Harmony: The Fall of Reverie

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie – Review

If you could see into the future and see the immediate results of your actions, then would you be able to make the right decisions, or will your choices hold you back? This is the idea behind Harmony: The Fall of Reverie because it provides you with the power of foresight for making conscious choices to determine the direction of the story. It takes a while, but once the story unravels, it comes off as very eloquent.

The story

Designed as a visual play novel, the story is told from the point of view of Polly and Harmony, her alter-ego, who has the title of ‘Oracle’ in a place known as the Reverie. It is basically an alternate dimension that exists on the top of the real world. There are story passages that are text-heavy and you will also visit the Augural where you will have to make the next decision to take the story forward.

This is all you have to work on and this simplicity can actually be immensely appealing. But, there is one thing you need to remember about your character that it comes with a lot of baggage. When Polly becomes Harmony after entering the spirit world, she can use the power of Augural to see the future. There is a literal map that displays the outcome of some choices, but Polly is troubled by a past that will affect her future and take time to unravel and understand in order to empathize with her.

The acts

It is important to note that there are a total of five acts that make up the story, including a prologue as well as an intermission. It can take about five to ten hours for you to complete them, but some people can do it faster as well. This pace also makes things simple and in a good way because you will be able to bounce between the different story segments and return to Augural for planning your next move.

The stakes are quickly set with the help of some opening cutscenes, but there is some heavy jargon involved so it will take you some time to get used to it. But, once you have really understood it, then you will see that the story is very human and this will hook you in.

The details

You will also find that Harmony is a visual masterpiece. You will end up wishing for an animated series to be made in Reverie because of some masterful scenes that connect major branches of the story. The character writing is also very thorough and the voice-acting is also quite illustrious. Atina is Polly’s hometown and like the character, it is shaped by its contrasts.

The city clearly draws its inspiration from Athens, it is a bustling city where bystanders are focused on their devices, but the community center gives off a warmth that is very much tangible.