Review: Arco Combines Satisfying Strategies With Sadness

Oh boy, does Arco make me sad. Part of it stems from the subject matter, which is handled well and forces you to think about the price and victims of colonialism and exploitation. But it’s also heartbreaking to play an absolutely excellent gem of a Panic game, then see members of the development team mentioning the title selling badly and going unnoticed. Here’s hoping that, after you read my review, you’ll see what I see about it and consider giving it a chance.

Arco begins with an Iyo family heading to The Sacred Tree on a pilgrimage to leave offerings. It’s honestly quite peaceful. Tecolotl helps his grandfather with an errand. He trains with his father, which acts as a tutorial to get us accustomed to an innovative and thoughtful combat system. He fights some wildlife for a lizard egg to trade for a rattlesnake’s rattle as an offering. But there are unknown people around the Sacred Tree they are there to visit, which offers an ominous insight into what is happening to the land and community around them.

Rather than limit you to one viewpoint, Arco shifts between different characters. So right as you begin to connect with Teco, a new chapter begins and you’re following Tizo. He’s a man with a capital-P past who is now wandering, looking for work. After taking on a job from an old friend, he’s finds himself investigating the involvement of “Newcomers” like the Red Company, invaders colonizing, polluting, and conquering the area, in a massacre. From there, you get insight into the Kanek way of life, following a would-be warrior named Itzae determined to prove herself. Afur and Chio, a pair of twin Tuag traders who end up unexpectedly getting into more trouble and discovering more mysteries after they unload items they stole from the Termano at a village. Each story is incredibly well told, with protagonists and NPCs alike that stand out. Especially when all of the threads you explored in the early acts come together. 

As you go through all of these stories, you’ll eventually get opportunities to make decisions. Some of these seem clear-cut, but others are morally grey and could lead to heartbreak later on in the story. Depending on your decisions, your guilt will increase. Among other influences, this has a tangible effect on the battlefield. You’ll see actual ghosts as you’re haunted by your choice, getting in your way and perhaps forcing you to make tactical choices you wouldn’t or accept consequences if the only way to success is through them. Do you show mercy and take someone along, knowing it is very likely they will betray you? Do you deny aid and live with the guilt, knowing you probably could have afforded to spare items and help.

Speaking of tactics, Arco is a turn-based strategy game that feels incredibly active and thrilling. You can only equip a handful of actions to each character, with more learned as they gain experience from fights. When a battle begins, your goal is to dodge damage from melee attacks or ranged weapons like guns, while also properly positioning yourself, restoring your points for actions, and also moving in such a way that you’re able to intercept opponents. Before each “round,” an icon will appear over the enemies’ heads to suggest what they’ll do next. If it involves movement, you can hover over that one to see where they will go. 

Your task if to properly react for each turn. So if you see a number of enemies are all going to fire their guns at you during one turn, you can use the dash to evade. Then, the next turn when they are presumably reloading, you could ideally unleash your own ranged attack or get close enough for a melee hit. If an enemy is going to use a melee attack and you are both close enough and have enough energy, you may be able to use one of your own to keep that from happening and damage them. If you equipped an item before the fight, you may be able to use it for AOE damage to hit many foes at once. Plus, you need to anticipate if additional waves show up. It makes you think.

So do the hidden elements of Arco. You can play through the game in a straightforward way. However, there are also sidequests to take, additional spots to visit, and more to do. That is, if you spend the time wandering around, investigating locations, and talking to people. This is one of those games that feels like a good investment, as I always felt rewarded by those additional moments, even if it led to more guilt. 

For as much as I love all of these other elements of Arco, I also can’t get over how striking and memorable its sights and sounds are. The minimalistic, sprite-based approach ends up being far more expressive than you’d expect. Homes and towns retain their identities and, in many cases, feel more vibrant due to the fact that we are taking in so much of every moment. While each area you enter is fairly small, there are those aforementioned secrets that come from exploring each corner of an area or going off the beaten path. Not to mention the music is absolutely phenomenal. It’s heartfelt. It constantly suits the moment. It lends further authenticity to the regions we’re exploring. 

The only thing that got to me a bit with Arco involved the Switch performance. Only two issues came up, but they’re ones both set to be fixed by a patch. So honestly, by the time you read this, the issue I had with one background track in Act 3 not playing properly sometimes and the game not allowing me to open the save and options menu in one single location in Act 2 could be gone. 

Arco is essentially a flawless strategy game that forces you to make difficult choices in and out of battle, then live with those consequences. It’s gorgeous and heartfelt. It will challenge you. It will make a region and the tribes of people living there come to life. Then, when it is over, it will leave you wondering what might have been if you made different decisions.

Arco is available on the Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.