Arevan

I want to root for Arevan: The Bitter Truth the way I root for every small, earnest, handcrafted RPG that surfaces on Steam. Overcloud9 is literally a two-person studio - two sisters who built this thing from the ground up - and that origin story matters when you're calibrating your expectations. This is a love letter to 16-bit RPGs, and you can feel the affection in the details. It's just that affection alone doesn't smooth over the rough edges. The premise drops you into a murder mystery across multiple kingdoms. You play as Prince Maurean, dispatched by his father King Solemaun to investigate a string of killings. The world is broader than it first appears - there are pyramids to explore, mummies to fight, an underwater mermaid rescue sequence, and even a soccer-style mini-game tucked away in secret dungeons. The front-view turn-based combat uses a skill pill system for character progression, an enemy scanning function that lets you size up threats before committing to a fight, and an optional auto-battle mode for grinding stretches. There's also a quest journal, unlimited save slots, and the ability to skip difficult battles or puzzles entirely - accessibility hooks that suggest the developers genuinely wanted a wide audience to reach the ending. Here's the honest friction: the opening hours are a slow burn, and not the kind of slow burn where you trust the payoff is coming. The RPG Maker VX tile set is used heavily throughout, so if you've spent time with other games built on the same engine, much of the visual environment will feel recycled. The portrait art for main characters is original and shows real craft, but the contrasting stock portraits that appear in dialogue sequences create a jarring inconsistency. The soundtrack shares the same split personality - some tracks are original and atmospheric, others are stock pieces, and the battle theme (the one you'll hear constantly) reportedly leans on the stock library rather than Overcloud9's own compositions. Balance in combat can swing from trivially easy to unexpectedly punishing, which is a known pattern across Aldorlea-published titles. What genuinely works is the exploration itch. Side quests reach into unusual territory - think civilizations that feel culturally distinct from one another, funny incidental characters, and hidden rewards for thorough poking around. The mini-games, while modest, add texture. The story does build toward a darker resolution than the cheerful 16-bit aesthetic implies, and there's something worthwhile in that tonal contrast if you give it time. The accessibility options and the optional official strategy guide (sold separately as DLC) both signal that the developers wanted nobody left behind. The Steam review pool sits in mixed territory with fewer than sixty reviews total, which tells you this game flew under most radars. That's not always a verdict - some quiet games are quiet because they found their niche audience and satisfied it. Arevan sits in a more uncomfortable space: it has enough original ideas to be interesting and enough unpolished choices to frustrate. If you have a high tolerance for slow RPG Maker openings and genuinely love the old-school 16-bit aesthetic on its own terms, there is a modest, earnest adventure here. If your patience for assembly-line dungeons and stock music runs thin quickly, this one will lose you before the story finds its footing.

Kai · Scout Team

Indie & narrative

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