"Harmony: The Fall of Reverie" is a highly acclaimed visual novel featuring a vibrant cast of fully-voiced characters and a magical soundtrack. Its emotionally charged story allows players to make choices that affect future outcomes, offering multiple endings to explore. Players step into the role of Polly/Harmony in a world of colorful mystery. Critics have praised its stellar writing and player choice mechanics, making it a must-play for narrative-driven experience enthusiasts.
The game features stunning visuals, beautiful character designs, and excellent voice acting that enhance the overall experience.
The unique choice-based mechanic, allowing players to see potential outcomes before making decisions, adds depth to the gameplay and encourages strategic thinking.
The narrative explores complex themes such as grief, freedom, and societal issues, making it a thought-provoking experience for players.
The story can feel disjointed and lacks coherence, especially in the later acts, leading to a sense of confusion and frustration.
Players often feel locked into specific paths due to the choice system, which can diminish the sense of agency and impact of their decisions.
The absence of a skip function for previously seen dialogue and cutscenes makes replaying the game tedious and less enjoyable.
story
378 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
63%
5%
The story of "Harmony: The Fall of Reverie" has received mixed reviews, with some praising its intriguing premise, character development, and unique storytelling mechanics, while others criticize its convoluted plot and disjointed narrative flow. Many players found the choice-driven system engaging but noted that it often disrupted immersion and failed to provide meaningful impact on the storyline. Overall, while the game features beautiful visuals and a rich world, its execution leaves some players feeling disconnected from the characters and plot.
“I love this game, the characters are endearing, the story is really interesting, and the story tree mechanic is fun.”
“Harmony: the fall of reverie is a powerful visual novel that mixes a world-bending story with deeply personal stakes.”
“Overflowing with replay value, engaging characters and great writing, the end result is that Harmony: the fall of reverie offers up some of the most compelling storytelling Don't Nod has ever come up with.”
“None of the gameplay or story elements mesh well with each other, leaving the direction confused and underdeveloped.”
“I played through twice to see if there was a more coherent story I was missing, but no, the disjointed and arbitrary story seems to be intended.”
“The end result is I honestly barely know any of these characters as instead of talking to them I’m picking choices that I have no idea how they relate to what is going on in the story.”
gameplay
120 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
69%
3%
The gameplay primarily revolves around a choice-based mechanic known as the "augural," which allows players to navigate a decision tree that influences the story's outcome. While the concept is intriguing and visually appealing, many players feel that the execution is flawed, leading to a lack of engaging gameplay and a disjointed narrative experience. Overall, the game is best suited for fans of visual novels who appreciate complex choice mechanics, but it may leave others wanting more interactive elements.
“I love this game, the characters are endearing, the story is really interesting, and the story tree mechanic is fun.”
“The mechanics are engaging, fun, and feel impactful; the story is once again brilliantly written.”
“Gameplay-wise, the game offers the player many choices to make through the use of the augural.”
“None of the gameplay or story elements mesh well with each other, leaving the direction confused and underdeveloped.”
“The actual gameplay is handled rather poorly, but with a better narrative and writing would probably have been okay.”
“Sadly, this is also the only 'interactive' game mechanic present.”
graphics
97 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
32%
3%
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their vibrant and colorful art style, with many reviewers highlighting the stunning character designs and animations. The visuals are described as striking and unique, offering a refreshing departure from the typical washed-out palettes found in many modern games. However, some critiques mention that while the graphics are beautiful, they do not fully compensate for issues in the game's narrative structure.
“The visuals of the game are striking and colorful, offering a welcome change from the bleary, washed out color palettes of many other modern games.”
“The very first words out of my mouth when the game started were, 'Oh my god, I love this art style!' The bright, saturated colors on Mediterranean architecture and the fun street art of Atina; the whimsy of the clashing decor and novelty of the pool-turned-living space at the Naiads; and the surreal fantasy of Reverie and its realms all make the world of Harmony: The Fall of Reverie feel so realized.”
“Harmony convinces with breathtaking visuals, bright colors, and an interesting plot.”
“The graphics, especially the few animated scenes, are gorgeous!”
“At first, I wasn't convinced by Harmony, mainly due to the art style that I don't really like, but the demo sold me on the game!”
“Harmony: The Fall of Reverie comes through as a mixed bag for several reasons, but the art style isn’t enough to make up for the way choices work.”
music
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
21%
4%
The music in the game has received largely positive feedback, with many reviewers praising its atmospheric quality and emotional depth, enhancing the overall experience. The soundtrack is described as enchanting and beautifully complements the visuals and voice acting, contributing to the game's engaging narrative. However, some critiques mention that the music can be sparse at times, and a few reviewers found it lacking in comparison to other titles.
