Across the Grooves
- June 17, 2020
- Nova-box
Get on Steam"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.
Reviews
- The game features a captivating and unique story centered around music, with a strong emphasis on character choices that feel impactful.
- The artwork is stunning, with beautiful gouache style visuals that enhance the overall experience.
- The game offers high replayability, allowing players to explore different outcomes and scenes based on their choices.
- Some players found the character development lacking, with certain characters feeling two-dimensional and underwritten.
- The vocal tracks in the soundtrack received significant criticism for poor quality, which detracted from key moments in the game.
- While choices matter, many players felt that the overall narrative arc remained too similar across playthroughs, leading to a sense of repetitiveness.
- story67 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story is a unique blend of music lore and time travel, centered around a bank employee whose life changes after listening to a mysterious record. While the narrative is engaging and well-written, some players feel that the choices offered are limited and do not significantly alter the overall arc, leading to a sense of repetition in multiple playthroughs. The art and atmosphere enhance the experience, but some inconsistencies and a lack of closure for certain plot points leave players wanting more depth and resolution.
“The story is very unique and puts music front and center of the visual novel's narrative.”
“The engaging story and gouache art got me hooked.”
“This game has a really interesting and suspenseful story, and very beautiful art.”
“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.”
- music51 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in this visual novel is a central theme, reflecting the developers' passion for music history and culture, though opinions on the quality of the soundtrack vary widely. While some players appreciate the hauntingly beautiful score and its integration with the story, others criticize the vocal performances and find the songs uncatchy or annoying. Overall, the game offers a unique experience for music enthusiasts, with references and lore that may appeal to those familiar with niche genres, but could alienate players less interested in music.
“The story is accompanied by a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack and is full of references to the last several decades of western musical history.”
“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.”
“Music history plays a huge role in the game and even though most of the background lore went over my head, I still enjoyed exploring those topics in the game.”
“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.”
“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.”
- graphics18 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their beautiful artwork and atmospheric backgrounds, enhancing the overall experience. However, some players feel that character close-ups lack detail and that the art style may not appeal to everyone. While the visuals are considered impressive, there are suggestions for improvement, 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.”
“Artwork and music are great.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“D) Graphics... I didn’t like it much.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, "Across the Grooves" offers a decent level of replayability, with players discovering new scenes and dialogue upon multiple playthroughs. However, some reviewers feel that the game could benefit from a more varied narrative structure, as many playthroughs follow a similar arc, leading to a repetitive experience. Ideal replayability would involve players experiencing a significantly different story with each run, rather than revisiting familiar content.
“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.”
“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%).”
“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 of the continuing story.”
“Still not very long but with more replayability.”
- gameplay4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The gameplay offers around four hours of engaging content with replayability due to its enriched story and unexpected surprises. While it shares mechanics with "Along the Edge," it is noted to be more polished, though some aspects are considered good concepts with average execution. Overall, the story construction and delivery are seen as refined compared to previous titles.
“It can provide about 4 hours of enjoyable gameplay, and it is very interesting to play again to discover other ramifications as the story is greatly enriched, with some situations featuring unexpected surprises.”
“Very similar mechanics to 'Along the Edge', but the game is 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.”
“The gameplay mechanics feel very similar to 'Along the Edge', but this game is more polished.”
“While 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.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its engaging storyline, complemented by excellent music and beautiful artwork, creating an immersive experience. Additionally, the inclusion of a well-crafted background and glossary enhances the overall ambiance.
“The storyline is captivating, complemented by a rich atmosphere and immersive music, along with stunning artwork and a detailed glossary.”
“The atmosphere is incredibly engaging, with a perfect blend of sound and visuals that enhance the overall experience.”
“The game's atmosphere is beautifully crafted, making every moment feel alive with its artistic design and evocative soundtrack.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game appears to resonate more with those familiar with French culture, as some jokes and tropes may be better appreciated by French audiences. However, even players with limited exposure to French cinema can find moments of humor that are enjoyable and fitting within the context.
“I certainly think French people would probably get more of the jokes, but having seen some French cinema myself, I did catch a few tropes that made me laugh, even if they didn't necessarily seem out of place.”
“The humor in this game is brilliantly crafted, with clever wordplay and hilarious situations that kept me laughing throughout.”
“I love how the game uses absurdity to create funny moments; it never takes itself too seriously, which adds to the overall enjoyment.”
