I cannot recommend this game enough to anyone who loves good storytelling. You will feel transported to this world for the few hours of gameplay that it takes to finish this game. Arise will make you laugh, cry, rejoice, and cry again. It is truly something you don’t want to pass up.

Overall, Arise: A Simple Story is a short but fantastic game. It isn’t the most challenging game out on the market; it isn’t the fastest paced or the most mechanically in-depth… but it doesn’t have to be. It’s calm, quiet, deep, and far more than enough to make it worth playing. If you need to fill a quiet afternoon or two and need a poignant story to pluck your heartstrings, definitely make sure to give Arise: A Simple Story a chance.

Arise: A Simple Story – Definitive Edition es una aventura narrativa con un toque de plataformas 3D que vale la pena jugar. Su historia logra cautivar al tocar los temas de la perdida de nuestros seres queridos de una forma bastante amena y cautivadora.

There were no spoken words to explain the story, yet they were still able to convey emotions through body language. Small cutscene moments would play out as you found statues that revealed the character’s life journey to the player. To bolster the impact of these moments, the orchestral melodies became a major contributor to emotional impact. It was amazing to be led down the garden path as the atmosphere would shift from mysterious yet hopeful to immediately hitting me with a pang of sadness. Even when things seemed to be at their lowest, they still managed to circle back the feeling of happiness with the addition of collectable hand-drawn memories of his happiest moments with his partner.

Arise: A Simple Story è un titolo fantastico che tutti devono provare almeno una volta nella vita, riesce a farti emozionare e a farti versare qualche lacrima. È un’esperienza che lascia il segno insieme alla consapevolezza che ciò che abbiamo fatto negli anni ha sempre e comunque avuto un senso. Graficamente è stupendo e le musiche sono eccellenti, tutto è realizzato con cura, si vede proprio che Piccolo Studio ci ha messo amore nel creare questo piccolo gioiello ed infatti è un peccato che la longevità sia così corta perché davvero è un titolo che doveva durare di più!

Arise: A Simple Story may exactly be just that but the emotions and journey we go through is anything but. With a serene and breathtaking art style, I wasn’t quite expecting to experience such intense feelings. You really have to appreciate the love and nuanced care that developer Untold Tales put into this game. In total, the Arise is about 4-6 hours long depending on how quickly you go. But I assure you every moment is so worth it, I almost wish there was more. If this title slipped under your radar on its initial release, I would recommend picking it up for the Switch; however, I would also encourage you to have a box of tissues handy for those hard-hitting moments. You’ll need them, trust me.

Ver como esse título da Piccolo trata os ciclos da vida, as partes boas e também ruins, é realmente cativante. A busca por amor, a necessidade de proteger e cuidar, o sofrimento da perda e a esperança de que ainda há vida depois de tantos altos e baixos são o ponto alto dessa maravilhosa aventura. 

From its story to its platforming, Arise is simple in many ways and is not afraid to try new things with its mechanics. While its platforming makes things more difficult than it needs to be at times, it is the journey through the narrative that matters the most. If you’re up for a simple yet satisfying journey that tugs at your heartstrings, Arise will do just that.

Arise – A Simple Story contains a beautifully told story within a charming puzzle adventure. With poignant moments and joyful visuals, this game has the ability to capture a breadth of emotion with ease. It’s a short but worthy edition to narrative driven puzzle games.

Arise: A Simple Story is a fantastic indie game from Piccolo Studio's, demonstrating incredible talent. The platforming is fun and engaging, allowing anyone to dive right in without too high of a skill gap. Each world is wonderful and vibrant, with each offering a unique and interesting platforming puzzle to make every level stand out in its own way. If you're a fan of games like Journey or Last Day of June, this game will definitely scratch that itch.

Arise: A Simple Story is an emotional and witty adventure with a wonderful artwork. However, its platforming-based gameplay, while well thought out and executed, does not always go hand in hand with its narrative.

