Goodbye Volcano High

I can barely find the words to describe the emotional experience that is Goodbye Volcano High. While there are a few sound blips, the music, voice acting, and story were phenomenal, and these teenage dinosaurs were truly relatable.

82%Game Brain Score

story, music

stability, replayability

89% User Score Based on 1,739 reviews

Critic Score 76%Based on 18 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $29.99

Buy NowGet on Steam$29.99

About

"Goodbye Volcano High" is a cinematic narrative game starring Lachlan Watson, featuring hand-drawn art and meaningful choices. As a senior in a world facing destruction, players must navigate personal growth, familial relationships, and potential romance. The game is written using the storytelling engine behind "Heaven's Vault," "Sorcery!," and "80 Days."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,757 reviews

story467 positive mentions

stability49 negative mentions

The game features a unique take on the visual novel genre, combining engaging storytelling with rhythm mini-games.
The characters are well-developed and relatable, with a colorful cast that resonates with players.
The soundtrack is exceptional, with beautiful music that enhances the emotional impact of the story.

The game suffers from technical issues, including audio glitches, dialogue skipping, and animation problems.
Choices often feel inconsequential, leading to a linear narrative despite the game's emphasis on player decisions.
The pacing can be uneven, with some scenes feeling rushed or lacking depth, particularly in the latter half of the game.

