DONTNOD has delivered some of my favorite stories in gaming over the span of more than a decade. Aside from the oft-forgotten Remember Me, they’re best known for Life is Strange 1 and 2. The latter title earned an emphatic 10 out of 10 from me as the perfect road-trip coming-of-age title in recent memory. The studio even followed up with Twin Mirror, a more-than-competent spiritual successor. I jumped at the chance to review their latest title, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie. Can DONTNOD continue the trend of high-quality narratives?

DONTNOD has told its stories with plenty of player agency in mind in the past. You’re given control of the characters and (more than anything) choices matter. They matter so much that if you happen to water a plant twice, then you’ll kill it by overwatering it. When episode 2 of Life is Strange was released, I was one of 20% of players who made the right choices and got the good ending before walkthroughs led the way. In Harmony: The Fall of Reverie, you can expect a visual novel presentation where while you’re not moving protagonist Polly around, you’re in control of how everything plays out from start to finish.

Indeed, there is so much narrative control in Harmony: The Fall of Reverie, that it’s downright overwhelming to comprehend in its early goings. You’re thrust into a different world where you meet the physical embodiments of Bliss, Power, Truth, and more. These embodiments exist in a reality that seemingly overlaps your own. Tossing aside the “How does this work?” question immediately, you’re tasked with moving the story along. This involves making key choices to decide fates and set things right.

There is a lot of praise to give DONTNOD for Harmony: The Fall of Reverie. It is a departure from their comfort zone in terms of visual prowess and their typical gameplay loop. However, I’m a little perplexed as to why a visual novel recommends a GTX 970 considering it’s just a slideshow. Nevertheless, it’s a spectacle to look at, with stellar environments and strong character design.

The issue is that the vocal performances are either too animated or not animated enough. They rarely match up with the expressions their characters are making, leaving an immersion-breaking, jarring visual. Top that with hearing them slowly deliver a line that’s been on the screen for almost 10 seconds and it leaves a troubling result that needs smoothing out.

There is so much going on in Harmony: The Fall of Reverie that it becomes tough to keep up with and try to make sense of. In DONTNOD’s prior titles, overshadowing and suspense was present, but here, it’s more complex, as you’re thrust into meeting characters before you can start to care about them. With this unparalleled amount of power over the events of the game, it’s a novel concept.

Sadly Harmony: The Fall of Reverie isn’t perfect in its execution. Perhaps this could have worked as a spinoff from one of DONTNOD’s other IPs, but I was left playing this game more as a matter of progression other than enjoyment. Still, DONTNOD’s charm comes through and players who can get through the opening act will be rewarded with the story they’re looking to complete.

A PC review copy of Harmony: The Fall of Reverie was provided by DONTNOD for this review.

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Harmony: The Fall of Reverie

24.99

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Inspired Vocal Performances
• Great Use of Colors
• Solid Environments

Cons

• No Hook
• Jarring, Reused Animations
• Tough Pacing