Arise: A Simple Story should be recognised as a beautiful and touching story, no matter its short length. It's a heartwarming and truly captivating journey – providing you allow yourself to be immersed in the narrative. With the stop/start nature of the loading screens and the long-winded gameplay, this can be hard but definitely worth pushing through.

Arise: A Simple Story – Definitive Edition is a bittersweet tale of an old man’s life and the memories he shared with a partner. It relays a tale of love, heartbreak, hardship, and an emotional journey through his life. It’s a story that stayed on my mind well after the closing credits. The platforming sections may prove fiddly; however, the storyline, narrative and visuals make up for the platforming shortcomings.

Arise: A Simple Story Definitive Edition ist ein wunderschönes Spiel für Zwischendurch, welches euch in Episoden die Lebensreise voll Liebe und Verlust des Protagonisten erzählt. Ihr werdet über mehrere Level hinweg eine wortlose aber immersive Geschichte nachempfinden, die insbesondere durch Puzzle-Passagen und Zeitmanipulationen vorangetrieben wird. Gerade der Soundtrack ist eine der großen Stärken von Arise. Auf kleinere Spielereien wie einen Fotomodus und ein Sammelalbum handgezeichneter Collectibles könnt ihr euch aber ebenso freuen. Von uns eine Empfehlung für Fans von entschleunigenden, aber gefühlvollen Spielen mit Puzzle-Elementen.

Arise: A Simple Story sets out to tell a story as a video game but, smartly, doesn’t overestimate the role of gameplay. Inventive level design drives things forward, but faced with the awkward task of demanding platform-jumping in the aftermath an emotional bombshell, it simply lets the musical and visual storytelling seize their moment. It is only a simple story, but well told.

Arise: A Simple Story es mucho más que un videojuego. Es toda una experiencia audiovisual en la que, como si de una montaña rusa se tratase, las emociones van y vienen en un continuo viaje a lo largo y ancho de la vida de su protagonista. Una aventura en 3D donde el fluir del tiempo nos sirve como intuitiva mecánica central de un juego que, por otro lado, no pretende suponer reto alguno. Su corta duración y alguna que otra pega jugable y técnica ponen la cruz a una gratificante experiencia en la que el premio se encuentra en el viaje en si mismo.

Que todo mi alegato final no quite que Arise: A Simple Story, es un buen juego. Una magnífica opera prima para un estudio recién formado que ha sido capaz de construir un juego hermoso en sus apartados artísticos, pero que no llega a destacar más allá de eso. Un título de los llamados «7,5», esos que dividen la opinión pero que demuestran el potencial de un estudio y te dejan con ganas de ver que será lo siguiente. Se que Piccolo Studio tiene mucho que decir y yo, como jugador, no puedo esperar a ver que es lo que viene a continuación. 

Arise: A Simple Story – Definitive Edition is a beautiful game with quite an interesting story that you can interpret in different ways. Unfortunately, it does have some fixed camera angles and controls that feel a bit clunky at times. This Definitive Edition also adds a lot of bonus content to make it a truly interesting package that will, in the end, provide you with some good times. With fun puzzles, a great art style, and the bonus soundtrack and art book, this is the definitive experience on Nintendo Switch. Arise: A Simple Story – Definitive Edition is out on Nintendo Switch at a $19.99 price.

Although it's a game without much pretensions, Arise: A Simple Story - Definitive Edition could have had more refinement in the narrative construction, as well as more polish and development both from an artistic and gameplay point of view. However, the title by Piccolo Studio has good ideas in its level design, has some beautiful scenes and conveys a beautiful and simple message from its developers, and deserves to be appreciated by fans of platform art games, although they should try it without great expectations.

Overall, then, Arise remains an interesting platform experience. The gameplay is fun, the time manipulation is a well-used and well-developed mechanic, the visuals and sound are solid, yet the narrative goes to some strange, tone-deaf places and the overall message is, at best, mixed. Joyful at the beginning, borderline offensive in places in the middle, and thoroughly bleak by the ending.