REVIEW : Arietta Of Spirits (PS5)
Arietta of Spirits is a brief but charming top-down adventure that proudly displays its influences while still providing plenty of entertainment. Arietta of Spirits, developed by Third Spirit Games, aims to recreate the top-down action adventure games of the past. Arietta of Spirits is an action-adventure game that follows Arietta on her quest to discover the secrets of the Spirit Realm. Immerse yourself in a storey full of emotion and unexpected twists and turns.
Apart from the fact that all of the gaming features are bang on, the tale is also incredibly poignant. Arietta is the name of your character, and she finds herself returning to a familiar spot where she spent a lot of time as a child. Once there, the novel seizes your emotions and gives the protagonist’s journey a real sense of purpose. Despite the fact that you are given a lot of information at the start, it is not irritating or drawn out. It’s ideal for the tale’s requirements, and the plot is delivered to you in a seamless flow as you play.
The gameplay, as previously indicated, is the secondary bright star. Particularly, the battle mechanics, which are flawless. As you engage in combat, you will encounter a wide range of adversaries and bosses, all of which have distinct personalities. They aren’t all boring copy cats who plod along doing the same thing as each other with little differences. Each adversary has an own strategy for dealing with them, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Arietta of Spirits is a must-have title for anybody who enjoys a good storey and engaging gameplay. When you play this game, you will often praise yourself as you lose track of time while immersed in this fantastic experience. At its foundation, the fighting in this game is rather straightforward; you can dodge, perform a melee attack, and later in the game, block assaults. Many similar games attempt to flood their combat with heavy, light, ranged, and combination attacks. I get the appeal of such strategy, but it’s not my cup of tea. Arietta of Spirits’ battle system is fantastic, because adding too many features would make combat difficult and unfun for me.
Arietta of Spirits portrays the player as the eponymous character, a thirteen-year-old girl returning for the first time to her grandmother’s lonely island cabin since her death. There, she discovers a link to the spirit realm and is tasked with unravelling the island’s mysteries and resolving the issues of friendly spirits. However, not every local is friendly toward the young guest.
Arietta of Spirits, of course, has some obvious inspirations.. It’s a top-down adventure game with a significant emphasis on combat, exploration, and puzzle solving, and hence bears some resemblance to early The Legend of Zelda titles or the Mana series. Within its short playtime, there’s nothing especially new to be found here, but that’s not always a negative thing for those looking for a true slice of nostalgia.
As a result, Arietta of Spirits follows a similar pattern. The player must explore the island, defeating creatures and bosses along the way and obtaining new equipment and power-ups such as health upgrades to aid them in their quest. A bit more variety would have been nice – the player can only attack, dodge, and use a magical shield.
Third Spirit, in particular, employs a strong balance between these abilities, especially in the game’s later boss encounters, which can seem like a bullet hell and put the player’s mastery of dodge and shield usage to the test. Completionists can also discover several diversionary activities throughout the game, such as gathering a few items for the merchant spirit Midri or tracking down the lost Spirit Cubs dispersed about the island. Arietta of Spirits may disappoint those anticipating something as long and sophisticated as the old Zelda games, but it doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Although the game can feel a little wandering at times if the player tries to finish all of the side quests, Arietta of Spirits aims to keep the player on a linear route in general. This can feel tight and well-rounded at times, similar to the maze of a silver mine at the end of the game. This is also a time when the game’s storey is stepped up a level, with a darker tone that emphasises Arietta’s link to the spirit world.
The game’s storey is well-told overall, with a cast of respectable, if not extraordinary, characters who do their jobs well. Meanwhile, Arietta of Spirits expertly connects the player’s personal experience with the larger lore, establishing a solid foundation before the game begins. It’s unlikely to stick in the mind for long, but it accomplishes its goal of eliciting an emotional response.
Arietta of Spirits is also visually appealing. It achieves the same nostalgic style of games like Stardew Valley and Shovel Knight, looking as if it stepped out of the 16-bit era while incorporating embellishments that would not have been conceivable at the time, such as more complicated transparency and lighting than the SNES could handle. It’s an experience worth having if you have an old CRT television laying around. Arietta of Spirits is a top-down action adventure game that is both safe and exciting. It combines simple yet enjoyable gameplay and a decent storey with a strong emotional core to keep the player engaged. It’s not a must-play, but it certainly checks all the boxes for fans of the genre who are looking for a nostalgic fix that even the biggest franchises have abandoned. Arietta of Spirits is an enchanting adventure. It oozes the kind of warmth and casual spirit of adventure that only indie jewels seem to possess. Last but not least, if you’re searching for a true challenge, this game isn’t for you. . I wouldn’t call it simple, but I went through it on hard level and just had difficulties with the last boss fight.
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