Review of Harmony: The Fall of Reverie – A Magical Adventure with Visual Novel Elements

Review of Harmony: The Fall of Reverie – A Magical Adventure with Visual Novel Elements

It’s always refreshing when a developer takes a risk with their games, and Don’t Nod is no exception. The horror-tinged action adventure of Vampyr was a long way from the relationship-driven stories of the Life Is Strange series, and Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is another example of this in action – albeit in the other direction of travel. This time, the focus is entirely on player choices and narrative options.

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie sees players take on the role of Polly, who returns to her hometown in the near future to find much has changed. Her mother is missing, and the creeping tendrils of a giant corporation called MK seem to hold all the answers. Polly discovers she has a connection to the Reverie, another plane of existence inhabited by the Aspirations, creatures similar to the powerful Endless from Sandman who claim to have a greater connection to the events in the real world.

However, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie does have other similarities that help it feel close to its Don’t Nod stablemates. The main story kernel still revolves around an unassuming young person discovering a supernatural power, and then using that to both unravel a wider mystery and delve into their relationships with others. As such, fans of other Don’t Nod titles might feel comfortable here.

There are some differences that allow Harmony: The Fall of Reverie to stretch its legs a little, though. Its place as a near-future story allows the game to delve into some themes in a greater way, such as its focus on community versus capitalism and profit above all else. “What would happen if a mega-corporation got its hands on technology to demand the support of god-like beings?” is something that the grounded nature of Life Is Strange may not have been able to ask, for instance.

Thankfully, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is propelled by a good script and overall story. Polly (or Harmony) is a well-established lead character with a core central voice that complements the player’s own choices, and the sections of internal monologue that set up each chapter of the game are well-written. It certainly helps that the game has very strong voice acting throughout.

2023-06-08 13:00:04
Source from screenrant.com
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