When looking for new adventure narrative games to play through, I want to know that what I’m starting is gonna be compelling enough to finish. It’s like opening a new book after reading the teaser on the back cover. What’s going to make me want to start that first chapter? Threefold Recital, the first release by developer Everscape Games, grabs your attention with a threefold story that revolves around a wolf-turned monk, a fox-turned-priest, and a snake-turned-artist. Its beautiful art is the backdrop for weaving a story within an oriental fantasy world that mixes magic, technologies old and new, and the tensions between humans, dragons, and the beastlings (like the ones we get to play as within the intertwining stories.) Though it takes a bit for the plot to really get going, once it does it becomes like a book that you don’t want to put down until you reach the end. With charming storytelling, a diverse cast of furry characters throughout, and enough inventive puzzle-solving minigames to keep things gamified enough, Threefold Recital had me hooked.
Stepping through the Story
Threefold Recital calls itself an adventure game, and I’d much more likely label it as a visual novel in platformer form. There’s a lot of plot with characters explaining backstories, what has happened in their past, and explaining how to proceed in the game. Don’t go in expecting complex puzzle solving and difficult platforming. The platforming and exploration, along with a lot of the puzzles, integrate the story beats and reasoning behind their execution. Rarely is a task arbitrary, and its completion usually comes with an enlightening tidbit of info or useful action to open up a door or allow for further progression. Thankfully, the three storylines, along with their converging climax, are intriguing and compelling all in their own way, integrating the unique abilities each of our three playable characters has in new ways throughout the 12-14 hour playtime. I did get a bit annoyed with how much the game held your hand at times, with some of the “side quests” it assigned you being able to be completed in 1-2 minutes and requiring an elementary level of effort. Some seemed unnecessary to include as tasks, while others were far reaching and took the entire chapter to complete, so you didn’t really need to be told about them. It was a small annoyance though, and got better after the first two chapters.
The Three Amigos
Each of the three characters sort of act like detectives within their tales, linking clues and conversations to determine the actual events and histories of the characters they’re with. Triratna the wolf is capable of seeing and severing karma lines, which are threads of cause and effect that tie everything together. Using this info, he’s able to unravel a story about a young boy that’s set to rule a house and more about his brother’s disappearance. Taiqing the fox is an expert of transmuting substances and using a kiln, which helps when he goes to investigate a seemingly trivial matter at a rich Master’s mansion. Transia the snake has the ability to enter murals and can “bodypaint” herself to look exactly like other characters, which is sure nifty when you need to sneak around a possibly haunted house filled with art. Each of these comes with their own unique personality and way of handling situations, which kept the dialogue fresh as each chapter was quite deep with content. Little clues are hidden throughout each story about how things will begin to tie together in the end, and how the world these characters are inhabiting could be converging into one big situation.
Visually Varied Beautiful Buddies
If you’re a fan of Japanese-style furry characters, you’ll love Threefold Recital. The absolutely adorable chibi-like characters that make up the vast majority of the characters you’ll meet were a treat, and the game does a lovely job of introducing new faces and species consistently. If the story wasn’t enough reason to keep playing until the end, the art and unique portraits and expressions for all of the characters sure was. There are so many little animations, lovingly used details, and an overall feeling of cuteness that resonated within the art style. However, when the story needed dramatic moments or dark overtones, it used those intentions well, allowing for the juxtaposition of these usually joyful and fluffy characters to illustrate other emotions admirably. Lots of environments were composed well, and the level design managed to still stay interesting, with a focus on how it worked into the story being continuously considered. That was the main thing I enjoyed. The characters and story intertwined with the design of the levels so much, and platforming wasn’t just for gameplay, but for storytelling.
Hearing what you Need to Hear
There isn’t any voice acting, so the backing music and sound effects had to sell the emotional impact and environmental feeling. Thankfully, both of these assets are well done, with tons of different tracks for each chapter and location, along with some even for individual conversations and cutscenes. They kept things interesting and were a great backdrop for the multitude of conversations you had to click through. Some of the sound effects were way too loud compared to others, but overall I didn’t notice anything glaringly wrong with them. There was plenty of “texture” added to the experience with the effects they did use throughout. With no vocalized dialogue, this was imperative, as these sounds really set the scenes and made the world feel the impact of your movements and actions within it.
In Conclusion
Threefold Recital is best enjoyed as an adventurous narrative tale with some fun story beats disguised as minigames and a few platforming elements to navigate. The characters are all inventive and incredibly furry, with lots of references to their species, and a beastling society that dominates the dialogue. Threefold Recital is stuffed with intrigue, twists and turns, and engaging puzzles and gameplay ideas, and is a treat for fans of anthro characters.
Thanks to the publisher for the review key. Threefold Recital is available on Steam.
