is a gorgeous and touching tale of love and loss that nearly overcomes its constant platforming problems.

As we march into holiday season a lot of people’s thoughts naturally turn to loved ones and the highs and lows shared with them over the years, which makes this the perfect time to release a game like Arise: A Simple Story. Created by freshman Spanish developer Piccolo and published by Techland (yes, the guys behind Dying Light) Arise is a reflective sort of game about family, love, loss, and a variety of other things that might just be on your mind after a busy weekend of Thanksgiving dinners.

Ultimately, while Arise: A Simple Story has some wonderful ideas, it’s let down by unenjoyable gameplay. Delivered gracefully without ever needing a single line of dialogue, the old man’s story is particularly touching, featuring some truly poignant moments that will tug on even the stoniest of hearts. And again, the soundtrack alone is worth of praise. It’s just a shame that it’s hard to ever get fully immersed in the narrative; you’ll be too preoccupied fighting with unresponsive controls or impossible camera angles to truly appreciate the old man’s plight.

Arise: A Simple Story is a story-driven, atmospheric 3D platformer by Piccolo Studio. You play as a man who recently died, traversing environments that symbolize meaningful moments in his life. For example, sometimes you’re as small as a bug, jumping across lily pads and hitching rides on bees. Statues in the environment represent other people he knew and help tell the story since it largely has no words. As you traverse, you find pickups called memories, which depict an exact moment in his life. The placement of these memories ranges from obvious to hidden, but even if you only grab the obvio...