Following the release of Ambition’s Moe Can Change! and Fairy Doll mobile game, we got Arcatopia, a dress-up game where you can raise special spirits such as Arcana, and enjoy your life in the academy. So, is this game worth downloading? Or should you just stay away from it?
▍Take Classes And Increase Your Arcana
Each spirit is classified with a different Arcana. There are eight different types of them (as seen in the image below). Each Arcana will behave differently, and each of the eight types have a better proficiency at a certain aspect inside the magic school.
As you perform classes, you’ll be able to unlock stories related to that personality. Unfortunately, it takes a long time to unlock them all, because you can only do one class at a time, and the most efficient lesson is the 10-hour one. There are items that will speed this process up, but you would need tons of them to perform.
When you spend such long time unlocking a story, you will expect somethings that are worth the waits. Unfortunately as there are no voiced dialogue or detailed animation, the whole experience is just underwhelming. It would be nice if the chibi characters moved around a bit more, or at least, had more interactions other than jumping and changing their faces once in a while.
▍Decorate Your Room However You See Fit!
Another element of Arcatopia is the Room. You can obtain furniture pieces from different gacha banners, and decorate your space however you see fit. You can also share your rooms online on social media by tapping the button to hide the UI. But still, it takes a lot of resources to fully complete a room of your choice.
Out of the currently available themes, I’m quite fond of the Devilish Night set (Available until July 21, 2022), because of how the darker colours resonate with each other, and I was always a fan of the gothic style of furniture. There are also quite a few intriguing furniture, but as most of them are available in gacha, getting a full set will definitely empty your wallet.
▍Dress Your Arcana However You Like!
Of course, you can also dress your Arcana however you see fit! Just like the furniture, you can obtain different clothes and accessories, such as dresses, tiaras and more. You can also change the look of your Arcana from head to toe, including their hairstyles.
The hairstyles are the one thing that made me enjoy the customization, because while cross-dressing is not an option, you can at least make your Arcana look “boy-ish” with the right combination of clothing and hair, and this can create some rather interesting matchups.
▍Watch Your Arcana Interact With Each Other
After reaching Rank 5, you will be able to place two Arcana at the same room. A third one can be added at Rank 50 or you can also skip the rank requirement altogether and just pay 1000 Diamonds to unlock the first slot and 2000 Diamonds for the second.
As to how your Arcana interact with each other? Well, there are two ways: You can either tap the exclamation that appears on them from time to time to hear an interaction, or you can partake in activities at the magic school together. However you choose to do this will earn you Affection Points. That’s pretty much it.
Adding a third Arcana takes too much time, efforts and resources (if you choose to use your diamonds, with little things in return. As there are very few conversation patterns for the Arcana, it really doesn’t take long when they run out of conversations. The point of adding the third Arcana and even the fourth just seems futile.
▍Final Thoughts on Arcatopia
Arcatopia was…really underwhelming, really. There’s not a whole lot you can do, which, as someone who often prefers story-rich mobile games, it was kind of a letdown. All of the features Arcatopia has are present in other games and with richer content.
After all, the only thing you can do is take classes and decorate your room, as well as watch your Arcana interact. This was unfortunately not enough to satiate me, and thus, I cannot recommend this game to people who are like me.
If you’re a fan of decorating interiors and idle-style games, I guess it can be just the right game for the right person. Me, though? I’m unfortunately giving it a 2 out of 5.
