I was sent a free copy of Arco to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review of the game.
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What is Arco?
Arco is a 2D Pixel art turn-based, action-adventure game out now on PC.
Teco enjoyed a quiet and peaceful life until the outsiders came and took it all away. Since then, he has been chasing the burning trail they left behind. His journey is now full of sorrow and anger as he steps over the ashes of his people and others like him.
Fight your way through gangs of bloodthirsty colonizers, help who you can, and ride your trusty llama forward. Where will your journey take you? Will it be full of vengeance and violence, or will there ever be room for forgiveness?
Gameplay
Arco features a deep and powerful story of adventure, colonization, and revenge. The story exists in a stylized visual novel fashion without cutscenes or voice acting, but it doesn’t need either.
The story pulls the player in, but combat is what keeps them playing. Combat in Arco is a unique turn-based action sequence that requires an appropriate amount of attention and skill from its players. Do not let the game’s minimalistic art style fool you, this game is anything but simple.
Combat is split into rounds, each round granting players and enemy NPCs an action. Players choose their actions between turns, but all actions happen simultaneously. Players begin combat with a set amount of action points, and each action has its costs. There are ways to replenish action points. Success in Arco requires a mastery of spending and replenishing action points while successfully maneuvering around bullets and enemy attacks. Players earn XP after each combat that they can use to buy new attack skills or powerups for their character.
What sets Arco apart from other RPGs is the choices it gives its players. Players can become as cold-blooded and bloodthirsty as they want, but the guilt will affect their story. While there always seems to be a path to revenge, there is a less guilty version of the story to shoot for. Whatever path a player chooses results in phenomenal storytelling.
Review
If you’re going to pick up one game this year, it needs to be Arco. When I saw the trailer for this game, I knew I needed to play it. It is by far one of the best games I’ve played this year, and I’ve played some very good games this year. I love the choice of minimalism. The cute and simple art style contrasted with the story’s dark themes makes the narrative feel more powerful. Combine this with its fun and engaging combat mechanics, and you have a fun and memorable gaming experience.
I am a huge fan of the story being told, and extremely excited to see an important cultural experience represented in video games. As a kid who grew up playing games where no one looked like me, it was cool to see my people not only represented respectfully but our story being told beautifully. It has been an amazing year for Latino game designers, and I hope to see more games like this in the future.
If you haven’t played Arco yet, it is one of the titles you have to play once. The gameplay is fun and it has a fantastic narrative. If you don’t believe me, go check out the demo on Steam.
You can pick up Arco for $19.99 on the Switch and PC via Steam, Epic Games, and Mac App Store.