Rust and his sister roam empty lands searching desperately for other humans alive. All other humans have supposedly fallen victim to a mysterious disease which causes those inflicted to suffer from insanity, sensory illusions, and uncontrollable self-destructive urges. The only way to control those symptoms is by spending time inside a virtual game called Archetype Arcadia. Rust doesn't suffer from the disease, but when his sister who does mysteriously falls unresponsive one day, he must enter the virtually immersive game and navigate this unseen world to find a fix for his sister...

The game is a dark, sci-fi visual novel set in a post-apocalyptic world

Archetype Arcadia is a dark, sci-fi visual novel set in a post-apocalyptic world where a mysterious disease called the 'Original Sin' has wiped out most of humanity.

Slowing the spread of the disease is a virtual reality game called Archetype Arcadia. When Rust's sister is taken ill, and plugged into the game, Rust decides to join her to see if he can help.

Inside the game is a whole new world populated with other people and monsters. This world sees its inhabitants using powerful memories and avatars to battle each other. You must battle your way through this world looking for a cure for the disease, along the way meeting new friends and enemies. If in battle you loose an avatar then you lose that part of your memory... And if you lose all of your avatars then it's game over. This means that in the real world the disease rapidly increases, meaning that death is imminent.

I enjoyed my time with Archetype Arcadia. The storyline was engaging and the setup was well executed. I suppose it all comes down to whether or not you're someone who enjoys visual novels or are left a little cold by them.

8

Nick Smithson