Arcadia appears peaceful. Warm yellow lighting, 70s-inspired architecture, people laughing and talking as if nothing is wrong. However, as soon as the cameras start rolling, everything changes. No one is truly free in this city. Everyone lives in a global reality TV show. Once you stop attracting viewers, you disappear. Without warning. Without a chance to explain.
Trevor Hills, an ordinary man, suddenly becomes the central character of that survival game. He doesn’t know why. All he knows is a strange voice that warns him and shows him the way out of the city. From that moment on, Trevor is no longer running for his life out of curiosity, but for his own life.
One game, two heartbeats
Unlike most games of the same genre, American Arcadia separates the player into two entities. Not only do you control Trevor in a 2.5D space full of traps, but you also play as a support character in first-person perspective. While Trevor hides under the stage floor, the other one is manipulating the surveillance system to clear the way. As he runs down the hallway, the other one is hacking the computer to turn off the alarm. Two people, two heartbeats, but only one chance to survive.
The constant switching between the two perspectives creates a fast, intense pace. Thanks to that, the player never feels repetitive. Furthermore, this increases the tactical coordination, forcing you to think multidimensionally instead of just controlling a character as usual.
TV story – the truth is edited
American Arcadia does not tell a linear story. Instead, the game builds the entire plot like a documentary being broadcast on national television. Testimonies are edited, interviews overlap, all creating a sense of fakeness and distortion. You will have to carefully observe every expression, every silence to realize what is real and what is a trick.
It is this way of telling the story that makes the player unpredictable. Every memory opens up a new question. Every word carries within it a lie, or a distorted truth. And it is you who must rearrange everything, while still trying to escape the place called Arcadia.
The city is beautiful like a dream – and just as false as that dream
Arcadia is not scary because it is ugly. On the contrary, it is designed to make you believe that everything is perfect. From the way the lights shine down on the windows, to the melodious background music on every street, this city gives you no room for doubt. It is only when you see a person suddenly disappear, or a neighborhood closed off without explanation, that you begin to realize: something is very wrong.
The retro-futuristic graphics make Arcadia come alive, but also haunting. Because when beauty is placed in the hands of those who control it, it is no longer freedom, but a psychological trap. And you – the main character – are trapped in that very glamorous cage.
Will you watch, or will you be watched?
American Arcadia is more than just an action-puzzle game. It is a message. A mirror for the current world, where people live for likes, shares, and attention. In that world, you can choose to retreat from the spotlight, or continue to stand in the middle, and end up trading yourself.
If you are ready to step out of the spotlight, step into the wings, and take back control of your life, then American Arcadia is the journey for you.
