Goodbye Volcano High
The coming-of-age story about anthropomorphic dinosaurs in high school waiting for the world to end might sound pretty out there, but the emotional beats of Goodbye Volcano High are deeply grounded in reality. One part visual novel and one part rhythm game, this title uses its musical themes to dive into the seemingly endless angst of its cast. They are all young kids lost in some way or another. For protagonist Fang, their band’s music becomes the central output for those messy feelings.
Goodbye Volcano High pulls off something a lot of games about bands can’t: the music actually rocks. So when you get to take control and play through some challenging but rewarding rhythm sections in some sick tunes it only makes you feel better, even if the songs themselves are about some pretty heavy topics. The music is used to punctuate a larger story that pretty much everyone will connect with, one that is written with incredible care and earnestness.
