Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is a narrative adventure game by Don't Nod. It was released for Nintendo Switch and Windows on 8 June 2023 and for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on 22 June.
| Harmony: The Fall of Reverie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Don't Nod |
| Publisher(s) | Don't Nod |
| Producer(s) | Cyrille Combes |
| Designer(s) | Maxime Moze |
| Programmer(s) | Trung Nguyen |
| Artist(s) |
|
| Writer(s) | Matthias Fuchs |
| Composer(s) | Lena Raine |
| Engine | Unreal Engine |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | Nintendo Switch, Windows 8 June 2023 PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S 22 June 2023 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure, visual novel |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
editThe player takes control of the protagonist, Polly, who has returned to her hometown of Atina after receiving news of her mother's disappearance. The player has to make decisions at certain points in the story. To do this, the player visits the Augural, a tree with nodes representing different choices. Depending on the player's decision, the story takes a different turn and locks other nodes, leading to one of several endings.
Plot
editAfter several years abroad, Polly returns to her hometown of Atina. Her mother has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. She finds a strange amulet in the remains of her mother, which suddenly throws her into a parallel world: Reverie. Here live wondrous, godlike beings called "aspirations," which symbolize human characteristics and attitudes. She learns that she has the gift of clairvoyance. Polly needs to see into the future and stop an apocalypse that threatens the balance between her world and the deities'.
Development and release
editThe game was developed and published by Don't Nod. The game's voice actors include Shala Nyx, Jennifer English, Jacqui Bardelang, Timothy Watson, Rachel Atkins, Roly Botha, Abigail Thorn, Helen Aluko, Ramon Tikaram, Karl Queensborough, and Natalie Gumede.
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie was announced during Nintendo Direct on 9 February 2023. A demo was available on Steam during LudoNarraCon from 4 to 8 May.[1] On 4 May, the release date on 8 June 2023 for Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch and for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on 22 June was announced.[2]
Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | PC: 75/100[3] NS: 71/100 XSX: 77/100 |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| 4Players | 76/100[7] |
| Eurogamer | 4/5[4] |
| Hardcore Gamer | 4/5[9] |
| IGN | 8/10[5] |
| Shacknews | 9/10[8] |
| The Guardian | 2/5[6] |
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie received "generally favorable" reviews, according to Metacritic.[3][10][11]
While enjoying the non-linearity of Harmony's narrative, NintendoWorldReport criticized the frequent and lengthy loading screens, "Sometimes this means you will enter an area, there will be one dialogue box, and it will move to another area which prompts yet another loading screen".[12] The Guardian disliked how the player could see into the future, feeling it robbed the narrative of surprise, "being able to see what will happen next sucks the suspense out of the whole thing". Eurogamer praised how by adding clairvoyance, the title bridged some of the dissonance between the player and who they controlled, "With that in mind, Harmony feels like an examination of the entire genre's limits... lifting the veil to show us the ending from the very beginning, and challenging us to forge our own path to that goal".
References
edit- ^ Bo, Moore (2023-02-08). "New Don't Nod Game Harmony: The Fall of Reverie Coming in June". IGN. Archived from the original on 2023-08-02. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
- ^ Stewart, Marcus (4 May 2023). "Don't Nod's Harmony: The Fall Of Reverie Arrives In June, Steam Demo Launches Today". Game Informer. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
- ^ a b "Harmony: The Fall of Reverie for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ "Harmony: The Fall of Reverie review - a narrative wonder with a view of the future". EuroGamer. 16 June 2023. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ "Harmony: The Fall of Reverie Review - IGN". IGN. 14 June 2023. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ "Harmony: The Fall of Reverie review - disappointingly discordant". The Guardian. 13 June 2023. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ "Harmony: The Fall of Reverie - Test, Adventure, PC". 4Players (in German). 25 June 2023. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "Harmony: The Fall of Reverie: Striking a balance". Shacknews. 8 June 2023. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "Review: Harmony: The Fall of Reverie". Hardcore Gamer. 8 June 2023. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "Harmony: The Fall of Reverie". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2023-06-26. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
- ^ "Harmony: The Fall of Reverie". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2023-07-30. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
- ^ "Harmony: Fall of Reverie Review - Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on 2023-07-30. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
