Arcade Spirits
A visual novel set in an arcade-centric alternate history.
Arcade Spirits is a dating sim visual novel from Fiction Factory Games, published by PQube. It first launched on Microsoft Windows in 2019, then arrived on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One in 2020. The story takes place in an alternate timeline where the 1983 video game crash never happened, so arcades stayed a major part of culture. Players take on the role of a fully customizable protagonist—who can be female or male—and can choose to build romantic or platonic relationships with six romanceable characters, plus one platonic-only character.
The plot follows Ash (the default name for the player character, short for Ashley), who shares an apartment with their roommate Juniper. Juniper nudges Ash to find a new job using an app called IRIS, which features an AI named Iris. Through the app, Ash lands a position as floor manager at an arcade called the Funplex, hired by an elderly woman named Francine. Francine considers Ash’s lifeguard experience suitable for the high-stress arcade environment. While working there, Ash meets several people—mostly employees and regulars—and can pursue romantic relationships with any of them, regardless of gender. Throughout the game, Ash goes on various jobs with these characters to help the Funplex in different ways.
The main characters include: Naomi (voiced by Stephanie Sheh), who maintains the arcade machines; Gavin (voiced by Ogie Banks), who handles the budget and logistics; Ashley (voiced by Amber Leigh), a cosplay enthusiast; Teo (voiced by Christopher Escalante), a regular who excels at rhythm and dancing games; QueenBee (voiced by Nazia Chaudhry), a competitive gaming specialist; Percy (voiced by Price Johnson), a highscore chaser focused on the fictional game Moopy's Magic Maze; and Juniper (voiced by LilyPichu), Ash’s roommate—who is a platonic-only character.
Gameplay lets players customize Ash’s gender, skin color, hair length, hair color, hoodie color, and name. A mechanic called the Identity Identifier System tracks Ash’s personality traits, which shift based on dialogue choices. These choices also affect relationships with other characters and can lock certain dialogue options if a trait isn’t developed enough. Building strong enough bonds with a character can lead to a romance.
Development took a little over two years. Fiction Factory Games handled development, with PQube publishing. Writing was
- Developer
- Fiction Factory Games
- Publisher
- PQube
- Release
- February 14, 2019 (Windows); February 14, 2020 (consoles)
- Genre
- Dating sim visual novel
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
- Writers
- Stefan Gagne and Aenne Schumann
Lore & Background
Arcade Spirits was developed over a little over two years before its first release. The idea came from writer and project director Stefan Gagne's interest in arcade hardware restoration videos and 1980s workplace sitcoms. The first character conceived was Naomi, meant to represent the people in those restoration videos. Each character at the Funplex arcade was designed to represent a different aspect of arcade culture: Gavin represented pinball fans and arcade finances, Percy represented highscore chasing, QueenBee represented competitive gaming, Teo represented rhythm games, and Ashley represented fandoms around gaming. Juniper was designed as a platonic-only character, not a romance option. Gagne and Schumann split the cast, each writing half, drawing on their own life experiences. Voice actress LilyPichu was hired to play Juniper.
Reader's Guide
Arcade Spirits is significant for its inclusive design, allowing players to customize their character's gender (female, male, or non-binary), appearance, and personality through an in-game Identity Identifier System. The game permits romantic or platonic relationships with any of the seven candidates regardless of gender. Writers Gagne and Schumann, who are queer and non-binary respectively, worked with sensitivity readers to avoid common pitfalls in representation and consulted visually impaired communities for accessibility enhancements. The game received generally positive reviews, with OpenCritic identifying it as receiving 'strong' reviews. It was also included in itch.io's Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. Its legacy lies in demonstrating how visual novels can incorporate Western role-playing game standards, such as character customization and a core gameplay loop about self-definition, while prioritizing diversity and player choice.
Did You Know?
- The game's default player character name is Ari Cader.
- The voice director for the game was Jacob Burgess.
- The game was featured at the 2018 EGX expo with a playable demo.
- A Patreon was opened to support development, offering early access to demos and the full game.
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