Hey folks, it's another new review- this time being my coverage of Orion Game's Recently Released Hack & Slash Adventure, Arto. A very aesthetically charged game, with a dash of Soulslike influence. That said, if you're curious to know whether it was pretty damn good, or better off as a blank canvas- well, read on.
A surreal Story
The world was a divine work of art- crafted by the 7 gods of inspiration working in tandem. Sadly, this harmony was short-lived. Of their number, Logh forcefully united their powers- crafting an artifact of vast potency that coaxed the other gods into banding together to seal him and his creation away.
An act that through the world into disarray- as the once vivid world fell prey to the great Desaturation. Kingdoms, once full of colour- sank into a monotonous monochrome, their denizens falling into madness.
Yet a small sliver of hope remains. On a distant island, the deity Goya had crafted a disciple, Liv- meant to carry out their will and restore the lost colors. And yet, salvation may come at a great cost- given that the faded deities may not be appreciative of her efforts.
Overall, the storytelling in this title is fairly decent- the central plot threads are handled fairly well in the games obligatory scenes. There's also some fairly solid lore which helps to add more Nuance to Livs' journey, as well as flesh out the world at large- whether it's hidden across the countryside, found in chats with NPCS, or nestled at the end of side quests.
The sidequests are especially notable here- since they -really- help to underline that the situation is vastly more complicated than ‘roam the countryside and restore colour to the world’. Some of them help to pose important questions to an attentive player, and foreshadow some fairly key elements.
And that's not all, either- a few quests also present multiple outcomes. While there isn’t a -mechanical- difference in the reward they’ll give you, they do seem to have different moral bearings, which plays a role in which of the game's different endings you obtain.
Admittedly, this also means you’re locked into a given ending by the time you reach the games climax- and while I did enjoy the narrative beats, I wasn’t quite feeling as inclined to start the entire journey from scratch in order to figure out -what- choices I’d have to make in order to tease out the other options.
Popping Off
Though, I suppose I ought to delve further into the -whys- of that decision, and talk mechanics. Now, Hack & Slash wise, Arto starts simply enough- you have a basic combo, a limited range attack that charges ammo on melee hits, and a simple dodge. Oh, and a parry- which you -really- should get familiar with, because you’re only able to take a few hits before keeling over.
That said- you -can rectify this situation on a number of levels. For instance, if you use a save point /respawn Canvas you’ve already activated, you gain access to an upgrade menu. I sort of felt the need to specify this process, because it was -well- into the game's third area before I stumbled onto it, since I never had a reason to tag an activated Canvas before this point.
Which is sort of a big deal, given it lets you do things like boost your Max health, max ammo, and even unlock healing potions which replenish at saves points, alongside better dodges.
That said, if you’re -really- looking to shake up your combat experience- you’ll have to nudge over to the weapon tab. I’ll admit, I didn’t really pay this one any heed, since the counter ability was in the main tree- and I was waiting until I picked up another weapon somewhere to investigate this. …For half the game.
Until I realized -every- single weapon you can acquire in Arto, regardless of the fact that they are all themed after distinct regions, are in fact unlocked by just throwing currency at them.
Though, even that isn’t really accurate- since they start out with only a barebones combo- and nothing beyond that, unless you have the excess of currency needed to unlock their special charge attack, and it’s upgrade.
It’s…a weird system- that’s only further complicated by how exorbitantly expensive it is to experiment. See, while Chroma (this game's currency) is dropped from enemies- it’s usually dropped in quantities of 1 or so. The occasional enemy might drop 3, and heaps of other enemies drop, well, 0.
Also, if you’re being forced to fight near a ledge, all their experience might just fly off into the void. If anything, your largest source of loot comes from the chests hidden in the world, and by completing side quests. But well- Even these currency gains aren’t exempt from simply emptying their contents into the abyss- which makes the Developers decision to play a number of crates and quest givers -adjacent- to these feel like a bit of a middle finger.
Especially once you realize that, despite the relatively limited amount of -large- experience sources- the game takes a page out of soulslikes, having you spill all your Chroma out when you die. And not even -at- the location you died, necessarily. See, Aya- a sort of helpful…sibling to Liv, will claim your spilled Chroma and hold it for you. …Somewhere in the general vicinity. Sometimes it’s accurate. Sometimes it’s -really- not. And as for whether it’s helpful- well, I suppose I ought to say that her help isn’t entirely free. In the sense that she occasionally decides you need to -fight- for your Chroma, which can be a bit of a slap the first time it happens, if you’re already half dead, and you lose all of it due to her...
