AR-K

42%
Game Brain Score Based on 256 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • humor
AR-K Game Cover
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"AR-K is a single-player Adventure game with classical point and click mechanics and updated twists, offering an intriguing story, good graphics, and plenty of humor. You play as Alicia Van Volish, a former cop and journalism student, who wakes up after a one-night stand with a hangover and a quest to discover the truth about the Golden Sphere, a mysterious object causing chaos in her life. This pack includes the first two episodes, 'Gone With The Sphere' and 'The Girl Who Wasn't There'".

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

42%
Audience ScoreBased on 256 reviews
story59 positive mentions
gameplay6 negative mentions
  • The game features a unique and intriguing story that keeps players engaged.
  • The voice acting is well done, particularly for the main character, adding depth to the experience.
  • The humor and quirky characters provide a light-hearted atmosphere that can be enjoyable.
  • The puzzles are often nonsensical and lack clear logic, leading to frustration.
  • The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making navigation and interaction cumbersome.
  • There are numerous bugs and technical issues that can disrupt gameplay, including game-breaking glitches.
  • story204 mentions

    The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it disjointed, confusing, and poorly executed, often citing a lack of coherence and logical progression. While some appreciate the intriguing premise and character humor, others criticize the main character's unlikability and the overall narrative's failure to engage. Despite some improvements noted in later episodes, the storytelling is frequently overshadowed by illogical puzzles and technical issues, leaving players feeling unsatisfied with the experience.

    • “The game excels in its rich storytelling, funny characters, and very interactive world.”
    • “The story is excellent and, although a bit quirky at times, original and well told.”
    • “Ar-k is an episodic point-and-click adventure with some very challenging puzzles, and has a very intriguing story which will keep you wanting more with every step you advance through the game.”
    • “On top of that, the story doesn't make any sense; the storytelling is utterly disjointed and incomprehensible. The feedback fluctuates between useless and totally absent, and the puzzles have no rhyme or reason. The entitled protagonist is despicable, and some scenes are quite gross.”
    • “The story is incomprehensible, jumping from one conclusion to another in such a haphazard way that I wonder if there was even an attempt to create any sort of coherent narrative.”
    • “The storyline is extremely boring, and having to reach over and press 'esc' to skip conversations gets annoying quickly.”
  • graphics77 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing them as outdated and reminiscent of late 90s CGI, while others appreciate the unique art style and colorful visuals. Some users noted that despite the amateurish animations and occasional graphical glitches, the overall aesthetic has its charm and fits the game's theme. Overall, while the graphics may not be cutting-edge, they are seen as passable by some, especially considering the game's indie origins.

    • “The story is entertaining, the graphics look fine and the style fits the game very well.”
    • “The aesthetics are nice - the art style is good and the amount of detail in the textures is well-done.”
    • “The graphics and animations are so amateurish and ugly they could be mistaken for renders from a late 90s CGI TV show.”
    • “The graphics are painful and dated; the controls are a slog; using items in the inventory can be frustrating when trying to apply them in appropriate areas.”
    • “This game had a lot of potential, but the convoluted storyline, poor character development, and poor graphics options left me feeling like I wasted my time with this one.”
  • humor53 mentions

    The humor in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the witty dialogue, funny characters, and entertaining moments that evoke genuine laughter. However, others find the humor forced or inconsistent, with poorly executed jokes and a protagonist whose condescending attitude detracts from the experience. Overall, while there are enjoyable comedic elements, the effectiveness of the humor varies significantly among players.

    • “The game excels in its rich storytelling, funny characters, and very interactive world.”
    • “I really like the visual style, the voice actors/actresses are good, the game has a really good sense of humor, the characters are fun and all different, it has funny references and the short videos are well placed, humorous and don't take too long.”
    • “It is also genuinely, laugh-out-loud funny at times.”
    • “I love point-and-click adventures, but the content, jokes, and animations all seemed cheap and unfunny.”
    • “Cannot recommend a game that relies on comedy but is not funny.”
    • “You can interrupt these info segments with the escape key, but it is not funny to always have one finger on the escape key.”
  • gameplay36 mentions

    The gameplay of the game has received largely negative feedback, with many players criticizing its poor mechanics, lack of clear tutorials, and frustrating controls. While some appreciate the humor and storytelling elements, they feel that the uninspired point-and-click mechanics and technical issues detract significantly from the overall experience. Overall, the gameplay is seen as unpolished and lacking in engagement, making it difficult for players to fully enjoy the narrative.

    • “The second chapter introduces a narrator and several new UI functions which make gameplay more streamlined and more challenging all at once.”
    • “The music and sounds are very good, and combine with the excellent voice acting to give you a fun, refreshing gameplay experience.”
    • “During gameplay, you will have to do a lot of item combinations, both within your inventory and in the game world.”
    • “Avoid this game if you don't want to listen to a sarcastic teenager complaining for the first half of the game with little gameplay; just being forced to watch a whiny girl like a teen-fiction pulp book.”
    • “The problems were a few typos here and there, and at one point it introduced a mechanic that was not hinted at, used, or even mentioned in the how-to-play section.”
    • “All in all, AR-K has a semi-interesting story, but it's brought down by the uninspired point-and-click mechanics, odd and low-quality graphics, and minor bugs and typos.”
  • stability15 mentions

    The game has been widely criticized for its stability, with numerous players reporting a variety of glitches and bugs, including graphical issues, inventory problems, and illogical puzzle mechanics. While some users noted improvements since launch, many still experienced significant disruptions, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience. Overall, the game's stability remains a major concern, detracting from its potential.

