Arco

Arco's thrilling, compelling story enthralled me with its seamless blend of gameplay and narrative.

Arco tells a compelling story with minimal dialogue. Leveraging a few well-chosen mechanics, the game immerses players in a world where every interaction and item matters, and each battle decision carries weight. The turn-based tactical combat is challenging yet fair, encouraging strategic thinking without causing frustration. It's a gem worth experiencing.

Arco is an artistic achievement, blending the struggles of gameplay and narrative into each other seamlessly as it draws you into the depressing but important stories of Mesoamerican natives struggling to carve out a space for themselves, in a world that grows more and more hostile by the day.

Arco is a challenging yet emotionally resonant game that draws you in with its captivating atmosphere. The gameplay tests your skills, but it’s the rich storytelling and immersive environment that leave a lasting impression. It’s a journey that’s as rewarding as it is demanding.

But that's what Arco does, playing on your sense of riding into the unknown, taking risks that might kill for the sake of curiosity. [Issue#401, p.120]

Arco is the kind of video game to which the term “hidden gem” fits like a glove. The story is interesting and cleverly told, with plenty of references to Mesoamerican Native culture. The tiny graphics are full of points of interest to discover along a rather large map that features threats at every corner. Combats, the real focus of the game, are handled with a hybrid turn-based mode that forces reasoning to flip the situation initially always to our disadvantage, and the presence of the ghosts of the past – actual enemies to be killed – require quick decision-making. Those who like turn-based RPGs will have a lot of fun.

If you’re a fan of SRPGs and Arco flew under your radar, you owe it to yourself to correct that. It’s one of the better games I’ve played in that category in recent years, with a combat system that successfully tries something new, a setting that hasn’t been explored in any RPG I’m aware of, and a journey that leaves an impact in no small part thanks to the developers’ handling of its subject matter. There are some flaws here that the developers could fix to make this game even better, but don’t let those dissuade you from trying out this singular RPG experience.

Arco has a unique look and world and a set of mechanics that are easy to understand but grow in complexity as characters unlock more options. I never got used to the ghosts that randomly join the fight but was eager to replay engagements to avoid losing even one pip of health. The game might rely too much on Western tropes at times and the unique look will not be for everyone. But Arco tries to innovate, mixing and matching ideas, and manages to deliver a constant sense of discovery.

Arco’s creators are a small but disparate bunch encompassing Poland, Australia, Mexico and Spain. This compact team is reflected in its concise design, with most missions and side-quests lasting just a few minutes or less. But they have designed a game with a big heart and a lingering place in the player’s memory.

A compact and ingenious turn-based battler with an evocative world.

What really sets Arco apart from the indie clutter is the resonant narrative, that the game manages to get the player invested in these ephemeral characters living in a world of infinite natural beauty that is then repeatedly ruined by greed, by revenge, and even though the dialogue exchanges are relatively short, it is believable throughout.