Choice-driven, narrative titles are built upon the idea that there are multiple endings to a story and tons of ways the player can direct the future of the characters in front of them towards whatever means they see fit. While Don’t Nod Entertainment stands alongside a small group of developers that regularly nail the formula, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie continues their choice in genre in a completely new tale with different mechanics. Even though the story is dense, with enjoyable, flawed characters, and elaborate choices awaiting you, they just don’t hit the same way as previous titles from this developer.
Polly makes her way back home after years of being away, only to find her mom has gone missing. What follows is a journey through Reverie—a hidden world where traveling through time and space is possible, with gods and goddesses in charge of various Aspirations, such as Glory, Bliss, Power, and Truth. In order to fix the damaged multiverse, find your mom, and figure out who you want to be, Polly becomes Harmony and joins the pantheon’s quest.
“Harmony: The Fall of Reverie continues their choice in genre in a completely new tale with different mechanics.”
With your ability to come and go between the two worlds, it’s up to you to decide the outcomes of both realms using your clairvoyance and telepathy. Gaining access to these difficult decisions in a winding tree of choice, the player must decide which paths and sides to take and how to handle each issue placed in front of them. As you make your way through the story, you learn new about the twists and turns, all of which are entertaining and interesting, but even with a good story in place, it’s harder to follow due to the sheer amount of information gathered.
While this is a personal issue with a story I didn’t fully connect with, I also find the way that your choices between going the pathway of Power or Bliss, for example, limit your choices mid-gameplay. If you haven’t gathered enough tokens with a certain path, you can’t say and do different things, which allows for multiple playthroughs but plays against the nature of being able to do whatever it is you like in a given situation.
“Harmony: The Fall of Reverie fails to live up to those expectations with a confusing story and set of mechanics that go a bit against the entire point of being choice-driven…”
While Don’t Nod Entertainment is well known for its Life is Strange series, and the narrative bliss that comes along with it, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie fails to live up to those expectations with a confusing story and set of mechanics that go a bit against the entire point of being choice-driven as everything happens depending on which Aspiration you’ve sided with, even if this story is an incredibly unique one.
The change from a more realistic look and feel to a more visual-novel-esque layout with hand-drawn characters is a pleasant update, aesthetically, and matches more closely with the deep player choice trees you regularly interact with. The art style is on point and the soundtrack is mellow and charming throughout, but for those who prefer the old Telltale method of storytelling, like in Life is Strange, you’ll find this entirely different. The visual novel approach may not be for everyone.
“Harmony: The Fall of Reverie continues Don’t Nod’s complex and deep storytelling style, but through an almost entirely new medium than most will be used to—for better or worse.”
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie continues Don’t Nod’s complex and deep storytelling style, but through an almost entirely new medium than most will be used to—for better or worse. While the story or visual novel format are simply preferences, the long-form choices being strangled by paths taken earlier in the game take away a bit of what makes choice so important in a game like this, even if it is an attempt to get you to play more than once. All in all, this one comes through as a mixed bag for several reasons, but everyone will agree the art style and soundtrack are top-notch.
