Happiness, Power, Chaos, the Link with other people, Glory and Truth greatly influence our destiny, but the last decision -the one that really counts- is always up to us. Don’t Nod turns something so abstract into an emotional story. With cause, message and background and in the form of a visual novel. The result: Harmony: The Fall of Reverie. A great little work in which the personal stamp of the French studio is omnipresent.
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie it retains the forms of all the Japanese games it draws its inspiration from to reshape the recurring themes of Don’t Nod. We are once again in front of characters who transit between the paranormal and the everyday, and we are reminded of the importance of being firmly committed to essential causes and beliefs. And, on top of the above, what has put them at the forefront of the European narrative: the ability to penetrate the player through feelings and messages.
Although, as we will see, rather than letting ourselves be guided by our intuition or the established path, the raison d’être of Harmony: The Fall of Reverie it goes through how and to what extent the aspirations of humanity affect us. They influence those around us and, already on another scale, how they can transform the world.
A video game at the level of Remember Me or the Life Is Strange franchise? Rather an extension of the ideas planted and matured in those projects. Interactivity with the environment has been reduced or practically eliminated in favor of decision making. To how we wish to channel the emotions and determination of Polly, the protagonist of Harmony: The Fall of Reverie and the link between the real world and the world in which aspirations have their own will. Weighing the consequences of our actions and, for that matter, saving humanity from a twisted fate.
Of aspirations, crossroads and strong wills
One door closes and others open. In Harmony: The Fall of Reverie We will always have a lot of keys with us, but the big question ends up being the same: which one will take us to the desired destination?
After a prolonged absence completely intentional, the return of Polly to the island of Atina, the place where he was born and raised, ends up being a conspiracy of fate almost, almost provoked. His mother ursula has just disappeared and suspects that, given his troublesome activities – and his stubborn and unpredictable nature – he will find his whereabouts by following the recent activity of the MonoKonzern megacorporation.
Which does not mean that, for all intents and purposes, his return home means a meeting with old friends, relatives worried about Úrsula and, against all odds, some strange deities with whom he has a special bond: Aspirations.
After finding her mother’s pendant, Polly will have a double revelation: in addition to the real world (called Ephemeral), there is the Dream world in which the energy and will of human beings manifests itself in the form of beings with their own personalities. : Happiness, Power, Bond, Glory, Truth and Chaos. Precisely, the last one seems to have screwed up to the neck.
How could Polly have had this revelation? Basically, because she is Harmony, the link between Ephemeral and Dreaming that has the responsibility of maintaining the balance between the two worlds. A balance that, by the way, is at a critical point: MonoKonzern is holding Gloria and, through her power, has begun to control humanity, starting with the island of Atina itself.
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie, a visual novel with the personal stamp of Don’t Nod
We all have more or less assimilated how visual novels work: the way of experimenting Harmony: The Fall of Reveriehis message and the events go through successions of conversations between protagonists on the screen interrupted by eventual decision making that define what will happen and what we will remain without knowing.
In other words, Don’t Nod doesn’t reinvent the wheel, of course, but it brings what is already known to its territory.
From the outset, both the plot and the themes are a direct extension of the ideas seen, but the way in which we participate in the development of events is different: each episode and chapter is branched, so that we choose who to talk to, what to talk about or what tone to use. And based on this, new stories open up to us and we will be left without knowing others.
What is interesting here is how the Aspirations and what they represent are reflected in decision making. Having a certain predisposition towards empathy will sometimes be at odds with the happiness of others or one’s own truth.
However, only having fostered those feelings will we be able to access different perspectives through the ramification of options that will give us a complete vision of the events. Although, of course, from time to time we can bet on Chaos and enjoy the consequences. Or quite the opposite.
A narrative proposal with little room for chaos and a special mime
However, the way to make decisions and progress in Harmony: The Fall of Reverie It has a very pronounced weak point: between scenes of conversations and the ramification of the different possibilities that we have, there is a constant transition. This makes us meditate very well on what is happening and allows us to choose or anticipate what is to come with great freedom.
However, the side effect is that the pace becomes especially slow and the development of the plot or its way of advancing becomes repetitive to a certain extent if we are already clear about what we are going to do.
On an artistic level, yes. Harmony: The Fall of Reverie it’s a delight. And not only in regards to its way of appearing on screen: despite being a more modest project than other more recent works by Don’t Nod, the French have put a very special care in each section related to its presentation and the way in which the adventure unfolds before us. Furthermore, in the localization work an emphasis has been placed on the use of inclusive language.
A unique effort has been made to take care of every little detail and give the whole its own personality. And be careful, going through the very complete glossary of terms and character registration is a great help so as not to get lost.
Of course, the convergence of western and eastern influences plays in its favor. This has been achieved based on stylized and animated characters following the style of European comics with ideas borrowed from here and there, which suits very well worked dialogues in which each line has been interpreted by actors, although in English. And that favors the whole, gives a greater presence to the aspirations and the protagonists and settles the emotional conflict of the game itself.
However, the successes do not end there: composer Lena Raine (Celeste, Chicory: A Colorful Tale or Minecraft) seasons a very careful presentation and conveys the tone and emotion of the work directly to the viewer. Being, for all intents and purposes, a delight that rounds off the whole.
VidaExtra’s opinion
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie It is that kind of game with a special depth and that extends that commitment to take the narrative to the realm of the personal. Its message that begins to manifest itself from its initial bars and ends up transcending the video game itself. And that, added to the care put by Don’t Nod when it comes to giving it shape, plays totally in its favor.
The way to move through the decisions, however, is something called to divide opinions. Harmony: The Fall of Reverie He wants us to reflect a lot on what the next step we are going to take will be and that plays both in his favor and against him, resulting in very long decision-making or that we choose options or links based on what we want to unlock rather than for the interest of knowing what happens.
Maybe, just maybe, integrating the decision scheme and the dialogues of the characters on the same screen (more or less like in the works of Quantic Dream) could have speeded up the pace of the game. But in exchange, Don’t Nod opens the door to a replayability in which we are proposed to follow a different path and give more prominence to other aspirations.
Maybe Harmony: The Fall of Reverie do not follow the playable line of life is strange or the video games associated with their creators, but it is a total extension of everything we liked and all those recurring themes from the French studio. Combining Japanese graphic novels with the studio’s personal stamp. And, in the process, one of Don’t Nod’s most unique and personal works has been achieved.
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie Duration
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie It is a game that asks to be played without haste and episode by episode, like a novel. In this sense, in three, four or five afternoons you will have finished it if you really take your time when deciding and want to soak up the theme, although if you skip the dialogues and choose anyway it will take half that time. Or less.
Harmony Price: The Fall of Reverie
The PC version of Harmony: The Fall of Reverie can be purchased on Steam for 24.99 euros, although promotionally and during the first week it is reduced by 10% (22.49 euros). For its part, it will also be available on PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch consoles, although its official price has not been set.
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie
platforms | PC (reviewed version), PlayStation, Xbox and Switch |
---|---|
multiplayer | No |
developer | DON’T NOD |
Company | DON’T NOD |
Launch | June 8, 2023 |
The best
- A visual novel with the personal stamp of Don’t Nod
- A very special effort has been made in the presentation and that each of the protagonists and aspirations have their own depth
Worst
- The way of approaching decision-making can become repetitive and routine, despite the fact that the results and the system are interesting
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