ATRI -My Dear Moments- (2020) [PC] critique

We evolve beyond the person that we were a minute before. Little by little, we advance a bit further with each turn. That’s how a drill works! – Simon, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

It goes without saying, but there’s a handful of people who play video games for story. This is especially true for games with large amounts of text, like RPGs, but even more so for visual novels. Visual novels are games that serve as a ‘novel’ but they’re made to be graphical, to fit the medium. This creates the argument that visual novels aren’t actually games, but I’m here to review ATRI -My Dear Moments- as a video game that I purchased off of Steam on a whim. I’m not here to dispel the argument that visual novels can’t be games, but rather to give a critique on a piece of work like I would for the rest of the medium.

ATRI -My Dear Moments- is a novel developed by Front Wing (developers of the Grisaia series) that was published in 2020. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity is struggling to survive as the world is flooding. The main character, Natsuki Ikaruga is saddled with difficult circumstances in this dire setting. This is a “boy meets robot” story, with the robot being Atri. In comparison to other games in the genre, ATRI -My Dear Moments- is relatively short, players can expect to spend around eight hours in a playthrough.

8-Bit Review

Visuals: 8/10

The art in this game is very charming and detailed, and overall, it’s a well-done job. The art style is very fitting for its setting: there’s lots of water and the atmospheres are presented well.  Character portraits and expressions are very well drawn too. It’s important to nail these details because it overall enhances how the player sees the characters, and how they see the setting. My only real criticism is the splashing water effects in some scenes. They are borderline distractions to the game’s more comedic moments.

Since this is a visual novel, the user interface should be easy to understand. I had no problem understanding the interface and traversing menus. It’s very simple on paper, and it’s effective here, I never found myself confused about what I was looking at or reading.

Audio: 5/10

The soundtrack isn’t too expansive. There are songs that suit different moods throughout the game, with the main song contributing to some scenes in the story. There is also an opening song that is very ‘anime’ and it does end up having a little impact on the story. Not too much to write home about.

The Japanese dub voice acting is pretty solid. They do the characters justice. Sometimes Atri can have some loud acting, though, especially when voice clips play when selecting menu options. However, voices on the menus can be toggled to a different character.

Gameplay: 6/10

There isn’t much to talk about in terms of gameplay. The player will mostly be hitting a button to progress dialogue, while sometimes reading the logs. Fast-forwarding the dialogue is useful for players who are trying to achieve all endings. Two endings are acquirable by three mere two-option choices throughout the game. For players looking for something more expansive in terms of story outcomes, this eight-hour game may not be the right choice. The number of choices does make it pretty beginner friendly though.

Narrative: 4/10

As previously mentioned, the premise is about a dropout student who is dealing with an immense amount of debt. Throughout the story he goes through revelations concerning his past and his love, hence the “boy meets robot” story.

Narrative is a huge part of this game because this is going to be the primary reason people will want to play it. Character interactions and dialogue are significant factors for these types of games. There is a decent-sized sequence of events that amplifies or diminishes the appeal of the relationship between the boy and the robot. One of my main criticisms on the story is that the humor is very hit-or-miss; the humor is weird, and forceful. Players may be turned off by the overall story and themes by the innuendos that can sometimes seem prevalent.

Weird jokes and humor aside, the plot will throw bones at the player periodically as you read on. More lore is gradually revealed. This stays true throughout the different chapters, even though some don’t play a huge role in the story overall. The characters are pretty stereotypical, which can often lead to their behavior being predictable, however. The relationships between characters are significant enough so that this isn’t a major problem, though.

Lastly, the story is very back-loaded, meaning the part ‘where it gets good’ is closer to the end. Players may drop the game before a very significant conflict, but others may be engrossed after that point. There is build-up, but the build-up can seem poorly executed, though still meaningful, nevertheless. Supporting characters can also seem rather insignificant up until the ‘part where it gets good’ as well. Regardless, the characters develop meaningful relationships, and some players will be left satisfied by the climax. This just means that while some people may appreciate it, others won’t.

Themes: 7/10

This game is thematically dense despite being short. This game deals with loss in a meaningful way. There are overarching themes throughout the story despite a faltering narrative. I’ve reflected on some of those segments and there are messages that were successfully conveyed. The execution with the humor and all are rather strange but there are meaningful takeaways nevertheless.

There is a grand amount of thematic progress at the climax of the game. The story relies heavily on these themes to leave a mark on the reader. It’s just sometimes sappy, but not too cliché.

Replayability: 4/10

The game attempts to be replayable by providing three endings: a good ending, a bad ending, and a true ending. However, the game only provides three choices, and no matter what the player decides, the events of the story remain the same relatively. The good and bad endings are the endings affected by the choices, and the true ending is unlocked after finding both. The main difference is that the good ending is a bit longer and provides more closure than the bad.

The true ending is worth discovering, but since the story events remain the same, players will most likely just use the fast-forward function throughout the game. This can seem very underwhelming as most visual novels are meant to be replayed, but its simplicity is approachable for beginners.

Uniqueness: 7/10

This game plays just like any other visual novel, which isn’t a bad thing of course. It also has very stereotypical characters and uses some known tropes. What’s most unique about Atri -My Dear Moments- is how the story works through different themes and comes to its conclusion. The setting and art style stand out nicely as well.

Personal: 7/10

I am the type of person who forgives back-ended storytelling. Honestly, finishing this game was a pretty good experience for me, and it was worthwhile. I loved the takeaways from this game even though it took a rocky road to get there. I’m surprised that I enjoyed the game as much as I did. There have been a few instances where I teared up while playing this, especially in the final hour.

After Atri -My Dear Moments- dissipated in my mind, I do look back on it and some of the bad qualities are pretty glaring to me. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the story but it does leave me wondering what could have been done differently. I haven’t played very many visual novels and I’m trying to get more involved in the genre. This wasn’t a bad start.

Aggregated Score: 6.0

I’m Zerinus, a hobbyist video game lover, music lover, writer, and an aspiring professional in IT. You can find me at @DivineZerinus on Twitter.