Aria's Story

When we are talking about stories, we know the basis in creating one. The beginning, the body, and the ending. Usually, one could say that the body acts as a filler, while the ending uses the body’s tension to immediately create a justified story. And this, in my opinion, is how Aria’s Story went for me. However, the ending did justify what the beginning did.

Wait a sec, we’re getting too off-topic for a starting segment. Might as well make the pros and cons already for the story :v.

Aria’s Story is a… rather whimsical tale. Anyway, instead of talking about it quickly, I might as well digress it into the different categories I’m going to discuss right now. Oh, and an alert.

MILD SPOILER ALERT. CONTINUE WITH CAUTION.





Gameplay: “Not again.”



If I had a GIF that explains my journey throughout the game, it would be me slapping my face repeatedly even when I know the right choice. Aria’s Story has the deaths justified compared to some games (jesus, at LEAST give me some detail about it), and exploration being a crucial part in the game’s aspect.

One thing that I liked about this game is that the puzzles are made in ways that they are rather easy, but complex and fun to deal with. It’s the same as of the punishing death sequences. Well, that was until you get to the “Horror” segment, where I nearly lost my no-death streak from a slowly-thrown knife. I know, I’m stupid. And that’s what I liked about it.

It’s not the game’s fault that I died. Nope. It was my fault, really. Everything clicked the moment I explored and interacted with objects that had some rather obvious death sequences. I could say that the game’s design on how to notice some deadly effects are already explained before the real shit starts. In this way, you’ll know and you’re not going to blame the game for it (unless you’re really out of the loop).

Aside from that, it’s still the good-ol’ horror-exploration game. I do have to admit that I didn’t get scared, but the tension was on point. Even when it’s kind of… well, not as nearly creative, it makes a smooth course by fixing some traditional mistakes that makers tend to do.

Oh, and did I also mention that there are some developer oversights? I know, because it nearly fucked up my one-savefile run. Good thing I didn’t save beforehand.

Pros:
- Justifiable deaths
- Difficulty transitioning properly (will be explained at the discussion/conclusion segment)
- Easy-to-understand puzzles (note: i didn’t spam guides except on… well… err… ending)
- Fixing some traditional mistakes
- You won’t die just because you stepped on the room. Jesus.
- Clever usage of book references to note the death sequences (note: read & think = win)

Cons:
- The good-ol’ horror-exploration game
- Early stage was rather gruesome
- Obvious scare tactics (fite me)







Graphics and Music: “Originally, this line had a scenery porn quote but this is rated G.”




As usual, I’m not gonna fill this part in with a lot of sentences. This is the only segment where I’m pretty much quick on the run. ANYWAY.

It’s kinda nice to hear some original music. There is, however, a mix of free ones that are usually used in some games (Blank Dream *doot* *doot*). It fitted the mood, really. The graphics? Well, both custom and some used ones. No RTPs… that is if I didn’t notice it.

Also, shout out to the dev for using that blood sprite from my dA account.

Pros:
- Custom music and graphics
- Music fitted the mood and theme

Cons:
- Some spritework didn’t… fit in.







Story: “Lewin the Kinkmeister™”




If I had ONE headcanon for this boii, that would be his fucked-up obsession with Aria (literally). Oops, spoiled you… or did I?

Anyway, I’ve already discussed a bit about the story segment in the intro segment. This is how I look on Aria’s Story. Really, it’s just a jumbled mess turned… right. While the beginning didn’t make sense, the ending made it sensible. We’re not supposed to know what’s going to happen, and that’s how the story puts the player into.

In fact, I’ve been pointing fingers as to who the antagonist was. It was a mind game. Because it turns out I can be the antagonist of the story. I did, however, managed to get just ONE guess right (and that is before the game starts to split to its endings). It’s a really clever story if you think about it, but you’d realize it only when you’ve reached the end.

Why? Because remember, the beginning didn’t make sense. The body of the story as well. You don’t know what the fuck is going on. It’s just… so random that it didn’t make any particular sense other than this strange woman who is quite emotionless. And I bet that you pointed your finger to the narrator that she is the antagonist.

And this is how I clue up on the game. The character’s have their own world, which makes it alive. I am quite happy that I don’t get to peer too much time on some backstory, because the justification is quite enough for me. Why was there a broken glass pane in the beginning of the game? Why am I here? Why is everyone so obsessed with me?

Finally, I can sum up the story with this quote, “…Every detail is important in a book, no matter how small it may be.”

Pros:
-The Mind Game™
-The clues were there all along. I didn’t see it.
-“I bet that you pointed your finger to the narrator that she is the antagonist.“
-Ending justified what truly happened.

Cons:
-It started rather confusingly.
-It may look random at first. I mean, everything.







Overall: "So, what was happening again?”



Aria’s Story is a hard case. It’s a first. I am set on to give a high score, but you know, I have this weird gameplay standard. But considering the fixes, I’m quite sure that it’s legible enough.

As I’ve said earlier in the gameplay segment, there was a steep transition when you’re going to play the game. At first, you don’t know that interacting would save your ass and that remembering your literature review would save your ass from a family of bears. This is, however, for the first part. The difficulty does go up, but gradually you get used to it.

Then, you get tested in “Horror”. This is, by far, the hardest segment that I played in the game. It had rather difficult puzzles and some places where it ignored the whole “you’re fine until you commit to entering the death room” when it threw knives as me. Good thing that it was slow, else I would’ve raged.

Wait a sec, this is a book. Why am I talking about gameplay here? And music? Is this what imagination looks like?

…

Might as well make a game about Aria.