One of the many reasons indie games are so special to me is that we often get something unique that we usually don’t see from a focus-tested AAA game that’s got to recoup its big budget by selling as many copies as humanly possible. Goodbye Volcano High is one of my most anticipated indie titles for 2023 thanks to its charming art style and creative premise. After being pitched on what the gameplay experience would be like and playing the first 30 minutes, I got a small taste of what this choose-your-own adventure will provide – including several different gameplay elements surrounding personal choices and rhythmic music sequences. I still have many questions on exactly how much depth we’ll see in the player’s options as well as the consequences that will be given depending on the choices throughout this story, but the setup was interesting enough for me to want to see things through.
Goodbye Volcano High stars a cast of dino-humanoid teenagers starting out their last year of high school, figuring out their futures, and dealing with a meteor that will presumably destroy them all. It might be silly to mention, but what speaks to me about this idea is that I was a senior in high school myself in 2012, back when some people thought that the world was going to end. Even though I never believed it myself, there was always this looming aura around not just my senior year, but all of high school that the end of the world may be upon us.
With that concept in mind, the main character Fang has a primary goal of trying to get their band Worm Drama on the map, which involves a big audition and getting signed with a record company. I was told before my demo that throughout the story Fang will have to decide how they want to prioritize their time – be it with school, friends, or the band. Unfortunately, I never got to experience that kind of management during my playtime. The biggest thought on my mind since playing is how much the narrative can branch off, how significant decisions will affect the narrative in ways that matter, and how the characters will evolve.
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There were a couple of original songs that I got to listen to and interact with in the form of a simple rhythm mini-game. It’s relatively simple and straightforward, and it didn’t enhance the experience in any way for me. It’s obvious from the beginning that music plays a big part in Goodbye Volcano High, but if it was just the cutscene and the song playing without any gameplay element I think I would have enjoyed it just as much. Not only did I play music throughout my demo, but I also got to design the logo of Fang’s band, giving a bit more self-choice to my unique playthrough. I’m hoping that there will be many more instances that are similar that affect the story in a meaningful way.
When it comes to Fang’s dialogue options, I really enjoyed the variety of choices that allowed me to be conservative or more rebellious depending on who I interacted with. The colorful cast of characters feel well-personalized thanks to great voice overs and conversations talking about their interests – like Trish, who is really into bugs for some reason.
Most times, Goodbye Volcano High presents itself with the inspiration of popular highschool drama shows we know and love, but in animated form backed with gorgeous cutscenes and great animations. There are times, however, where longer ongoing discussions are shot like what you would expect from a visual novel game, which at times can feel jarring.
Still, there’s a lot going for Goodbye Volcano High – from its visuals to its concept and its music. The 30 minutes that I got to play didn’t feel like enough to give me a full taste of what the main course of the experience is going to be when it releases on June 15, but regardless, I want to learn more about these characters and how they deal with the looming end of the world right before they gain the freedom to go out and explore that world on their own.
