Ary and the Secret of Seasons Review (PS4)

Even those who are not fans of classical music will easily recognize the tunes of The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi. Although there is no direct mention that the famous violin concerti inspired the game, the world of Valdi sounds a lot like the name of the composer. And just as you would expect from such a title and reference, in this charming action-adventure game you will have to discover the secrets of the seasons to save the world from the collapse, Read on to see if the trip alongside Ary is worth going through blizzard and scorching heat.

It is not much of a surprise that the main character of the game is Aryelle, or Ary, the daughter of one of the Guardians of Seasons. She lives alongside her family in Yule, the city of eternal winter. It is worth mentioning that in the world of Valdi, the seasons are separate and govern one of the four different regions. Although this may sound like a strange arrangement it all worked out for the people, who have long forgotten about the evil wizard who once threatened to destroy the world, but after being defeated was banished in the Dome of Seasons.

The peace is guarded by four guardians, each having control over one of the seasons. All is well until Ary’s brother, the disciple of the Winter Season vanishes, and the chaos that grows more menacing each day offers an opportunity to our heroine to conquer a world dominated by men.

Although at first, it may seem like a fairy tale, Ary and The Secret of Seasons is also a story of female emancipation. From start to end, Ary’s journey is met with skepticism by the inhabitants of the world who question not only her age but also a fact that she is a woman. This is not a feminist story by any means, but a good example of how one can overcome obstacles despite popular opinion. Thus, after a few hours of introductory gameplay, you are tasked with the mission to retrieve all the Season orbs lost by a bunch of old guys, who like to party way too hard.

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In this world dominated by adults who take themselves much more seriously than their tasks at hand, Ary represents a breath of fresh air. Although your main quest will take up most of your time, the world of Valdi is filled also with secondary quests and different challenges. By collecting and using the powers of the seasons you will be able to figure out these challenges and will be rewarded with coins to buy new costumes, upgrades, and weapons.

The character design is over the top but in a good way. All the major NPCs you will encounter have their own agenda and personality, making the story enjoyable for the entire family. Ary’s ability to use the powers of all four seasons play a key role during the game, being very well integrated into the battles, the puzzles, and even the platforming parts. The season spheres that our heroine can conjure, may melt the ice from underneath a horde of hyenas, can protect her from the disastrous attacks of bosses, or can help her reveal chests containing treasure.

Although your power grows during your journey, you still have to take into account that the effect of the spheres is limited, but can be extended by using the orbs lying around in the levels. The different effect of the four powers has to be combined to solve clever puzzles, these being the hardest part of the game.

The battles with hyenas and other rascals do not present too much of a challenge, due to the AI that sometimes refuses to work as intended. But in high numbers, the rascals can be just as dangerous as the bosses, that require different strategies to be bested. If you fall in combat there are no real penalties, since you are revived pretty close to the battle, unless you encounter a bug. Just as the AI we mentioned, the game is plagued by a series of unforgivable technical errors. Next to the AI that tends to be completely unresponsive, the game crashes a lot, the collision detection is not working properly in many areas, and many secondary quests cannot be completed because the dialogue prompts do not work.

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The different cosmetic items tend to act weirdly and disappear all of a sudden, during the boss fights you can get stuck or the bosses themselves fail to register damage, the only option being reloading of the latest save. Ary’s signature scar tends to appear and disappear randomly, and although the game works, it is just full of bugs that ruin the game experience. Ary and the Secret of Seasons feels like a game that did not go through the necessary QA sessions.

Graphically the game is not very detailed or very demanding, although the visual style has its own charm. And since the levels themselves are not very big, it is hard to justify the very long loading times. Also, the interface is a complete mess: to see the map or your objectives you have to access the inventory from the main menu. This is the only shortcut, and subsequently the only way to access key information.

The mini-map does not fare better since often it fails to show your next objective, which can leave you confused and blocked in different areas. The music of the game does a very good job supporting the atmosphere, but the sound part is another let-down in Ary and The Secret of the Seasons. All the secondary quests are mute and presented through written conversations, while the audible dialogues from cut scenes tend to be out of sync.

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The Good

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