American Arcadia - Find the Strawberry

American Arcadia is amazing! Ever since I played the demo I knew American Arcadia was a game I had to play, and I wasn’t disappointed! Multiple gameplay styles (mostly side scroller and first person) from two character perspectives, a puzzle game and an adventure game with excellent voice acting and soundtrack.

Trevor is a resident of Arcadia. He gets up, he goes to work as an accountant and then he goes home. It’s a quiet life, but it’s his life. Little does he know that he’s actually part of a huge reality TV show: American Arcadia.

Today Trevor’s life is about to change. He starts getting messages from someone who claims his life is in danger and he needs to escape Arcadia, now! With her help, he is about to learn the truth about the sinister underbelly that is American Arcadia and escape.

Enter Angela, a Walton Media employee (and crafty hacker, it seems) who has just learnt that, due to being so unpopular, Trevor is about to be removed from the show, for good. So, she hacks into the system to guide Trevor out of Arcadia, and to freedom.

There is just one problem. Walton Media will stop at nothing to keep Trevor from leaving.

Angela watches Trevor through a surveillance camera to help him get across.

This is when the game gets fun! Not only do we get to play as Trevor, in a side-scrolling world. But, we also get to play as Angela in a first-person world. If that isn’t enough, we also solve puzzles as Angela watching Trevor through surveillance cameras. It’s a unique combination of gameplay styles, but it is an excellent gaming experience. There are things in this game that I’ve never done in a game before.

Not only is the game fun to play, it looks amazing! The contrast between the bright, happy and retro Arcadia and the dull, cold real world emphasises how ‘perfect’ Arcadia is. I don’t even want to know how many screenshots I took, at least 50. This, combined with an amazing soundtrack, makes American Arcadia a fantastic experience.

I think American Arcadia is going to be game of the year for me! It was everything I wanted it to be!