Fancy a good cry? Then you need to play Opus: Prism Peak

When Makoto Shinkai's Your Name first launched in 2016 to worldwide critical and commercial acclaim, it felt like a paradigm shift for anime. Hauntingly sweet romances and melancholy piano scores became all the rage, with several shows and movies that quickly became the highest-grossing Japanese movies of all time (it's now third, behind the two Demon Slayer movies).

I saw it in theaters several times, and it also became the piece of media responsible for coming to terms with my trans identity. It's a beautiful, bold, and utterly iconic romantic drama that Shinkai still struggles to top to this day. Weathering With You was mediocre and Suzume was great, and in large part because it left behind the romance of star-crossed lovers in favor of a very real look at personal and national grief in response to the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

So what does any of this have to do with Opus: Prism Peak, the new narrative adventure from developer Sigono Inc.? Well, when I spoke to publisher Shuisha Games at Gamescom last year and brought up the comparison, they nodded in enthusiastic approval. That's exactly what this bittersweet experience is going for, and it absolutely nails the execution.

Smile Like You Mean It

In Prism Peak, you play as Eugene, a middle-aged man struggling to find his true purpose in life. He has been making a living as a photographer for the past decade, but the grandparents who first ignited this passion in his youth have passed away. As he tries to come to terms with leaving town or working for a new career, Eugene returns to the village where he was raised in search of questions, which now have no answers.

Unfortunately, as often happens in video games when someone's life is having a proper crisis, some supernatural stuff starts going down. Eugene crashes through the fog in the middle of a tunnel that seems to go on forever, until he manages to escape and emerges in a vast yet beautiful place known as the Dusklands. It has echoes of reality, but it feels like Chihiro crosses the bridge in Spirited Away and finds herself trapped against her will.

Soon after arriving in this mysterious area, you stumble upon a young girl named Ren. It's immediately clear that she's neither alive nor dead, appearing translucent at points and refusing to show up in any developed photos you take. It doesn't take long for Prism Peak's central narrative themes to manifest as grief, reflection, and finding a reason to move on and hope for a brighter future. The comparisons to Shinkai's work are painfully obvious, but being pioneering they also manage to feel incredibly effective.

Eugene and Ren relax on a bench at Opus: Prism Peak.

If you spend too much time in one place or can't figure out the solution to a puzzle, Ren will waste absolutely no time roasting you about it.

Eugene and Ren decide to team up as they head towards the ominous peak known as Dusk Mountain. What awaits there is unclear, but the journey so far is full of kind animal spirits, touching conversations between our two main characters, and a surprisingly dense photography mechanic that invites you to stop and smell the plum blossoms at every opportunity.

Your job as a photographer is to take your time and take pictures of every little thing you see, whether it's a random object or a magnificent vista stretching out before you. Most things will be added to your in-game journal, including pictures and words that can be broken into entire pages of lore or help solve puzzles. The spirits you meet also need to be captured in a special way to throw Polaroids before you go into something known as a firebowl where you can earn various upgrades and an assortment of items.

Take your time

Opus: Eugene uses his camera to photograph the dog spirit at Prism Peak.

How seriously you decide to take the photography aspect is entirely up to you, as you can just focus on the main story tasks to advance the story and enjoy most of what Prism Peak has to offer that way. But it presents itself as an experience where both of its primary characters are dealing with deep emotional turmoil, and it's designed to slowly take a therapeutic journey through uncharted territory. So when the big moments hit, they all land with the expected tragedy.

If you want to go super hard, you can focus on framing, aperture, focus, filters, and more when taking a photo. If not, just point and click and you'll be fine.

Ren rides behind Eugene on Opus: Prism Peak.

I love Prism Peak's existence between fantasy and reality. You will often stumble upon places that are bittersweet for how beautiful they are, and how the people who call these places home have long since moved on and let nature take its course. Spirits in the shape of animals now call it home, and you'll have subtle conversations with them to influence what awaits you on the mountain.

I'm only a few hours in, but Opus: Prism Peak capitalizes on my relentless love of schmaltzy sentimentality with great characters, strong writing, and enough compelling gameplay ideas to bring everything together. I'd describe it as a relaxing game, but it seems too determined to make you cry to bear that moniker. Either way, it's well worth checking out.