HomeNewsAthenian Rhapsody
Comedy RPG Athenian Rhapsody is a child of Undertale with GBA visuals in which playthroughs become postcardsTry saying all that out loud without stumbling
Try saying all that out loud without stumbling
Image credit:Top Hat Studios, Inc.
Image credit:Top Hat Studios, Inc.
Athenian Rhapsody Launch TrailerWatch on YouTube
Athenian Rhapsody Launch Trailer
The combat minigames are a hoot, too: one floods the window and has you dodging projectiles while battling the aquatic physics. I haven’t reached it yet, but there’s another in which you have to paint your own picture. I also think that Athenian Rhapsody has that undertone of earnestness any parody needs to stave off obnoxiousness. The earnestness comes across especially in the detail of the top-down world - there are bell-shaped flowers that jingle when you walk through them, for example. In general, every character and interaction feels very considered, however spun for giggles.
The information contained in a Rhapsody ranges from each character you’ve interacted with as well as how many times your protagonist has farted.
You’ll be able to use these Rhapsodies in various ways such as socializing with friends, accessing special timed in-game event adventures, and maybe even something outside of the game one day. Who knows! The sky is the limit!
If you’re like me, you’ll be squinting at the reference to “something outside of the game” and speed-dialling the NFT police. But Rhapsodies don’t appear to be a cryptocurrency: Papalia says the chief inspiration was collecting and sharing Pokémon.
“As a huge Pokémon fan, I knew the feeling players had when completing a playthrough with a Pokémon and having a special bond to the character you own,” they observe in a recent chat withGame Developer. “It serves as a token or relic of your adventure through a region that reminded you of all of the challenges and shenanigans that happened during that time.
“I wanted to somehow combine the feeling of having a special Pokémon of your own with which players build a relationship with and cherish but without the actual Pokémon, since I was making Athenian Rhapsody and definitely don’t have the rights to add Poliwhirl into the game.”
All told, I think this could be one of those “quietly revolutionary” projects that doddery old critics like me tend to miss - its biggest failing, perhaps, is that the cleverness at work gets lost behind the insatiably jocular presentation and barrage of competing concepts. I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to play more.
