![]() You will find yourself from a world of giant flowers and taking rides on snails, to having to traverse a flaming cavern. The sandbox environments range from being quite grounded to being very abstract, linking closely to the theme of the memory. The ten very distinct levels throughout Arise: A Simple Story are a visual delight. ![]() Environmental cues, statues of little snippets of the old man’s life, and memory orbs depicting beautiful hand-drawn illustrations of memories found across the levels are the only storytelling mechanics within this wonderful 4-5 hour adventure. ![]() The story is incredibly well told through visuals only, without the need for any narration. These memories are often whimsical and fantastical takes on the most prominent moments of the man’s life and tell the bittersweet story of the relationship he had with his partner. From this point, you can see a light shining on a hill in the distance that will be your goal, but to reach this, you must first access the swirling portals in the snow that lead to your past memories. You awake, still as an old burly man with a thick bushy white beard, but now you are in a beautiful and peaceful snowy hillside world that acts as a kind of purgatory. The thought of looking back before the very end, or after the end in the case of Arise: A Simple Story, at when you were young, fit and strong, falling in love for the first time, having fresh new experiences and witnessing all of your very best moments throughout your life is magical, but now, it’s simply the end – the finality of it all fills me with dread…Īs stated, Arise: A Simple Story begins at your funeral with your tribe standing around you, mourning their loss as they say their final goodbyes before setting your body alight. Seeing an old, weathered Cash perform whilst clips play of his younger self, knowing it’s likely to be his last ever song, really makes me overly emotional, almost to the point that I fear old age. It gave me the same sunken feeling I get every time that I watch the video to Johnny Cash’s version of ‘Hurt’. From its opening moments of witnessing the protagonist’s funeral, to his journey through limbo accessing his old memories, I couldn’t shake the feeling of finality and loss. Developer Piccolo Studio’s debut game, Arise: A Simple Story, really hit me with a hard gut-wrenching punch. ![]()
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