story
1,299 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
63%
2%
The story of "Goodbye Volcano High" is a heartfelt coming-of-age narrative centered around a group of queer dinosaur friends navigating their final year of high school amidst the impending doom of a meteor strike. Players experience a blend of emotional depth and relatable themes, such as identity and friendship, enhanced by a captivating soundtrack and engaging rhythm mini-games. However, some critiques highlight issues with pacing, character development, and the limited impact of player choices, suggesting that while the story is touching and well-crafted, it may not fully capitalize on its potential.
- “The story is touching.”
- “An absolutely beautiful story and super fun.”
- “The story, narrative, world building, and themes are all incredibly real, very well done, and filled with a lot of love and care.”
- “The story has... a few issues.”
- “The story isn't long enough for the price of the game.”
- “It's easy to point at the botched, contentious production and blame all the technical idiosyncrasies and general glitchiness on that, but the story and storytelling being as bland and flat as they are points to a bigger direction problem.”
music
1,202 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
52%
1%
The music in "Goodbye Volcano High" is widely praised as one of the game's standout features, with many reviewers highlighting its emotional depth and quality. The original soundtrack, composed by Dabu and Brigitte Naggar, is described as beautiful and engaging, often resonating deeply with players and enhancing the narrative experience. While the rhythm mini-games are fun, some players wished for more interactivity and the ability to replay songs, but overall, the music significantly elevates the game's charm and emotional impact.
- “The original music blew me away, and I wish there was a music video mode to just watch what played during the rhythm game scenes and listen to the lyrics as opposed to trying to pass the songs.”
- “The music is one of the best parts of the game.”
- “Amazing story, great writing, stellar soundtrack!”
- “Do not care for the musical playing parts -- it's like Guitar Hero but way harder than it needs to be.”
- “The music sections of this game go so hard I can't believe it.”
- “The main issue I have with this game is the story, choice of music (not matching the tone of the band in the story) and the technical issues.”
emotional
307 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
99%
1%
The emotional aspect of "Goodbye Volcano High" resonates deeply with players, often evoking strong feelings of nostalgia, love, and existential contemplation. Many reviews highlight the game's touching narrative, relatable characters, and impactful moments that lead to genuine tears, making it a standout experience for those seeking heartfelt storytelling. Despite some technical flaws, the combination of a beautiful soundtrack and well-crafted dialogue contributes to an emotional journey that players find both uplifting and heart-wrenching.
- “Goodbye Volcano High tackles love, identity, and the emotional turmoil of adolescence through a looming specter of doom.”
- “An extremely touching story about passions, uncertainty, love, community, emotionally processing knowing the world is ending, and being yourself in spite of it all.”
- “This game is just the most beautifully heartbreaking 6 hours you'll ever experience.”
- “Music was the only redeeming factor; the story wasn't all that great. I thought the game seemed intriguing since the reveal, but I found it to be meh. The dialogue was bad, and the story was boring, though I will admit the music was absolute bangers.”
graphics
206 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
53%
1%
The graphics of "Goodbye Volcano High" are widely praised for their unique and colorful art style, which many find charming and immersive. While some users noted minor graphical bugs and distractions during gameplay, the overall visual presentation, including detailed backgrounds and character designs, is considered stunning and adds significant depth to the narrative experience. The combination of beautiful visuals and a captivating soundtrack enhances the emotional impact of the game, making it a standout in its genre.
- “The visuals are amazing, the game direction is excellent, and you really feel like the experience was meticulously crafted by the developers.”
- “An absolute masterpiece of a game, beautiful visuals, stunning artwork, amazing soundtrack and voices.”
- “The graphics are pretty, beautifully drawn backgrounds, I just love the vibe of it all.”
- “Unfortunately, the artwork took me out of the experience the most.”
- “But there were so many technical issues with displaying this artwork that I couldn't stay engrossed.”
- “There was still a lot of bugs with the game (graphical, sound, technical wise, etc) like for example borderless windowed mode will still treat the game as if it was full screen.”
gameplay
196 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
70%
3%
The gameplay in "Goodbye Volcano High" primarily revolves around dialogue choices typical of visual novels, with occasional rhythm game segments that add some engagement but are generally considered simple and not very challenging. While the narrative and character development are praised for their emotional depth and inclusivity, many reviewers note that the gameplay lacks complexity and interactivity, often feeling more like an animated story with minimal gameplay mechanics. Overall, the experience is described as immersive and enjoyable for those who appreciate story-driven games, but it may not satisfy players seeking more traditional gameplay elements.
- “Amazing graphics, smooth gameplay, and very immersive.”
- “The band performance mechanic was executed fantastically!”
- “In terms of its gameplay, the few rhythm sections are solid and fun to play through, and the decision making feels consequential enough to be consistently engaging.”
- “Gameplay-wise, it can be called a graphic novel with choices that do impact on the characters, and the rhythm parts are fun and not too difficult to do, even for those who are not too much into the whole rhythm game genre.”
- “This is one of the least interactive games I've ever played - of the 5 hours I played, maybe one of them was actual gameplay, and the rest was cutscenes and dialogue.”
- “No matter what way you slice it, 5-6 hours of gameplay is hard to justify a $30 price tag.”
humor
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as a mix of lighthearted and relatable moments, with characters that evoke laughter through their awkwardness and funny dialogue. While some players feel it lacks the intensity of humor found in other titles, many appreciate its unique charm, including a humorous social media mechanic and visual gags. Overall, the game successfully balances comedic elements with emotional depth, making it a memorable experience for those who enjoy a blend of humor and storytelling.
- “The humor really nails the very online sense of humor, but it’s never snarky nor mean.”
- “Goodbye Volcano High was a hilarious gem for me.”
- “I became so attached to them by the end of the game, and found myself laughing at their awkwardness and funny moments, but also being proud of their development by the end of the journey.”
