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Athenian Rhapsody

Athenian Rhapsody

Nico Papalia · released May 14, 2024

AdventureIndieRPG

Forge your own story and explore the world of Athens in Athenian Rhapsody, a souls-like platonic dating simulator with cooking-mama and WarioWare style battle mechanics... and by that I mean it's a choose-your-own-adventure action RPG with the ability to trade ENTIRE PLAYTHROUGHS between friends!!

83
VGC Score
·No trend datamedium confidence

anchored at patch: “Event System Rework” (2y ago)

84%
At launch
90%
Steam all-time
88%
Press
91%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)8812
All-time Steam reviews90%84184
Metacritic user ratings0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)91%8591
Calibration prior (typical game)7250

Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Aug 3, 2024) · 91 reviews sampled · 73 total reviews in window · weighted 60.5 up / 6.1 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (8)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 79
    trust 70May 17, 2024

    Take a pinch of oddball Earthbound vibes, add a tablespoon of Undertale quirks, mix with weirdness, and enjoy?

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    trust 69May 14, 2024

    The idea of each playthrough being transformed into its own object and gaining a tangibility is an intriguing one, reinforcing the power of decision-making in a world of unknown consequence. The vibrancy of Athens comes as much from its nature and biomes as it does from its inhabitants, and it was ultimately a sincere pleasure to spend time here. As a lover of both Earthbound and Undertale, I found in Athenian Rhapsody another experience that felt like home, complete with characters randomly exploding more times than I could count.

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 66May 14, 2024

    Despite some technical bugs, Athenian Rhapsody can still shine thanks to its many strengths: its colorful, eye-catching visuals, hilarious and heartwarming story, and challenging yet fun combat system. For those in need of a quirky RPG or a nice pick-me-up after a stressful week, Athenian Rhapsody is the game that’ll do the job, all the while making you smile like an absolute cornball.

    read full review ↗
  • 95
    trust 65May 14, 2024

    A wonderfully weird adventure, Athenian Rhapsody is both unhinged and charming in equal measure. A delight to play with genuinely enjoyable combat, this is an easy recommendation!

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 64May 14, 2024

    Athenian Rhapsody, under the gassy gags and quirky NPCs, is a love letter to cult classics and indie games from our childhoods to today. Its mini-games are so diverse that it’s hard to get bored with any one aspect of the experience, and the sheer cheerful weirdness of it all will give you a smile even if you’re butting through some tougher patches. Because of that cheerfulness, it’s easy to give the tough spots a second chance, and a little dedication will help you enjoy the game, too. It’s hard to sum up what’s going on in the game’s world, but once you’re playing, it’s easy to simply ride it along while you’re meeting bizarre new friends. And, although I haven’t gotten that far yet, it’s clear that there really is an Undertale-style complexity in place to give you a reason to revisit. All in all, it’s quite an achievement from a new indie developer, and I can’t help but admire how polished and cohesively quirky it all is. Athenian Rhapsody may not be your kind of thing, but with a free demo available, it’s worth it to at least give this game a try.

    read full review ↗
  • 75
    trust 60May 14, 2024

    At the end of the day, there’s no way to avoid bringing up Undertale with all the similarities between the two. If you’ve never played the former, than the comparison is pointless since Athenian Rhapsody works on its own. It’s not really a question of either or, if you’re a fan of that style of RPG, them you already know that you’ll likely enjoy Athenian Rhapsody.

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    trust 57May 14, 2024

    I don’t consider Athenian Rhapsody to be anything like Undertale despite some of its similarities. It’s very well written, often getting me to audibly laugh because of its absurdist humor that surprised me time after time. I truly appreciated having agency to play as I liked in this RPG and the novelty of the Rhapsody system is enough for me to be excited about seeing other players play through to the end. While I have some reservations about the way the story has been constructed and the implementation of the Rhapsody system, there’s enough for players to enjoy if they are interested in a truly silly RPG.

    read full review ↗
  • trust 55May 15, 2024

    Athenian Rhapsody is billed as a game where each player’s experience is different, and that you can play through multiple times to find new paths. But due to the focus on wacky characters over good writing, I had a hard time even wanting to finish a single run. I’d imagine some people might still have a good time, but I can safely say Athenian Rhapsody was not for me.

    read full review ↗

Patch history

  1. Rhapsody Photo Fix
    Aug 18, 2024
  2. Event System Rework
    Aug 3, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  3. Upcoming Events, Merch, and Updates!
    Jun 19, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  4. Post-Launch 0.96.24 Update
    May 27, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  5. Post Launch: First Round of Patches
    May 17, 2024significant · resets scoring window