Arvale

About

"Arvale" is a humorous single-player Role Playing game, offering around 40 hours of playtime, that combines all four episodes into a stand-alone game. Players take on the role of Duncan Forsythe, the royal gardener of Entoque Castle, who is on a quest to regain his lost memories and discover if he really is a world-saver. The game features quirky characters, turn-based battles, and a variety of quests and puzzles to solve.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+11

67%

Audience ScoreBased on 58 reviews

story6 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

The game features a charming story and witty dialogue, making it engaging and fun to play.
Players appreciate the nostalgic graphics and gameplay reminiscent of classic RPGs, with a mix of humor and adventure elements.
The character development and diverse skill sets add depth to the gameplay, allowing for strategic choices in battles.

The game suffers from significant lag and slow walking speed, which can detract from the overall experience.
Many players report bugs and crashes, making it difficult to enjoy the game without technical issues.
Some reviews criticize the game for being a generic RPG Maker title with low-quality assets and a lack of originality.

story
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
62%
13%
The story of the game centers around Duncan, a hero on a quest to recover his lost memories and heroic skills, with a mix of witty dialogue and humorous interactions that enhance character development. While the overarching plot is somewhat generic, focusing on amnesia and a simple mission, the engaging narrative and character dynamics keep players invested in Duncan's journey and the unfolding mysteries. Overall, the story is a standout feature, providing both entertainment and a sense of progression as dark forces loom.
- “Duncan, our hero, has lost his memory of all his previous exploits, and goes on a quest to get his memory back.”
- “The dialogue is witty and fun (don't forget to talk to the wheelbarrows, pots, barrels, etc.), and it really helps develop the story.”
- “And so the story begins as the king sends him on a simple mission, and Duncan slowly learns more about his past, and how to uncover the details ---- which is critical because dark forces are gathering once again.”
- “So he needs to set out on a quest to find his lost memory and recover his heroic skills, all the while being confronted by facts that he was probably responsible for dooming an entire village or abandoning his elven girlfriend and so on.”
- “The story is fine, and mostly plot-driven, but the characters also chat amongst themselves a lot, mostly with silly dialogue.”
- “Story is just cure your amnesia you are our hero from yesteryear go and deliver a message to the village up north.”
humor
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in "Arvale" is a standout feature, characterized by a self-aware, quirky narrative and hilarious dialogue that adds a fresh twist to the traditional JRPG format. Players appreciate the game's ability to blend conventional RPG elements with unconventional comedic moments, making it both entertaining and engaging, though the humor may not resonate with everyone. Overall, it is described as a significant redeeming factor that enhances the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “Once this is sorted out, Arvale becomes quite an enjoyable game of high adventure spiced with cool humor.”
- “Yet it's a fresh take on the genre, with plenty of hilarious dialogue, and an almost graphic adventure-like treatment throughout.”
- “The narrator is full of good humor, and adds an interesting perspective to the events of the game, as well as being very helpful to the beginning player.”
music
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
37%
27%
The music in the game has received positive feedback for its quality and catchiness, with many tracks standing out as memorable and well-composed, particularly the themes for the castle and first town. However, some players expressed a desire for more control over the music and sound settings, noting issues with volume during combat. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a highlight, enhancing the game's atmosphere without being intrusive.
- “The soundtrack is phenomenal and catchy.”
- “Music is excellent without being obtrusive.”
- “I'm not sure where these tracks came from, but many of them (the castle music and the first town in particular) are fantastic.”
- “However, I noticed the music from Arvale Short Tales is missing.”
- “The game is pretty fun and I like the storyline, but I wish we could control the music and sound system. Even when I turn it off, it still plays very loud during combat.”
- “Muting sounds still has the music blasting during combat.”
graphics
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
23%
33%
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players criticizing the limitations of the RPG Maker engine, particularly in fullscreen mode and lack of HD support. However, others appreciate the charming 16-bit aesthetic and beautiful artwork, noting that the visuals, while retro, contribute positively to the overall experience. Overall, the graphics are seen as a blend of decent quality and nostalgic appeal, with some original elements amidst reused assets.
- “These graphics are so ahead of their time!”
- “The graphics are great - exactly what I'd expect for a 16-bit era game.”
- “The artwork is beautiful throughout with battle scenes being especially well done.”
- “As with all RPG Maker games, the poor quality engine displays badly in fullscreen and doesn't have full HD support or any graphics tweaking options, making this unacceptable for any dedicated modern PC gamer.”
- “There's a completely poor attempt at humor amongst the asset-flipped game visuals, and the usual bad anime fan-fic plot.”
- “Graphics, while clean, seem so tiny and old that they are laughable; until after I started playing, I realized it's all part of the charm for this game.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The gameplay of "Arvale" is a mixed bag; while it offers a standard JRPG experience with a humorous story and a nostalgic battle system reminiscent of classic Final Fantasy games, it suffers from unbalanced pacing between combat zones and towns. The overall quality is marred by low-quality graphics typical of RPG Maker titles, leading to a gameplay experience that some find lacking despite its 40-hour length.
- “Arvale is an adventure game, with 40 hours of gameplay, made in RPG Maker.”
- “The gameplay alternates between safe towns, with weapon and item stores, and maps with enemies and a boss at the end.”
- “The battle mechanics are a throwback to the old Final Fantasy system - not overly complicated and easy to use.”
- “Like most RPG Maker shovelware and asset flips, the game features extremely low-quality, copy-pasted 2D retro pixel art, looks awful, and has even worse gameplay.”
- “Old school RPG gameplay? I think not!”
- “For the price, it reaches way beyond what could be considered engaging gameplay that never delivers.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players note that the game becomes quite grindy in the mid-game, requiring extensive farming for currency to afford expensive gear, though later encounters provide ample rewards. While the rich environments and standard music contribute to the experience, the repetitive nature of battles can lead to tedium, with some players ultimately finding the grind too overwhelming to continue.
- “It gets pretty grindy towards the mid-game; you'll spend a lot of time farming encounters for the money to buy the oppressively-priced gear. However, towards the later third of the game, the encounters drop so much money that you'll never have to worry about having enough.”
- “On the technical side, the game has a nicely assembled and rich environment, standard music, and a workable combat system, even though it gets a bit grindy at times.”
- “Overall, the game was fun as each new development progressed the plot, but it often got tedious while going through the long parts.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game is criticized as a blatant cash grab, with users highlighting its low-quality assets and lack of genuine development effort. This approach is seen as detrimental to the reputation of amateur developers, contributing to a perception of the game as shovelware on platforms like Steam.
- “It's horribly basic, riddled with grammatical and spelling errors, full of stock copy-pasted RPG Maker assets. No real game development has taken place here; this is just a cash grab, shovelware polluting Steam for profit.”
- “This kind of cash grab construction kit shovelware from bad actors like Andorlea gives amateur developers a bad name.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users reporting frequent crashes and numerous bugs that detract from the overall experience.
- “Unfortunately, this is going to be a short review, as the game is sadly quite buggy and constantly crashing.”

Buy Arvale

40h Median play time

40h Average play time

40-40h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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