AR-K
- July 21, 2014
- GATO STUDIO
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"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
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Reviews
- The game features a unique and interesting story that has the potential to engage players.
- Some players appreciate the humor and quirky characters, finding them entertaining.
- The voice acting is generally well-received, adding to the overall experience.
- The puzzles are often illogical and frustrating, requiring players to rely on walkthroughs to progress.
- The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making gameplay cumbersome and tedious.
- The main character is often described as unlikable and abrasive, detracting from the player's enjoyment.
- story89 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its intriguing elements and character development, while others criticize it for being disjointed, confusing, and poorly executed. Many appreciate the potential of the narrative, especially in later episodes, but express frustration over unresolved plotlines and lackluster puzzle integration. Overall, the storytelling quality varies significantly, leaving players divided on their engagement with the plot.
“The story is great!”
“There are some twists and turns that you don't quite expect in some places, which makes the game much more immersive in the story.”
“The game paces the story nicely with a decent mixture of storytelling and puzzle solving.”
“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 story layout.”
“The storyline is extremely boring, and having to reach over and press escape to skip conversations gets annoying quickly.”
“On top of that, the story doesn't make any sense; the storytelling is utterly disjointed and incomprehensible, and the puzzles have no rhyme or reason.”
- graphics26 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players describing them as dated and amateurish, reminiscent of late 90s CGI. While some appreciate the unique charm and bright visuals, others find the animations awkward and the overall quality lacking, particularly in earlier chapters. Improvements are noted in the third installment, but overall, the graphics do not meet modern standards and detract from the gaming experience.
“The graphics are fine but sometimes the animation is weird and not working correctly (like walking animation or talking).”
“The story seems interesting, the graphic styling is pretty good.”
“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.”
“Sadly though, the game also has the graphical features of those (extremely) old Sierra Online games.”
- humor23 mentions
- 91 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The humor in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the good voice acting, interesting characters, and occasional funny moments that provide smiles. However, others criticize the humor as forced or lacking, with a protagonist whose condescending attitude can become tiresome. Overall, while there are enjoyable comedic elements, the execution varies significantly, leaving some players disappointed.
“The UI in the first chapter is a little clunky, and the graphics are a little dated, but the humor, writing, characters, and the challenge all make up for these small problems.”
“It also has a nice little touch of humor to it that, while it will not make you roll on the floor laughing, still will give you some smiles.”
“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.”
“Cannot recommend a game that relies on comedy, but is not funny.”
“You can interrupt these info screens with the escape key, but it is not funny to always have one finger on the escape key.”
- gameplay11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of streamlined mechanics and frustrating elements, with some players appreciating the introduction of a narrator and new UI functions, while others criticize the repetitive dialogue, non-intuitive controls, and inconsistent hint system. Despite some solid storytelling and voiceovers, many find the gameplay unpolished and boring, leading to a lack of engagement. Overall, the gameplay experience is seen as a significant drawback, with a score of 5/10 reflecting these mixed feelings.
“The second chapter introduces a narrator and several new UI functions which make gameplay more streamlined and more challenging all at once.”
“Has the best game design and mechanics.”
“The voice overs in the game are solid and the point and click gameplay was done well.”
“If it wasn't for all that, I might be able to overlook the terrible, repetitive, unhelpful dialog and frustrating interface (non-intuitive controls with no tutorial; controls help is located in a menu that you access by exiting the game; controls change location from chapter to chapter; inconsistent 'hint' mechanic that even the game itself admits was introduced in chapter 2 because chapter 1 was 'confusing' - fucking hell).”
“Exiting the game because there was 10 minutes of story in 1 1/2 hours of gameplay.”
“Boring gameplay.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game exhibits several stability issues, including glitches such as inventory misclicks, audio problems, and clipping errors, though they are generally not game-breaking. Additionally, the puzzles are criticized for their illogical design and lack of clear instructions, contributing to a frustrating user experience. Overall, while the game has potential, its stability is marred by these persistent bugs and poor puzzle mechanics.
“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.”
“I don't know if I am the only one with the issues, but the game itself has a lot of glitches I experience.”
“Although this game had potential with its storyline, the puzzles were illogical and too many glitches occurred.”
- music4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as pleasant but unremarkable, lacking standout qualities. While some players found it relaxing and enjoyable, others felt it didn't elevate the overall experience significantly.
“The music and the voice-over are nice, but nothing special.”
“And why is the soundtrack n/a?”
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“Melt it down and inject it right into my eyeballs! I want AR-K to be the video game equivalent of the underdog kids in an 80s sports movie, where after a synth music montage with a robot, the devs crank out an adventure game that beats down the big bully AAA teams that give adventure games wedgies.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be slow and tedious, exacerbated by a poorly designed interface that lacks essential features like a save menu, fast transitions, and clear item descriptions. This results in a frustrating experience that detracts from gameplay and makes progression feel laborious.
“The game itself is slow and tedious; the controls could be better.”
“What I'm sure was conceived as an innovative interface actually ends up being tedious and completely non-intuitive.”
“Firstly, they offer a terrible interface: no save menu, no options, no hot spots key, no fast walk, no fast transitions, unmarked interactables, atrocious inventory, no item descriptions, no item labels, tedious drag & drops, keyboard required for skipping, illegible subtitles (translations) over alien speak, out of screen labels... and I'm forgetting some.”
- character development2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Character development in the game has received criticism for its lack of depth, with users pointing out issues such as poor voice acting and unconvincing character design, which detracts from the overall immersion and believability of the characters.
“The main thing that bothered me was the voice acting, character design, and the terrible programming of the game itself.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's challenging nature, which enhances its replayability and showcases the developers' efforts to create an engaging experience.
“Definitely a good challenge, and one that makes the game replayable, so I applaud the efforts of the developers there.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game "ar-k" is praised for its immersive atmosphere, drawing comparisons to the classic "Day of the Tentacle" (dott) through its engaging scenes and well-developed characters.
“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.”
“The immersive world and detailed environments truly pull you into the game's atmosphere, making every moment feel alive.”
“The haunting soundtrack and beautifully crafted visuals combine to create an unforgettable atmosphere that keeps you engaged.”
