American Arcadia Critic Reviews

American Arcadia features a refreshing tale that shows how to “subvert expectations,” making the plot a standout hit when compared to more mainstream narratives. On top of that, the variance in gameplay and the exceptional presentation act as extensions and support for an already excellent narrative.

American Arcadia covers a unique scenario with a great story and beautiful environments. Its mix of 2-D sidescrolling platforming sections and 3-D exploration of the outside world shakes up what could quickly become monotonous.

With an appealing visual style, timely themes and excellent puzzle platform mechanics, American Arcadia confidently checks a lot of boxes. While a few of the puzzles can be head-scratchers or frustrating to complete, the majority of my experience was extremely positive. American Arcadia is genuinely something fresh and stands out in a crowded genre.

The game is a stinging condemnation of entertainment that thrives on the suffering of others.

American Arcadia turns The Truman Show into an interactive indie thriller you don't want to miss.

American Arcadia is a sharp, snappy production that could make for an entertaining film if it wasn't peppered with ingenious puzzles and platforming challenges. The dual character scenario is exploited brilliantly, adding variety, originality and humour, and even if some sections lack a real sense of participation, the visual design of Arcadia, along with some smart turns in the plot, ensure momentum through to the end.

Taking six to eight hours to complete, I’ve blasted through American Arcadia in just two sittings, being utterly gripped the whole time. The side-scrolling platforming and first-person puzzle gameplay blend together seamlessly, with the story here being king. Despite a few small presentation issues that need ironing out, the gameplay here is flawless – and jumping from Angela’s first-person viewpoint to being in control of a side-scrolling Trevor via her computer monitor is nothing short of genius. If you enjoy adventure and puzzles, and like the sound of a story that’s reminiscent of The Truman Show, this is a game not to be missed.

American Arcadia offers varied and moderately balanced gameplay, peppered with caustic social commentary.

It has all the hooks you'd associate with a streaming service binge-watch...But American Arcadia has something to say, too.

An enjoyable cinematic adventure that creatively blends narrative platforming with first-person puzzles, offering an expressive story through minimalism, despite frustrating trial-and-error moments and occasional oddity in cinematic scenes due to "lowpoly," all leading to an escape in a continually twisting dystopian city.

With a strong atmosphere, interesting story, and engaging but fairly simple mix of puzzle and platforming gameplay, American Arcadia makes for a memorable place to visit - and escape from.

Out of the Blue is clearly talented at storytelling and has a knack for creating interesting puzzles, but I can't help but feel like this game is playing it a bit too safe at times with how basic many of its mechanics and gameplay systems are.

American Arcadia takes The Truman Show's core concept and updates it for the 2020s with a two-sided tale of escape, freedom and corporate control. The gameplay is mainly there to help deliver this story, but I always wanted Trevor to keep running to get me to the final moments and grand reveal.

Like a bingeable TV show, American Arcadia is slickly presented and tightly paced, resulting in a charismatic and entertaining theme park ride of an adventure, even if the simple characters and somewhat unfocused approach to gameplay doesn’t foster much lasting impact.

American Arcadia isn't as memorable as Call of the Sea, and it has its frustrations, but overall this is a well presented adventure-platform game with an almost irresistible personality.

Despite their respective annoyances, you can't help rooting for Angela and Trevor, and especially Trevor. He has, as he points out, not actually done anything wrong except to not be an awful fitspo influencer, like American Arcadia's most popular resident. By the end of the game you're catharting as hard as anyone at the prospect of victory at the entertainment company at the heat of the show. It's especially great to see how Trevor's concept of what victory in his own personal context means.

A thrilling and fun adventure you can not miss