The democratization of game development tools over the last decade has ushered in a wave of single-developer titles that have influenced the industry, offering a uniquely cohesive perspective of a single artist in contrast to enormous AAA games made by teams of hundreds or thousands. There are advantages to this, as evidenced by landmark solo-dev triumphs like Stardew Valley and ASTLIBRA, games where a dedicated artist nurtured a clear creative spark without interference. I was initially hopeful Artis Impact was the same; after all, developer Mas has lovingly crafted an incredible audiovisual experience with dramatic flair and creativity to rival any big-budget, full-team project. Unfortunately, there is a significant downside to the lone-wolf creative process: no one else can step in to steer the ship when it drifts off course. Artis Impact begins as a visual tour-de-force with an intriguing setup and world, but translation issues, strange tonal inconsistencies in the narrative, and overly simplistic gameplay mechanics mar what could have been the next solo-dev masterpiece.
Artis Impact is the story of Akane, a young woman newly recruited into an organization called Lith. Lith is a paramilitary group tasked with protecting the remnants of humanity from the threat of rogue AI in a postapocalyptic society. Their operatives are cloaked in black and wield massive swords known as R-blades, and Akane is accompanied by a friendly AI named Bot. If this sounds familiar to you, then you may have already drawn some comparisons between Artis Impact and NieR: Automata, an inspiration Artis Impact wears proudly on its sleeve. Yet, the games differ conceptually and in execution in terms of structure and presentation. Artis Impact has a traditional turn-based battle system and borrows from life-simulation titles like Rune Factory, offering a more slice-of-life take on the concept. This does enough to set the game apart from its inspiration, and it’s a unique blend of genres that left me intrigued and eager to see more.
The most striking aspect of Artis Impact is the visual design. The game uses a nice mix of hand-drawn background elements with pixelated character sprites to create a cozy, lived-in world unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Many visual techniques are implemented to great effect, such as blurring and smearing the edges of environments to evoke a watercolor effect. Ccutscenes play out in a mix of manga-style panels and cutaways layered over filtered real-world photographs and concept sketches. This choice to blend conventional visual art techniques against tech-influenced details like the operating system window frame in battle sequences gives the game a truly unique visual identity.
In tense action scenes, the game often adopts a side-view silhouette effect, with characters composed of only a few of their brightest pixels (Akane’s long white hair, for example) against a sea of black, a clever way to suggest impressive animation flourishes without needing to painstakingly animate every detail of each sprite. Some of these animation flourishes and visual tricks are unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a game, and Artis Impact surprised and delighted me visually throughout its relatively short eight-hour journey. The screenshots in this review, as inspired as they are, do not do the game’s visual design justice; you must see it in motion to get the full effect of what Mas was able to pull off here, and the effects are stunning.
Completing the impeccable aesthetic is the excellent music. The auditory experience is just as fluid and enjoyable as the visual one. The tracks that play in towns, dungeons, and the world map are suitably ambient and comforting or ominous, depending upon the environment, and the battle tracks are heart-pounding and full of intensity, befitting the impossible odds often stacked against Akane. It’s quite impressive how many unique tracks there are, and each one feels appropriate in context and could stand on its own as a composition outside of the game.
Unfortunately, the game falters in its storytelling and mechanics. There are moments when Artis Impact wants to tell an epic, bombastic tale, but the life-sim structure and strange tonal shifts impede this goal. Initially, it seems as though Lith spends its time doing odd jobs and mopping up rogue AIs that are more of a nuisance than a threat. The stakes ramp up without warning after the first few hours, with entire towns and villages being destroyed and humanity’s future at stake. Despite this, the game gives you frequent days off from Lith-duty to engage with NPCs, part-time jobs, and menial sidequests, even when massive threats loom large.
This tonal inconsistency extends to the dialogue and characterization of the cast as well. Akane has a handful of compatriots in Lith who accompany her on missions and constitute most of the possible character interactions, but companions like Raven, Leni, and Billy are woefully underdeveloped by the time the credits roll. The game also has a habit of souring serious moments with attempts at humor that fall flat, often centered around various characters’ infatuation with Akane. I lost count of how many times a male character expressed romantic or sexual interest in Akane that went completely unreciprocated or unnoticed, and these moments are more jarring than they are humorous. Billy is a particularly frustrating character, as his defining characteristic is that he is a raging misogynist. While most of the game’s primarily female cast tend to brush him off or ignore him, his constant sexist remarks become incredibly grating, and there is little payoff or pathos by the end of the game for his character.
Compounding the game’s strange plotting and ill-advised attempts at humor is the rough English translation. While the overall plot details are straightforward, the nuances of character personalities become lost in the strange diction and halting dialogue. Many scenes feel like the characters are just blabbing in non-sequiturs at one another rather than having a natural conversation, and their personality traits are wildly inconsistent. Akane’s robot companion, Bot, speaks in a typical robotic tone of rational analysis for most of the game, but then occasionally swears or drops colorful innuendos out of nowhere. This uneven translation also impeded sidequest completion, as it was difficult to follow who or what was necessary for progression from the stilted and confusing dialogue.
The most disappointing aspect of Artis Impact by far is the gameplay. The game employs a traditional turn-based system akin to the early Final Fantasy titles, but offers nothing interesting or engaging outside of admittedly impressive battle animations. There are no party members other than Akane and Bot, and Bot’s actions are entirely automated; Bot defaults to healing Akane every turn unless you equip him with items that mildly influence his behavior towards the occasional attack or buff. Plenty of turn-based RPGs navigate the challenge of a single-party member battle system well (like Tsugunai Atonement or Parasite Eve), but Artis Impact feels exceedingly primitive, offering less complexity and fewer options than even the first Dragon Quest.
Akane herself begins the game with only a single skill, with other skills found through out-of-the-way exploration in dungeons. Finding new techniques could be a compelling and worthwhile diversion, adding variety to the barebones combat. However, Akane’s initial skill is one of the most powerful in the entire game, attacking multiple enemies at the cost of 50% of her current MP total. Since the damage output doesn’t fluctuate depending upon the amount of MP consumed, you can essentially spam this skill in every combat encounter and come away victorious without any thought or strategy, even in boss encounters. This lack of mechanical depth undercuts the otherwise stellar presentation and narrative stakes in most of Artis Impact’s intense moments with a battle system that is insultingly simple and perfunctory. I came away feeling as though Mas only included the battle system out of a sense of obligation to genre trappings. However, the game is primarily comprised of dungeons and combat encounters, so the entire experience ends up feeling like a chore by the end.
To add insult to injury, the game rushes to a ham-fisted and unsatisfying narrative conclusion that raises more questions than answers. The game attempts to encourage replays through optional sidequests that reveal more about the world, but I don’t think it would be worth trudging through the shoddy translation and mind-numbingly boring combat in the hopes of finding a more satisfying answer. I came away from Artis Impact with the distinct impression that the game could’ve used additional perspectives to address some of its most glaring inconsistencies. As it stands, Artis Impact is an audiovisual masterpiece that fails to convey a cohesive narrative or engage the player beyond its spectacular presentation.