It’s unpleasant. Thankfully, there’s at least one facet of your kit you can play around with Gratis. Sort of. See, as you journey through the central continent, you’ll come across a quartet of birds. What sets these apart, is they each give you a combat challenge related to one of the games main regions. What’s notable is that if you manage to clear these absolutely nightmarish gauntlets- you’ll be given the option to -modify- how your ranged attack works. Whether it’s turning your spell into a channeled beam, making it poisonous, a ricocheting nightmare- and quite a few options besides, all of which can be mixed and matched, providing the most finely tailored element of your arsenal.
But right, we’ve talked a lot about questing- so, let’s get into the exploration- and, well, ultimately- it’s alright. If I don’t sound super excited, it’s because I did a fairly thorough job of tackling Arto’s content- but, the act of poring over its world was often a mixed experience. Honestly, it was sort of disappointing that the majority of your reward for checking the far corners of the map is just..Chroma. Yes, there’s the occasional interesting element, like a tidbit of lore, or a quest to hunt down- but even these hit some snags, if only because- well, I -absolutely- hate the map in this game.
It only provides a vague idea of where you are on it, which can be -extremely- disorienting when quest markers are also placed ‘somewhere’ in the vicinity of where something is. And it’s not like you can make notes of places you’ve really been, or thoroughly explored- in case there was something sketchy you never got around to doing.
Which is a -huge- problem when you do the memoria quest. This is the lengthiest sidequest in the game, requiring you to search an exploration focused island for 10 idols. While some of these are easier to suss out than others- I’ll admit, I was absolutely stumped for ages- because I managed to miss the -first- one, which shows up next to the first Divinity Temple you encounter past the tutorial. -Only- if you go a bit south and east- instead of beelining to the northwest like I did. I spent like an hour -scouring- for an object that was -underground-. And this was after I spent some time looking for a white object in a pastel hellscape.
Really, the only highlight to that experience was there’s some pretty “convenient” fast travel, and even that comes with some air quotes, if only because this game's loading screens just…chug at times. As in- I literally stepped away, brewed some tea, came back, and the game was still loading.
It -also- decided to completely lock up the screen at one point, showing itself as loading, but allowing me to move around. And it just stayed like that.
And it’s a shame, too- because despite the hiccups involved in that quest, -even- with the handful of times I had to exit out of the game to dodge a loading screen and try again. Or to get in the habit of -saving- before fast traveling, I still thought the Memoria quest was interesting enough to feel worthwhile.
A Splash Of Color
That said, perhaps the most indecipherable decision of all has to do with the games visuals. Now, I’m not talking about the art style itself. I was actually -super- fond of the fact that each region has its own distinct style- which slowly colours in as you advance. No, what I took issue with, was the fact that- despite it having you play in crowded arenas, or searching areas for objects- it does not allow you to tilt the camera, even slightly.
And this is a -major- issue, given that the game will have you fighting in areas where objects are obscuring the battlefield, but you’re unable to adjust your view.
That said, the most egregious visual fault (beyond the map bits I mentioned earlier), was the final area. Not -only- does it have a headache inducing segment that rapidly oscillates between the different art styles associated with each region to a -nightmarish- degree, it kicks off one area by having a solid -wall- which you can only walk through at a specific time, or during transitions- and which is not -visually- shown or hinted at in the slightest. Which is. Pretty unpleasant, in all truth- since that area is also laden with infinitely spawning enemies- who are nigh immortal due to the rapid scene changing.
Final Impressionisms
It’s just. It left a bad taste in my mouth, even despite the things I enjoyed- and I think that really is emblematic of my experience in the game.
Arto has a lot of problems, nitpicks and odd decisions culminating to weigh down the whole experience. I -liked- this game, but it’s in a weird place where I’m not entirely sure I could recommend it as easily as other titles. LIke, it wasn’t even an uncommon occurrence for me to get stuck on invisible or hard to see textures on the ground, some of which I could go around, but others requiring me to dash through to progress. In a game that is -very- combat heavy, where those dashes are valuable.
Sure, I appreciated that each area had its own nuances- but, so much of the exploration just felt iterative and tiring. Opening up yet another chest, only for it to be just more experience, some of which is likely consigned to cheaply falling into the abyss. It just- feels bad.
Really, the only element that really felt like it was executed in a relatively smooth manner was the story. And- that just doesn’t feel good in such a mechanically focused game. Also, just how limited and rote combat felt until I had an -excess- of currency in order to gain some degree of variety felt… well, like a FUMBLE, ultimately. Arto is an -ambitious- project visually, but unless you’re wowed by that, it pales in comparison to other titles in the genre.
Frankly, I’m still seething at the lengthy walk of shame I had to go through -each- time I had to return to that final fight. It’s a -slog- without even considering the free hits enemies would get on me while it chugged on transitions. All in all, I'm good.
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