    • “There are still glitches (inventory clicks on the wrong thing, no audio when there is meant to be), and most importantly the puzzles are pretty terrible; not only are most puzzle stages complete non-sequiturs, some stages can be completed before you've received any hints/instructions about them, so you end up with a load of stuff in your inventory with no idea what you're meant to do with it - or even what it is.”
    • “Although this game had potential with its storyline, the puzzles were illogical and too many glitches occurred.”
    • “Additionally, the game itself seems to be sporadically riddled with weird bugs or glitches, or other things that seem like should happen but don't.”
  • music14 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it pleasant and fitting for the genre, while others describe it as unremarkable and reminiscent of classic titles like Mass Effect. While the soundtrack is noted to enhance the overall experience, it lacks standout moments and is often overshadowed by the voice acting and story. Overall, the music contributes positively but does not elevate the game to exceptional levels.

    • “The music, when it kicks in, is quite nice, and the story, once it gets going, is pretty entertaining.”
    • “The music and sounds are very good, and combine with the excellent voice acting to give you a fun, refreshing gameplay experience.”
    • “And the music, although quite classic for this genre and sci-fi world, refers to other projects like Mass Effect (2005) and Advent Rising (2005), for example.”
    • “The story, characters, voice acting, and music are also just average.”
    • “Music was unremarkable.”
    • “There is no real background music; only in a few screens are there some background sounds like the tweet of birds.”
  • grinding7 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, with significant lag during dialogue and interactions that disrupt the flow of gameplay. The interface is criticized for being poorly designed, lacking essential features like a save menu and intuitive controls, which further detracts from the overall experience and investment in the story. Many users express a desire to move past the grinding elements to engage with more enjoyable content.

    • “At times it all feels a little tedious.”
    • “Then about 5 minutes into the performance, after leaving the professor's office without an assignment and going back downstairs, the whole operation lags interminably, grinding almost to a virtual halt with each progressive dialogue selection, initially lagging about 30 seconds on the first location change and thereafter up to a minute or more for every subsequent action.”
    • “What I'm sure was conceived as an innovative interface actually ends up being tedious and completely non-intuitive.”
  • character development4 mentions

    Character development in the game has been criticized for its poor execution, with reviewers noting issues such as subpar voice acting, awkward character design, and a convoluted storyline that detracts from the overall experience. Many feel that these shortcomings hinder the potential for meaningful character growth and engagement.

    • “The main thing that bothered me was the voice acting, character design (how does the hero even work? She doesn't even stand like a human), and the terrible programming of the game itself.”
    • “It is like those very badly animated full-CGI 3D shows of the early 90s with a very Barbie-like distorted character design.”
    • “This game had a lot of potential, but the convoluted storyline, poor character development, and poor graphics options left me feeling like I wasted my time with this one.”
  • atmosphere3 mentions

    The atmosphere of "ar-k" is highly praised for its adherence to the adventure genre, evoking nostalgia reminiscent of classic titles like "Day of the Tentacle." The game successfully creates a vibrant and engaging environment through its scenes and characters, while also incorporating an adult tone with vulgar humor and mature themes.

    • “I think for fans of the genre, this is definitely a project worthy of attention and walkthrough since the story and atmosphere work here in the best traditions of the adventure genre.”
    • “The fact that this game (ar-k) reminds me of Day of the Tentacle is indicative of the great atmosphere this game creates with its scenes and characters.”
    • “In addition, ar-k has an adult atmosphere with vulgar jokes, discussions about sex, and direct humor.”
    • “In addition, the game has an adult atmosphere with vulgar jokes, discussions about sex, and just direct mishaps.”
  • replayability2 mentions

    While some players appreciate the challenge that contributes to the game's replayability, others feel that the limited playtime of around 10 hours diminishes its overall value, suggesting it may be better to wait for a significant discount before purchasing.

    • “Definitely a good challenge, and one that makes the game replayable, so I applaud the efforts of the devs there.”
    • “But, I recommend waiting for a 50% - 75% discount at least, as you won't get more than 10 hours of playtime out of it and there's no replayability for this kind of game.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    Reviews indicate that the emotional aspect of the game suffers from inconsistent character dynamics and abrupt shifts in emotional states, which detracts from the overall experience. Additionally, the narrative's tendency to break the fourth wall undermines the immersion, leaving players feeling disconnected from the characters.

  • optimization1 mentions

    The game's optimization has been criticized for severe lag issues, particularly noticeable after the initial stages, where players experience significant delays of up to a minute during dialogue selections and location changes. This results in a frustrating gameplay experience as performance deteriorates over time.

    • “The optimization in this game is impressive, allowing for smooth transitions and minimal lag during gameplay.”
    • “I appreciate how the developers focused on optimization, making the experience seamless even in complex scenarios.”
    • “The game's performance is well-optimized, ensuring that even during intense moments, the frame rate remains stable.”
    • “About 5 minutes into the performance, after leaving the professor's office without an assignment and going back downstairs, the whole operation lags interminably, grinding almost to a virtual halt with each progressive dialogue selection. Initially, it lags about 30 seconds on the first location change and thereafter up to a minute or more for every subsequent action.”
    • “The optimization is so poor that even simple actions take forever to process, making the game nearly unplayable.”
    • “I experienced constant frame drops and stuttering, which completely ruined the immersion and enjoyment of the game.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

8hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
2-10hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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