Arco

Genre: RPG / Strategy-RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

Arco, released in 2024 on PC and Nintendo Switch, is a unique take on the RPG genre with Strategy-RPG elements set in a fictional fantasy world clearly inspired by South America in the early stages of European colonization, where players take the role of natives struggling against the atrocities committed by the colonizers, along with bandits, wild animals, and hostilities from other tribes.

This makes for a truly refreshing and original setting for a game, and it is one the game fully exploits in its story and presentation, with characters having to contend with often-genocidal actions by a technologically-superior invader, while adapting to live in the volatile and uneasy peace between those bloody moments and seeking some semblance of safety or justice in an unsafe, unjust time. Suffice it to say, if you’re sensitive to topic matter focusing on events that mirror some of the nastier atrocities in human history, this game may not be for you.

However, while this game depicts some truly ugly events, that’s not to say that it doesn’t have some real beauty to it. The game’s superb writing and excellent worldbuilding paints a picture of a multifaceted society with its own history, culture, and religions, and this is further enhanced by its evocative, colorful 2D pixel art visuals that give the game a lot of personality while letting players’ imaginations fill in a lot of the details.

Also, a special note of attention needs to be drawn to Arco’s outstanding soundtrack, with great acoustic guitar themes with strong hints of Wild West flair, with occasional songs like opening theme, Arena y Alquitrán, with Spanish-language vocals that really drive home the South American-inspired setting, and with some electric guitar for battle themes. Standouts in the soundtrack include Where Iyos Live, Training Grounds, Forgotten Memories, Riding Into the Unknown, Riding Into the Unknown, Ikigai, Drylands,
Cenizas de Codicia, Voices of the Past, Lágrimas de Cal, Lazos de Sangre, The Deepest Part of You, and Sempiternal. The overall somber, quiet, beautiful soundtrack actually gives me chills, and is perfectly-suited to this game and its overall tone.

The presentation here is superb, but the gameplay is truly creative too. Combat in Arco is turn-based, with players given an indication each turn what every enemy intends to do. Knowing this, players must decide how their character or characters move and act in the next few seconds, and upon doing so both their actions and enemies’ actions play out in real-time, with some attacks capable of interrupting actions.

Making things more interesting is that you’ll often find yourself in combat with enemies bearing pistols and shotguns that are much faster than your bow and arrow. As such, it is extremely important to be mindful of your movement and timing, as well as your position in relation to enemies, so you can dodge out of the way of gunshots and find an opening to fight back while enemies are reloading. Should you head in for a stunning attack that can interrupt them before they fire off another shot? Or dodge serpentine-style while looking for the opportunity to get off a shot of your own? It’s this sort of strategic combat that really sets Arco apart from pretty much every other RPG and Strategy-RPG I’ve played, and when you have to anticipate the actions of a half-dozen enemies, combat can be a particularly enjoyable challenge.

Adding another layer of complexity to this combat, based on your choices in the game’s stories, you may find yourself haunted by ghosts, which in Arco are a real entity who stalks you in the midst of battle, damaging your characters if they get close. To make these malicious spirits even more threatening, ghosts continue moving slowly toward your characters while you make choices in battle, pressuring you to think quickly lest they catch up to you.

There’s a great deal about Arco that I love, but this game does have its flaws too. I’ve had a few times where enemies who indicated they wouldn’t be attacking ended up fighting back when I brought a character in close for a melee strike, and it’s frustrating that I couldn’t rely on the information the game gave me. I also found in other battles hazards that aren’t properly explained and cannot be highlighted by moving a cursor over them like other hazards can be. Finally, while Arco has branching paths, it’s mostly pretty linear, meaning this won’t be a game for you if one of the things you enjoy about RPGs is exploration.

Despite these complaints, Arco is a stunningly original take on the RPG genre, both in its topic matter and in its gameplay. I have some issues with the game structure and unclear rule design, but despite these complaints I still think this is one of the most refreshing, brilliant entries the genre has seen in a long while, with an engrossing story and a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack. If you’ve been craving a truly unique RPG, you should consider Arco an absolute must-play game, and even if you haven’t this is still well worth a look.

tl;dr – Arco is a game with RPG and Strategy-RPG elements set in a fantasy world based on South America during the era of European colonialism. With a story that mixes dark themes, an impeccable Wild West setting, a haunting soundtrack, and truly original and inspired combat, this is one of the most brilliantly original RPGs I’ve encountered in years, and it’s only let down a little by unclear rule design and limited exploration, but even with these complaints I still highly recommend this game to RPG fans, especially those craving something truly original.

Grade: A-

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