Game Commentary: Marco & The Galaxy Dragon

What do you get when you fuse a typical visual novel with a typical american cartoon? Marco & The Galaxy Dragon (let's shorten that to Marco) of course! And I don't mean that in a bad way.

This visual novel is wacky, funny, touching, crazy, and most importantly, a good time. The game released in February of 2020 which is still considered relatively new as of the time of publishing. I don't usually get on a visual novel this early into its release window but as it happened, the game went on discount on Steam and I got it along with one other visual novel.

So Marco is a game starring, surprise surprise, Marco! And the galaxy dragon who happens to be her best friend. The game's premise is very simple. The duo are intergalactic treasure hunters who happened upon one of the most sought after treasure in the universe. Of course, this means nothing to them as they immediately try selling it on the intergalactic equivalent of Ebay.

While this is happening, they decide to land on Earth to find out the truth surrounding Marco's long lost missing memories of her mother (I forgot to mention that Marco is a human). Unbeknownst to them however, a big baddie of the universe is after the very same treasure in their possession and he now has Earth in his sights. And so we join Marco and her newfound Earthly (and non) friends to save the Earth from this Thanos-wannabe!

You have the typical tropes that come with any visual novel; slapstick humour, emotional backstories, pretty good music, great art, silly characters. They're all here. The only difference is that Marco tends to take it up a notch when it comes to presentation. Peppered throughout the game are these cutscenes drawn in the style of Rick and Morty that are just a joy to watch.

Sometimes though, said cutscenes are playable! With its own stupid mechanics which, while unnecessary, did add some freshness to the typical VN formula. I loved these scenes a lot and honestly, it brought something really interesting to the table. I didn't think that I should have high expectations for VNs but Marco certainly convinced me otherwise.

Every other aspect, while still tropey, are relatively well made. I should give bonus points towards the comedic writing for some parts where I was literally laughing out loud as opposed to the usual smirk or chuckle. The word 'unicorn' will now forever make me laugh.

I enjoyed the game and I'm absolutely looking forward to the company's next project or a sequel to Marco if they ever decide on one. It was good time from start to end and I would highly recommend it if you love or are unsure about visual novels. This VN strays from the norm to create something great and short! You can finish the entire VN in around 7 hours with everything unlocked and all steam trophies earned.