Harmony: The Fall of Reverie

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is a powerful visual novel that mixes a world-bending story with deeply personal stakes.

Don't Nod's latest adds a near-revolutionary twist to choice-based narrative games.

Another double-edged sword is the brevity of the game. While we'd argue that a lot of visual novels pad out the running time and get a little long in the tooth, the eight hours we spent with Harmony weren't enough to effectively flesh out the world or the characters. That said, the story moves at brisk pace, and we never found ourselves bored even if we were sometimes a little confused.

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is a compelling visual novel experience.

Despite having predetermined outcomes, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie does a great job at giving players a true sense of agency over the direction of the story. Even when things don’t go as expected, the events that unfold are no less intriguing. The game raises the bar for what can be achieved through player choice, and those looking for a compelling narrative-driven experience have plenty to enjoy here.

Blending an absorbing tale across worlds, with a novel but mechanically-engaging interpretation of player-choice, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie sets a new standard for Don't Nod with what might be their best, most rewarding work to date.

Overall, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie offers an intriguing futuristic premise combined with a focus on an emotional narrative. This visual novel from Don't Nod captivates players with its contrast between reality and a dreamlike world that embodies various human traits and emotions. The game focuses on diverse choices and consequences that influence the characters’ fates, bringing dynamism to the decision-making process. Although some game mechanics may seem complicated and confusing, the challenge of uncovering the secrets of the Aspirations and deciding the fate of both Polly and humanity is imaginative. Even though occasional shortcomings detract from the overall experience, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie deserves the attention of players who enjoy making important decisions and are open to an unconventional experience with a fresh take on classic game genres.

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie feels like a game that works best for players who are curious about the visual novel genre but want more recognizable game mechanics and a few restrictions to help them along. The Augural makes choices simple enough if you're trying to go for a specific outcome, but the story and character reactions make you second-guess your approaches. The game looks and sounds wonderful compared to many of its contemporaries, and while it might not make you a convert to the genre, it is an interesting adventure that you'll want to go through, provided you can get over the constant world-flipping and a few story quibbles.

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is more DONTNOD, which is good. The game has a clear social critic and quite interesting story that becomes stale due to the nature of its gameplay since it could get a little boring even if the game isn't quite long.

An excellent narrative-driven Rated M for Mature adventure from DON'T NOD