Fine Work Act 1 Review: Beautiful Art, Strange Worlds, and a Rhythm Game Twist
I recently had the privilege to play Fine Work Act 1 without really knowing what I was in for. This visual novel is rendered in bright colors with creative characters and a world unlike any you’ve experienced before. There’s a reason it has a kind of dictionary right in the game.
If you love fantasy and you’re yearning for a story full of beautiful and strange beings, music, and mystery, then keep reading. Fine Work might be for you.
What is Fine Work?
Fine Work is an indie-made visual novel and rhythm game. You are a sendshaper in a world that is made up of dreams created by greater beings. The populace comprises many strange but beautiful people, like your friend Mar, who lives with you. She has six eyes. The screenshot above also includes Andriss, a being that is two joined into one.
It’s also a rhythm game. The core mechanic is weaving memories into items your customers have ordered. This requires using your loom and guiding the shuttle along a path. It has two difficulty settings, and it isn’t complicated, but it does require some focus.
Playing the Game
The world and story were a little confusing to me at first. Soon, I stopped worrying about the background lore and just started enjoying the story unfolding. The colors are so vivid that it’s a joy to look at. The art style is one of the things that drew me to want to review this game in the first place.
The story is easy to navigate through. Sometimes there are choices which, according to the game description, seem to be part of branching paths in the story. Sometimes a word will be highlighted in yellow, indicating it’s a newly introduced term. Pressing the “N” key brings up the word in the journal with a definition. I’m glad they included it. The story includes a number of made-up terms that you wouldn’t fully understand otherwise.
The characters are incredibly diverse, and each one’s unique appearance makes me wonder about the artist who created them. They have quite the imagination. And their personalities are just as varied. I do wish there were some voice acting, but I don’t mind reading the dialogue myself either.
The rhythm game part has simple controls, and I was able to handle it pretty well. Getting a perfect score is somewhat difficult, though I’m sure practice would improve that.
The Good
The art style and character designs are gorgeous. It’s fun to just look at it. The story is intriguing. I’m curious to see what’s happening and what will come next. I won’t give you any story info because… no spoilers! The rhythm game is fun even just on its own.
At the beginning of the game, you choose your trait, which affects the story along with the choices you make as you go. So, the game has replayability through choosing different traits and making different decisions as you go.
The Rough
At the beginning, the story was a bit confusing to me. I didn’t know what kind of world we were in, and some of the concepts defined in the story muddled things because it wasn’t clear how everything fit together. Now that I’ve played through a couple of days in the game, it has become clear that these characters live in a world that is created by the dreams of greater beings.
I’m not sure how that could have been clarified except through some kind of introduction. Had I actually read the full description of the game on Steam, I would have seen that it says, “your new clients hail from distant dreams…” So perhaps the fault is mine for that. (Gotta be honest!)
Is Fine Work Act I Worth It?
I would have to say yes. If you’re a fan of fantasy, visual novels, and rhythm games, then get to Steam and add Fine Work to your library! As of this writing, it is $9.99, and there is a demo so you can give it a try for yourself. My first experience playing the game is available on YouTube. Check out the video above. And find their socials through the official site.
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