“The soundtrack is outstanding, although it is only like a 10 hour game, but still the soundtrack through those 10 hours borders on perfect.”
“A really nice soundtrack, with some superb voice acting which is full of emotion.”
“With an opening cutscene that looks like a moving painting and is accompanied by some beautiful music, the game lets you know you are in for a ride.”
“My only real gripe with the game is the music.”
“The presentation is as boring as the rest of the game; the music is lame, etc. This is far away from the quality of Pentiment or the emotional games Dontnod produced in the past.”
“🔲 Little to no music.”
character development
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
35%
9%
Character development in the game receives mixed reviews; while many praise the immersive storytelling, deep character arcs, and superb writing, others feel that some characters lack depth and undergo changes off-screen, leaving their development unobserved. The standout elements include exceptional voice acting and dynamic character designs that enhance emotional engagement, though some players find the overall character writing inconsistent. Overall, the game excels in creating memorable characters through its artistic presentation and audio, despite some critiques regarding character depth.
“The character designs especially for the gods perfectly exemplify each god’s specific emotion.”
“Very immersive story with deep character development and superb writing, but the augural system was a little frustrating to use sometimes.”
“The characters feel flat--I know next to nothing about most of them--or change off-screen without me witnessing the character development.”
“Overall, I really enjoyed the game, and was hugely impressed with the character development, world building, and story.”
“The voice acting, character designs, backgrounds, and music are all phenomenal.”
emotional
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is described as intense and powerful, with a nuanced narrative that explores themes of corruption, capitalism, and personal relationships, particularly through a mother-daughter conflict. While some players found it deeply moving and engaging, others felt it fell short compared to similar titles, citing issues with presentation and the emotional weight of certain choices. Overall, the game offers a mix of heartfelt moments and abstract storytelling, appealing to those who appreciate emotionally interactive narratives.
“It is extremely emotional and powerful about how it addresses corruption and capitalism and the reality of trying to fight against systemic issues, and the bonds between characters feel very grounded.”
“This game is intense, emotional, and inspiring.”
“Animated, queer, beautifully nuanced narrative -- I cried like 4 times.”
replayability
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
56%
12%
The game boasts high replayability due to its branching paths, diverse endings, and engaging narrative, encouraging players to explore different choices and outcomes. However, the lack of a chapter select and the inability to skip cutscenes can hinder the replay experience, making it feel tedious at times. Overall, while the replay value is significant, these barriers may detract from the enjoyment of revisiting the game.
“The element of clairvoyance introduced allows countless replays of situations impacting divergent consequences later in the game, with seemingly endless possibilities to explore in the moment (definitely replayable).”
“Many of the choices will obviously lead to different outcomes, so the replay value is very high, which is very much helped by a 'restart chapter' button on the main menu.”
“Overflowing with replay value, engaging characters and great writing, the end result is that Harmony: The Fall of Reverie offers up some of the most compelling storytelling Don't Nod has ever come up with and in doing so gives visual novel fans a superlative offering that is without peer.”
“I'll just mention a small annoyance... for replayability, it sometimes takes a bit of time to skip the scenes you already know.”
“It has a lot of replayability, but the problem is there is no skip button and you can't skip cutscenes, which is terrible for a game like this.”
“Given that this game's emphasis on choices and branching paths relies on replayability, it makes replaying a slog.”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often citing long, unengaging dialogue and unnecessary navigation that detracts from the overall experience. While the game's art and brilliance are acknowledged, the excessive length and lack of meaningful content in certain chapters make replayability feel burdensome. Additionally, the pacing between decision-making and cutscenes can overwhelm beginners, further contributing to the sense of tedium.
“It's a really boring game plagued by bad design choices, tedious, unnecessary navigation, through an uninspired story that never delivers.”
“I want to replay it, but in the current state of the game, it's just too tedious.”
“Decisions can be overwhelming for beginner players; intervals between decision-making gameplay and cutscenes can be tedious.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight that the game's art direction, voice performances, and Lena Raine's score are impressive, contributing to an engaging and memorable experience. However, there is no specific mention of optimization issues or performance concerns, suggesting that the game runs smoothly overall.
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users highlighting the enjoyable and immersive quality of the music, which significantly enhances the overall experience.
“The music is also very nice; I found it really atmospheric and enjoyable.”