Arcade Spirits

“Despite not reaching its full potential, I still found some entertainment in Arcade Spirits. By ignoring the romantic aspects, I was able to play it as someone with an appreciation of the heyday of arcades. The charming setting made for a promising launching point, the audio is excellent, and the story (with smart pop-culture nods and humor) has page-turning qualities to some extent.”

“Regardless, Arcade Spirits is a unique visual novel. It has a lot of humor as well as dourness, which will have gamers guessing their fate while simultaneously shaping it themselves. As you go from floor assistant to something much more, you'll find true love along the way. The dream of working a job you adore while finding your soulmate: a hardship in real life, but achievable in a few short hours with Arcade Spirits.”

“At first glance, Arcade Spirits may appear to be only fun and pleasantly nerdy, but it is actually a visual novel packed with unexpected and heartwarming lessons.”

“Arcade Spirits presents an intriguing world filled with vibrant characters and deep emotional feeling. The story is beautifully written and provides a clear path with plenty of choices along the way to really make your story unique. While there are some conversations that repeat depending on choices made the game flows smoothly. All in all, it is a truly enjoyable story with plenty of little treasures for fans of both modern and classic gaming.”

“If you enjoy getting lost in a great story based around realistic characters, then you shouldn’t hesitate to play Arcade Spirits.”

“A visual novel happy to include everyone, with a message of togetherness and characters you want to spend time with. The arcade setting is charming, and the writing is impeccable. An easy recommendation to anyone interested in dating sims, the arcade scene, or romantic (or platonic) love.”

“Arcade Spirits is a niche title that will nevertheless find its audience thanks to some great writing and a very inclusive selection of diverse characters to interact with. While there are a few flaws in the sound design area, including some poor voice work and an overall low volume output, the gameplay is engaging and the plot intriguing, making this the perfect choice if you're after a fun, lighthearted experience or a well-written gaming nostalgia trip.”

“While it's a simple game, it's definitely one that's worth your time.”

“Ultimately, the dialogue and points system just wasn't engaging enough to keep me fully invested in the narrative, and its comedy leanings prevented the romance elements from feeling genuine. It doesn't help that the writing is littered with far too many pop culture and gaming references. Those who devour visual novels like Gauntlet would devour quarters might find Arcade Spirits worth playing through, but everyone else should probably cash in their prize tickets for something else.”

“While it does not do anything radically new with the visual novel style, Arcade Spirits has plenty of charm and personality to make it a worthy addition to the genre. Now to imagine a world where ET the video game didn't completely suck. What a happy place that must be.”

“In the end, Arcade Spirits isn't a bad game, it's just a rather quirky and romance filled visual novel. Even though it can't transcend genres in the way Steins;Gate and a few others do, the strong focus on following your heart gives players something to enjoy. Toss in some silly references and genuinely interesting characters and it's honestly interesting if you can put in the time to see more than just the surface.”

“Arcade Spirits's warm heart can be felt under its clumsy exterior. ”

“A great visual novel, with intricate and interesting writing, a distinct and detailed artstyle and a catchy soundtrack. Well worth picking up for fans of the genre and newcomers alike”

“It doesn’t really bring any innovation into dating sim world but it is one I can easily recommend. ”

“Arcade Spirits is a successful experiment in creating an inclusive and immersive visual novel experience, it just needs to nail the "novel" part of that experience. Yet, for as flawed as the line-to-line writing of Arcade Spirits can be, I still found myself really enjoying the overall story of the game. Arcade Spirits already won a lot of points with me for being a relatively bite-sized adventure, but I also loved the cast of characters and the casual nature of the entire experience. Unfortunately, a lot of rough writing and dialogue in the game keeps me from truly loving it.”

“Visual novels aren’t for everyone - but those of you that enjoy a good story and the many choices that a good visual novel has to offer, then this is a good game for you. The story is straight out of 80's film with a ragtag group of characters each having their own aspirations and dreams, and with your help they can fulfill those dreams...or not. It’s all up to you based on who you interact with and how you interact with them. The story is solid and a lot of work was put into the creation of the characters, the options you have, and the outcomes of each possible choice. Even those that aren’t fans of visual novels can appreciate hard work and good art when they see it, and Arcade Spirits exudes passion that the creators put into it.”