Harmony: The Fall of Reverie - A Review of the new Visual Novel

From the creators of Life Is Stranger, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is the brand new visual novel that immerses you deep into its story.When we’re speaking about a developer such as Don’t Nod the expectations are through the roof. Following the success of the Life Is Strange franchise, fans of the choice-driven, visual novel games always look forward to what the group has to offer them and Don’t Nod doesn’t often disappoint.

Also read: Is Life is Strange an LGBT Game? What about other LGBT games?

Harmony, Fate, and Foresight

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is a visual novel game developed by Don’t Nod that explores the idea of how the power of foresight can affect decision-making. The game allows players to make conscious decisions about which direction the story flows between its otherwise linear conversations. The story is told from the perspective of Polly and her alter-ego, Harmony, who is an “Oracle” in an alternate dimension called Reverie. Reverie is an alternate dimension that exists on top of the in-game equivalent of our real world, where the spirit-like Aspirations of humanity use their essence to silently shape the growth of human history.
The game revolves around the ideas of fate and foresight and how the power of foresight can affect decision-making. Ahead of each decision in the story, you visit the Augural, a tree with nodes that each represent different choices. Each choice represents an Aspiration’s approach to a problem – Power favours assertiveness, Bliss wants to avoid conflict, and so on – and making a decision locks you out of the alternatives. If you’re not sure what to pick, you can look ahead at the tree and see what your choice may lead to.

Polly Returns

The story of Harmony sees you return to the place where the protagonist, Polly, grew up, except one crucial thing is different, her mother, Ursula, is missing. Polly left home many years ago after a falling out with her mother. She didn’t plan to return, but that changes when her other family reaches out to let her know her mother has gone missing. Despite their issues, she still cares about her enough to want to come back and help find her. When she arrives back in her hometown of Atina, she plans to start searching the area, but shortly after arriving, she finds a magical necklace that transports her to an entirely different realm.
In this new realm, known as Reverie, she meets a group known as Aspirations, spiritual beings who aren’t quite gods but who embody various elements of humanity. These Aspirations represent our base nature, with names including Bliss, Truth, Power, and Chaos. Polly finds that the world of Reverie is tied to our world through a long-standing agreement where a human must guide them as an advisor, and she seems to be the newest choice. The Aspirations call her Harmony and need her help fixing their realm, which is falling apart, but Polly is already a bit busy trying to find her mom.
While things are initially vague, Polly soon finds that this necklace lying around her family home was no coincidence, and her mother’s disappearance may be tied to Reverie, as well as to a local corporation known as Mono Konzern who have seemingly taken over the entire island of Atina and who may have ties to what’s going wrong in Reverie as well.

Story Progression

The story is divided into a prologue, five acts, and an intermission, taking about five to ten hours to complete, although fast readers may finish it faster. Despite the simplistic pacing, the story is engaging as you move between different story segments and plan your next move using the Augural menu. While the opening cutscenes quickly establish the stakes, the exposition can be overwhelming due to the jargon-heavy drama and character backstories. However, a built-in codex and summaries of earlier conversations make it easier to understand. Once you get past the initial hurdle, you can appreciate the deeply human story. The visuals are also appealing, with a few masterful cutscenes that connect major story branches, leaving you longing for an animated TV series based on the game. The voice-acting and character writing are excellent, providing ample space for the player’s imagination to fill in the details.

What Could’ve Been

The game’s decision to reveal to players the branching structure behind the narrative choices is intriguing. Games like Detroit: Become Human and As Dusk Falls have done this, but only after you’ve completed the game. However, in Harmony, while the choices are more complex than simply good or bad decisions, few of them and their consequences are truly engaging. Furthermore, sometimes being able to see what will happen next takes away the suspense from the story. Since there are only a few surprises, it can be frustrating to be reminded of all the options that are no longer available due to a decision made earlier.

Conflict In Atina

Polly’s hometown, Atina, is a place of contrasts, just like Polly herself. The city is bustling and modern, yet there is a sense of apathy as people are glued to their devices. However, the warmth of the community centre, which serves as Polly’s mother’s home, is palpable, despite their complicated relationship. The conflicts in the game are appropriately subtle at first, but they ultimately become more apparent, especially after the death of a pivotal character, which leads to a poignant depiction of collective grief.

In Atina and Reverie, parallel stories intersect, and committing to one path means missing a piece of the bigger picture. Despite the ability to see into the future, the decisions made can still lead to unexpected outcomes, adding tension to the game. In a later act, a choice that seemed like it would bring the community together had unforeseen consequences, and there was no turning back due to a prior decision. This aspect makes the game more true-to-life, as it comments on the non-linear nature of our lives and the shortsightedness of valuing a single perspective. Overall, Harmony provides a clever commentary on life’s complexities, and how our decisions, no matter how well-informed, can have unintended consequences.

Should You Play Harmony?

Harmony is a game that blends the classic choose-your-own-adventure style of decision-making with modern themes that reflect the world we live in. The game’s relaxed pace and engaging storyline make it a must-play visual novel. The game’s exploration of fate and foresight provides a strong narrative anchor for the developers, who can showcase how to design choices in the visual-novel style game. The game’s built-in codex is a helpful feature that makes it easier to understand the intricate lore and jargon of the game. Despite its magical elements, the game’s focus is on the power of community and the resilience of the human spirit, making it a touching and emotionally engaging experience.
So as a whole, we definitely suggest checking out the game. Just make sure you like reading and you have the required patience.

What is Harmony: The Fall of Reverie about?

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is a visual novel game developed by Don’t Nod that explores the idea of how the power of foresight can affect decision-making. It revolves around the ideas of fate and foresight and tells the story of Polly, who returns to her hometown to search for her missing mother and finds herself transported to an entirely different realm called Reverie.

How long does it take to complete Harmony: The Fall of Reverie?

The game is divided into a prologue, five acts, and an intermission, taking about five to ten hours to complete, although fast readers may finish it faster.

Is the game’s story engaging?

Despite the simplistic pacing, the story is engaging as you move between different story segments and plan your next move using the Augural menu. The visuals are also appealing, with a few masterful cutscenes that connect major story branches, leaving you longing for an animated TV series based on the game. The voice-acting and character writing are excellent, providing ample space for the player’s imagination to fill in the details.

Does the game have any drawbacks?

The game’s decision to reveal to players the branching structure behind the narrative choices is intriguing. However, few of the choices and their consequences are truly engaging, and sometimes being able to see what will happen next takes away the suspense from the story. Since there are only a few surprises, it can be frustrating to be reminded of all the options that are no longer available due to a decision made earlier.

Should you play Harmony: The Fall of Reverie?