Across the Grooves

So I’m in danger of overrating Across The Grooves. It’s fairly short, and at only a couple of hours long, you could dig up all its alternative scenes and endings in a long afternoon. It’s more linear and structurally simple than I’d expected, and I was definitely expecting more from the main music. But while it hasn’t truly touched me as deeply as Eliza or Watch Me Jump, it’s given me an unusual angle on time travel and a lot of feelings and thoughts to process. It’s even helped me a little, I think.

When it comes down to it, Across the Grooves is a nice take on the visual novel genre.

I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed Across the Grooves, with its emotional and intriguing tale keeping me hooked in until the very end. Add to that some fantastic artwork and music that always fit the vibe of each scene perfectly, and it’s easy to see that Nova-Box have something special on their hands here. I have no doubt that the visual novel setup of Across the Grooves won’t be for everyone and there were occasional moments where the story could fall a little short of the mark, but for the most part it offers a fascinating narrative that I really enjoyed being a part of.

This is a game that won’t solely be enjoyed by visual novel enthusiasts, but anyone who loves music and any story directly related to classic bands and occultism. It’s the rare case of a visual novel that features a bit of something for everyone.

It’s one of those games I never really knew I needed until it came along and thankfully, exploring the story of Alice through her headphones was as cleansing and as wondrous as I had hoped it would be. The music is wonderful, the art style is remarkable and the story wants me to keep going back and discovering what may happen if I chose the left option instead of the right. Did I do right by that character? Was I listening correctly when I made *that* choice? Across the Grooves is stacked full of decisions that leave question marks on your conscience.