Across the Grooves

About

Across the Grooves is a single player action game with fantasy and mystery themes. It was developed by Nova-box and was released on June 17, 2020. It received positive reviews from players.

"Across The Grooves" is an interactive graphic novel set in a magical-realism universe where your decisions affect Alice's destiny. After receiving a mystical vinyl record, Alice is sent back in time and experiences alternate realities. She embarks on a journey across Europe, following her ex-lover and searching for the record's origins, while discovering her own self in the process.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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87%

Audience ScoreBased on 90 reviews

story44 positive mentions

The game features beautiful artwork and a unique story that effectively integrates music into the narrative.
Players feel that their choices genuinely impact the story, creating a visceral and immersive experience.
The game has high replay value, with many players enjoying multiple playthroughs to explore different outcomes and scenes.

Some players found the character development lacking, with many characters feeling two-dimensional and underwritten.
The vocal tracks received significant criticism for poor quality, detracting from key moments in the story.
While choices matter, many players felt that the overall narrative arc remained too similar across different playthroughs, limiting the sense of freedom.

story
134 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
65%
2%
The story of the game is praised for its unique premise, revolving around a Parisian banker whose life changes after listening to a mysterious record, intertwining themes of time travel and music lore. While the narrative is engaging and beautifully illustrated, some players feel that the choices offered are largely cosmetic and do not significantly alter the core storyline, leading to a sense of repetitiveness in multiple playthroughs. Overall, the writing is well-received, though some critiques mention inconsistencies and a lack of depth in character development, particularly regarding the protagonist's journey.
- “The story is very unique and puts music front and center of the visual novel's story.”
- “The engaging story and gouache art got me hooked.”
- “I liked the story about the mystical record that literally changes their listener’s lives and the way my choices influenced the game’s look and soundtrack.”
- “Our choices don't really matter though, they're purely cosmetic and the story is basically the same with different art.”
- “I found the story, while original, very demotivating and depressing.”
- “The choice is what made me deeply invested in the story of 'Along the Edge,' but unfortunately the choice in this game is too constrained to become meaningful.”
music
102 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
72%
3%
The music in this visual novel is a central theme, reflecting the developers' passion for music history and culture, with a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack that enhances the storytelling. However, opinions are mixed regarding the quality of the original songs; while some appreciate the atmospheric fit, others criticize the vocal performances and find the tracks uncatchy or annoying. Overall, the integration of music with narrative choices is praised, but the execution of the soundtrack leaves room for improvement, particularly for those less familiar with the niche musical references.
- “The story is accompanied by a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack and is full of references to the last several decades of western musical history.”
- “The fact that the record's music changes according to your choices really put me into the moment when my character was playing it.”
- “Gorgeous art, great music and a beautiful story... I'll definitely have to play this more than once, just to discover the different directions the story can go in, and I'm excited to do so (even though I never replay games).”
- “For a game about music, I didn't think the songs were very good.”
- “As a result, the songs aren't very catchy at best, and annoying at worst.”
- “The vocalist's voice sounds like somebody with severe COPD improvising lyrics in real-time, and purposely failing at hitting every single note each song has to offer.”
graphics
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
36%
8%
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their beautiful artwork and atmospheric backgrounds, particularly in scenic and room depictions. However, some players feel that the character close-ups do not translate as well, and there are mixed opinions on the overall art style compared to previous titles. While the visuals are considered extensive and gorgeous, there are suggestions for improvements, such as the ability to hide the UI to better appreciate the artwork.
- “The story is great and the high amount of artworks is just amazing.”
- “It follows along the same vein as their other games in that it presents a choose your own adventure story with gorgeous artwork, good music, and replayability.”
- “And that artwork, seriously... wow.”
- “The art is beautiful for scenery or showing entire rooms, but for close-ups on the faces of characters, I found the art style did not work too well.”
- “D) graphics... I didn’t like it much.”
- “Only thing I missed during my playthrough was the ability to blend out the UI in order to look at the artworks like you can do in a lot of other visual novels with the middle mouse button.”
replayability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The game offers a decent level of replayability, with players discovering new scenes and dialogue upon multiple playthroughs. However, some reviewers feel that the narrative structure leads to a repetitive experience, as each playthrough follows the same arc, suggesting that more varied story paths could enhance replay value. Overall, while the game is well-crafted and visually appealing, it could benefit from a design that encourages players to experience a greater portion of the story in their initial playthroughs.
- “So far, I played the game 4 times and every time I discovered new scenes and dialogue, which gives the game a high replay value.”
- “Despite being a little shorter, 'Across the Grooves' has more replay value and is better at aligning the narrative weight of individual scenes with the impact on the continuing story.”
- “It follows along the same vein as their other games in that it presents a choose-your-own-adventure story with gorgeous artwork, good music, and replayability.”
- “Despite being a little shorter, 'Across the Grooves' has more replay value and is better at aligning the narrative weight of individual scenes with their impact on the continuing story.”
- “These types of interactive stories could stand to have a few more 'middles.' It's not that 'Across the Grooves' isn't replayable, it's not that it's not well-written, it's not that the artwork isn't extensive and gorgeous—it's just that each playthrough has the same arc and thus the same 'feel.' While much tougher to write, interactive stories need to push past this bubble of 'same story told in X different ways.' Ideal replayability would be, for me, seeing less than 50% of the story content the first time through (not 80%).”
- “Still not very long but with more replayability.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The gameplay offers around four hours of engaging content, with replayability enhanced by branching storylines and unexpected surprises. While it shares mechanics with "Along the Edge," it is noted for being more polished, though some players feel the execution could be improved. Overall, the story construction and delivery have seen refinement compared to previous titles, making for an interesting experience.
- “It can give about 4 hours of enjoyable gameplay, and it is very interesting to play again to discover other ramifications as the story is greatly enriched, and also some situations have some unexpected surprises.”
- “Very similar mechanics to Along the Edge, but the game was more polished.”
- “While I think I preferred the setting and themes of Seers Isle, the mechanical aspects of how the story is constructed and delivered seem to be further refined this time around.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, characterized by a compelling storyline, immersive music, and stunning artwork that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers appreciate the well-crafted background and glossary, which contribute to a rich and engaging environment.
- “Very good storyline, good atmosphere and music, excellent background and glossary, and beautiful artwork.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is largely rooted in French cultural references and tropes, which may resonate more with French audiences. However, players with some familiarity with French cinema can still find moments of laughter, even if they don't fully grasp all the nuances.
- “I certainly think French people would probably get more of the jokes, but seeing some French cinema myself, I did catch a few tropes that made me laugh, which did not necessarily seem out of place.”