Under the surface of Arco’s pixel RPG action, a breathtaking revenge saga

Ray tracing and hyperrealistic physics are not requirements for a proper gut punch.

In Arco, an action-forward fantasy RPG released in August, a Western revenge saga unfolds across desert plateaus and lush forests, all rendered in intricate pixel art. That style intensifies the otherworldliness of the game’s not-quite-our-own Mesoamerica, a land of the past populated by monsters as well as a more grounded foe: the Red Company, a band of oil-seeking colonizers ready to slaughter anyone for a buck. Four Indigenous heroes, brought together by violent circumstance, wield knives, guns, and the arco — the bow — to hunt down those who’ve killed their people. But like in all great Westerns, even righteous retaliation weighs on a gunslinger’s soul.

Produced by Franek Nowotniak, José Ramón García, Antonio Uribe, and Max Cahill, Arco wraps complicated character work and a killer soundtrack around some truly awesome turn-based combat. The RPG doesn’t offer endless play and a million outcomes (I completed my first playthrough in 20 hours), but the choices matter — and the outcomes rattle your bones. Whether it’s a fight or dialogue pop-up, the Arco team is constantly ratcheting up the stakes of a war for a nation.

In Arco, four playable protagonists — Tizo, a hardened vigilante on the trail of unknown killers; Itzae, a cast-out warrior looking to shed a curse; and Afur and Chio, siblings hoping to score the deal of their lives — alternate taking center stage over a series of chapters that roll into a grand finale. They each carry their own baggage… and skill trees, which include everything from ranged attacks to healing abilities to quick movements and blade counters. Constructed a bit like a Monkey Island game — and written with similarly sharp-witted, funny dialogue — the characters journey from town to town, speaking to locals and picking up missions that steer them closer to the Red Company.

There is no vocal acting in Arco, but the voices are clear. The writing gives Tizo a grumbling Clint Eastwood edge, while Afur and Chio play like two bumbling Coen brothers protagonists. Even the punctuation hits hard; a well-deployed ellipsis, paired with the sight of a burning village, conjures speechless despair. And it’s not all doom and gloom: Despite getting the boot from her tribe, Itzae leaps out into the world with her chin up and a zeal for pounding bad guys — the Drax the Destroyer of this band of guardians. García’s score, with rip-roaring guitars, ethereal pan flute, and the occasional wailing Spanish-language vocalist, clicks all the flavors into perfect harmony.

The action is as cohesive as the drama. Though blood spills in tiny one-by-one blocks, the brutality of Arco is relentless and haunting thanks to its calculated combat scenarios. A hybrid of turn-based and real time, the fights are driven by pre-selected orders, but a hero’s moves occur at the same time as enemy attacks. Players can preview the enemy’s orders, as well as the trajectories of their attacks, in order to make advances and outrun bullet fire all in the same breath.

If Tizo encounters three gunmen and a knife fighter, the puzzle of the situation might require him to first outmaneuver Gatling gunfire by stabbing the nearest goon in the throat, then in the second turn, retreat around the bullets in a perfectly timed curved trajectory. Various skills allow the heroes to dash around the arena or interrupt enemy actions with their own attacks, a must for survival. But it all costs Magia, which can either be replenished on a turn or scrounged up through items on the fly. With a variety of enemy types, hero moves, and items to procure, there’s never a one-approach-fits-all solution to any fight in Arco, but each one is rowdier than the next.

Complicating the fights — and your health bar maintenance — are ghosts of the past. Players will encounter a number of moral dilemmas as they ride their llamas across the great expanse: The heroes can choose to help those in need whom they meet along the way, or kill them for needed supplies. They can offer their services to every apparent victim, but then find themselves ensnared in a trap set for the gullible. They can set their prisoners free or slay them with no mercy. Decisions that end in bloodshed come back to haunt the heroes… as literal ghosts.

On top of corporeal enemies, ghosts regularly manifest during combat in Arco, based on the guilt harbored by each character. And the specters don’t give a damn how long you want to mull over your next turn; if a ghost pops up, they will swiftly approach in order to suck some life out of you, operating outside of the turn-based cycle. Running away isn’t always viable when there’s a venomous snake monster or dynamite-throwing Red Company soldier on your tail.

Arco, by all accounts, has not found an audience. At least one dev blames the game’s ingenuity — being a mashup of ideas and flavors isn’t the easiest sell. Probably true. But I hope there’s something to be gained from putting a stunning work of game art, and an exhilarating example of tactical combat, into the world. Because for all its eclectic influences, Arco coalesces into a story most of us need to hear.

The Western genre is dominated by guns-a-blazin’ American heroes. Stories that have challenged the tropes often grapple with the same iconography of white-man cowboys and Manifest Destiny, and cycles of violence (see: Eastwood again, from the Dollars trilogy to Unforgiven, or what Kevin Costner hoped this year’s Horizon could be). But rarely do these neo-Westerns, at least out of Hollywood, reframe the drama from the perspectives of Indigenous people, who too fought for their homes, for their way of life. Arco’s team seized the opportunity to tell a historical story with a magical-realist touch, one that’s easily accessible but never flinches over the gory details of violence perpetrated in the name of colonization. We needed this story, and in all its pixelated glory, Arco lands that gut punch.

Arco is available on Nintendo Switch, Mac, and Windows PC. The game was reviewed on Steam Deck using a copy purchased by the author. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.