Arise: A Simple Story - A Game with Soul...

Games like Arise: A Simple Story never enjoy a lot of fame. Games like Arise: A Simple Story are usually obscure, even if sales pay for production. Games like Arise: A Simple Story are the domain of those few connoisseurs. And the very knowledge of the existence of such games is already a small joy, because there are not so many such soulful projects...

How art is born

Arise: A Simple Story is the work of a very small team, inspired by the dream to create their own game. The game was developed by Piccolo Studios, founded by only three people. Before Arise: A Simple Story, Piccolo Studios team had been making commercials for about twenty years and even succeeded in it. But the developers always wanted to make the games, despite the fact that marketing brought them a good income.

When Piccolo Studios announced the idea of making a game, their acquaintances simply laughed at them: "Why? You're already making good money," their friends said in one voice. But Piccolo Studios was determined to follow the dream and consulted with more experienced developers.

This is what came out of it...

Death is only the beginning

As Piccolo Studios confesses, the game's narrative conveys only one idea to players: the idea of remembering life and what life is really like. Hence the title, Arise: A Simple Story, the story is really simple.

At the beginning of the game, we are shown how the main character is being escorted to his last journey.

There, perhaps in the netherworld, the protagonist finds himself in a snowy desert and sees a warm source of light on the skyline, as if from a candle, cutting through the snowfall.

This ray is the most precious and warm memory to which the protagonist will have to make his last journey.

The whole Arise: A Simple Story is divided into chapters, where each location reveals the details of the life of the simple old man we are to play as. Also scattered throughout the game's levels are Easter eggs - memories stylized as children's drawings.

You don't need to know much more about the plot before you start.

A game of one mechanics

Despite the fact that in Arise: A Simple Story there is only one unique game mechanics, it is realized with high quality, creativity and taste.

During the game the protagonist will have to visit different locations: from the aforementioned snowy desert to summer meadows. The adventure is implemented by three-dimensional platformer with rewinding time. As the story involves the player wandering through the memories of the protagonist, the time here is just a convention.

The time periods that we will rewind vary from location to location: in one location, we are free to rewind entire months and watch the snow melt and the glades turn green in the spring sunshine. In other locations, however, rewinding is limited to the time of day - on one level the player must rewind time so that the sunflowers turn to the sun, and the protagonist can use them as platforms.

Despite its simplicity, Arise: A Simple Story is capable of surprising with its love of detail: the protagonist leaves footprints in the snow, and the flowers under his feet visibly crumple or sway when touched. Everything about platforming in Arise: A Simple Story is cool: you can feel the weight of the hero and the weight of the objects he interacts with. The platform hitboxes are gentle on the player, so there is no hardcore in Arise: A Simple Story. Just look at the checkpoints alone. They are scattered literally at every step, so as not to bother the player to perform the same actions due to a careless mistake.

Ouch, something pinched my soul...

One of the main tools of indie games to the player's senses is music. And here, too, Arise: A Simple Story is all right. Throughout the adventure, an acophony of keyboards and violin envelops the ear. The melody doesn't get stuck in your soul and is unlikely to fill up your playlists, but it fits into the picture of what is going on, creating the necessary emotional background. Yes, the music in Arise: A Simple Story is pitying and melancholy. Sometimes you think, that they are trying to get tears out of the player. And you know what? At times, Piccolo Studios succeeds.

Is Arise: A Simple Story worth buying?

Arise: A Simple Story is a kind game that promotes the right values: the importance of being in the moment, friendship, and love. The game leaves behind an aching but warm feeling, a joyful sadness - everything that is required of a good indie game.

Arise: A Simple Story costs mere pennies and is designed for one leisurely game night. You should buy this kind of games not only for the experience, but also to support the developer. As long as games like Arise: A Simple Story keep coming out, games won't stop being art. Gameplay-wise, however, Arise: A Simple Story is too simple. It's a touchy-feely game about a story without a hint of engagement or replayability.