Thank you Galdra Studios for sending us a review code!

Arcadia Fallen came out in January of 2022 and we reviewed and enjoyed playing the Switch version.  In July of 2024, Arcadia Fallen II was successfully funded on Kickstarter. While you can import your game choices from the original game, playing it is not required to enjoy this story.

Arcadia Fallen II begins with your character and two young children being taken to a mage academy. The boy, Soren, is looking forward to learning magic, while the girl, Nina, is being sent there against her will. After listening to their banter for a bit you’ll have several opportunities to chime in and configure your character. Along with selecting your magic focus, you’ll also get to choose your gender or non-binary status. Like the previous game, Arcadia Fallen 2 has a non-binary character and allows you to romance several same-sex characters.

Throughout the game you’ll have several opportunities to cheer up or put down characters, and your decisions will influence their path. The main story takes place several years after the carriage ride and your characters are teenagers close to graduation. Grades play an important part in where graduating mages are assigned. The students with the highest grades get to go to regions of their choosing while the lower scoring students get sent to places that are hostile towards magic users.

While your character is no scholar, several of your friends are at risk of being sent to regions that are not ideal. To make matters worse, the school is being forced to alter the grading standards to make it even harder for students to get high grades. Once your character discovers this information, you’ll have some decisions to make. Will you alter your grade and those of your friends, just your friend’s grades, or will you leave things alone?

Not all of your friends are human. You’ll meet a little dragon, Ragnar. Like many dragons, Ragnar has an affinity for shiny objects. You’ll be spending some time returning items from Ragnar’s collection to their rightful owners. Ragnar has the ability to move around the school without being detected. It’s a useful skill. In exchange for his aid, you can help him learn more about his father.

When using Ragnar’s sneaking ability, you’ll have to solve a logic puzzle that involves rotating hexagon shapes to form a path between Ragnar and the destination. If you have a party with you, their player pieces may come in handy to fill in the gaps to continue the path. I like how there’s a hint feature to illuminate the path if needed.

Unless your character is fine with watching people fail unfairly, rebellion plays a major role in the story. Physical violence and death is shown, thankfully without blood. There is some language including words like *ss, d*mn, and sh*t. Like its predecessor, Arcadia Fallen II is LGBTQ+ friendly by featuring same-sex and non-binary romance options. I sometimes found the timing awkward for romantic dialogue. For example, if you’re hiding/fleeing from being detected by an enemy the last thing on my mind is making a pass at someone!

Outside of the awkward romantic dialogue timing, I found the characters interesting, and for the most part, likeable. Voice acting is present for the majority of the game, but there are parts where there is none and there’s an awkward pause while waiting to see if its present or not.

The art style is consistent with the previous game. Not only can you customize your character’s appearance, but you can customize their outfit and color scheme too. There’s a formal dance at the academy and you’ll get to tweak the formal wear for that occasion too. I’m happy to report that all of the characters are modestly dressed.

If you’re a fan of the previous game and don’t mind the LGBTQ+ propaganda, Arcadia Fallen II tells a fascinating story that you get to shape. The asking price is $29.99 and lasts a little over seven hours. There’s a fair amount of replayability if you choose to romance various characters or make different decisions.