optimization
74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
62%
11%
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with some players experiencing technical issues such as audio stuttering, visual pop-ins, and poorly implemented low-resolution models that detract from performance. While many enjoyed the engaging gameplay and voice acting, they noted that the interface is not well-optimized for PC, leading to frustration. Overall, players suggest that further updates could improve the game's performance and address these optimization concerns.
- “The band performance mechanic was executed fantastically!”
- “There are also rhythm game performances sprinkled throughout the story, with a simple but engaging gameplay format that always makes me look forward to them.”
- “I didn't notice any significant hitches in performance, any major game-breaking bugs, any crashes, or really anything else that soured the experience.”
- “And many games use low-res models to save on performance when characters are far from the camera, but GVH has the worst implementation of this I have ever seen.”
- “Plus, the interface is not properly optimized for PC and frustrates a bit.”
- “There are some pretty strong animation/pop-in bugs that show up throughout playing which is probably due to optimization which will need work; there's some subtitles that don't match with what a character is saying as well as some poor sound design which will just cut off character's lines mid-talk, so it feels like you accidentally skipped a line.”
character development
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
47%
5%
Character development in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising the diversity and uniqueness of character designs, as well as the emotional depth of interactions. However, some players feel that the character development is slow and inconsistent, with certain designs being hit-or-miss and lacking memorability. Overall, while the visuals and character interactions are often highlighted as strong points, the writing and pacing of character arcs leave room for improvement.
- “I've never seen such well-rounded character designs, and they're all gorgeous.”
- “There is tremendous diversity in the character designs and bonus LGBTQ+ representation galore.”
- “The story and character developments in this game are incredible.”
- “The character development, writing, and sequence of events were kind of off for about 70% of the game from the start.”
- “Character designs are all over the place; some look like dinosaurs with hair, some look like humans with horns, others don't look like dinosaurs at all.”
- “Despite all of the character development, none of that really matters.”
stability
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
98%
The game exhibits a range of stability issues, including frequent glitches, audio cut-offs, and animation hiccups that can disrupt the experience. While these bugs are noted as frustrating, many players feel they do not significantly detract from the overall enjoyment of the game, which is praised for its art, music, and emotional storytelling. However, some users caution that certain achievements may be unachievable due to these technical problems.
- “Oh, and the game also runs great on my Steam Deck too.”
- “Unfortunately, this is one of the worst engines for visual novels: it creates uneven pacing issues, audio glitches/bugs, and prevents players from going back to decisions or skipping dialogue they’ve already seen.”
- “A significant number of voice lines have been noticeably clipped at the start or end, and a lot of the scene transitions have very distracting visual glitches.”
- “I expected more rhythm challenges to be perfectly honest, and the few that were, were also buggy (didn't recognize the inputs that they were asking for) with no ability to retry them.”
replayability
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
76%
18%
Overall, the game's replayability is considered low due to a lack of multiple endings, minimal impact from player choices, and the absence of features like chapter select and unique save files. While some players appreciate the opportunity to explore different dialogue options and achieve completion, many feel that the limited changes and minor character interactions do not justify multiple playthroughs. Despite these drawbacks, a few players still find value in replaying for specific elements, such as music sections.
- “For the core, I'd say that the replayability is tied to the achievements which will take 2 - 3 playthroughs to obtain.”
- “It's worth replaying, as well, to see what you didn't get to, so the game definitely earns a sense of replayability.”
- “The game takes about 6.5 hours to complete, but has definite replay value.”
- “The lack of a chapter select, unique save files, and replayable rhythm game sections with customizable difficulty also seem like glaring omissions for a game of this price and caliber.”
- “Gvh has almost no replayability, which sucks because to get a 100%, you need to play through the game several times.”
- “And the lack of replayability options such as episode select, or maybe even the ability to fast forward or rewind makes playing through the game again an absolute slog, especially if this is supposed to be a game where your choices impact the story and characters.”
atmosphere
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
42%
12%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its rich and immersive qualities, evoking feelings of wholesomeness and dread as the story unfolds. Many reviewers draw comparisons to titles like "Life is Strange," highlighting the effective use of music and setting to enhance the emotional experience. While some aspects of the game may not resonate with everyone, the overall ambiance and attention to detail are noted as standout features that contribute to a captivating experience.
- “The atmosphere, the mood, the setting, and the feeling reminded me of games like Life is Strange, and that's a great thing to be reminded of.”
- “From the atmosphere and ambience to cinematography and music, you can feel that everything in this game is made with love and care.”
- “And it ruins the atmosphere.”
- “Despite the weird atmosphere around the game's release, and the lack of many release day reviews, I do truly hope more people give it a chance.”
- “This game inspires wholesomeness and dread, with its slice of life atmosphere slowly getting darker and darker as the story progresses.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be both entertaining and tedious; while the initial playthrough offers around six hours of enjoyment, achieving 100% completion requires multiple restarts from the beginning, which can feel repetitive and laborious.
- “However, getting 100% is quite tedious because you have to restart from the beginning with each playthrough (and I have to do it three times...).”
- “I got 6 hours of entertainment from my first playthrough alone and will probably spend more time farming to 100% the game.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy surrounding the game has been viewed positively, as it inadvertently led to the creation of "Snoot Game," which resonated emotionally with players and served as an effective promotional tool, surpassing traditional advertising efforts.