Across the Grooves is an indie interactive graphic novel developed by Nova-box for PC. Players follow Alice, a woman whose ordinary life in Bordeaux shifts when an old vinyl record arrives from her former partner Ulysse. Placing the needle on the record sends her back through her own past, and each return to the present brings altered circumstances shaped by prior decisions.
Gameplay
The core loop centers on narrative choices that reshape Alice's personality traits and open new branches in her story. Decisions range from how she responds to familiar faces to which paths she pursues while traveling through European cities. These selections accumulate to influence later scenes, creating variations in dialogue, character interactions, and overall trajectory without requiring complex resource management or timed inputs.
Exploration occurs through sequential scenes illustrated in a European comic book style with hundreds of hand-drawn images. The experience emphasizes reading and selecting options rather than free movement or puzzle solving. An adaptive soundtrack responds to the emotional tone of each moment and the specific path taken, providing subtle shifts in instrumentation and mood that align with Alice's evolving state.
Replay value stems directly from the branching structure. Different combinations of choices lead to distinct sequences of events and conclusions, encouraging players to experiment with Alice's development across separate playthroughs. The game presents a novel-length narrative per run, with changes appearing in both major plot points and smaller personal details.
Game Modes
Across the Grooves operates as a single-player experience focused entirely on its choice-driven story. There are no separate competitive, cooperative, or challenge modes. All content unfolds within the main narrative framework, where the primary variation comes from player selections that determine which of several endings becomes available.
The structure supports multiple complete playthroughs as the intended way to engage with the full scope of possibilities. Each run remains self-contained, and progress does not carry over between attempts, allowing fresh starts that test alternative approaches to Alice's journey and relationships.
Story and Setting
The narrative blends everyday realism with elements of magical realism centered on the mysterious record. Alice begins with a stable but unremarkable routine that unravels upon Ulysse's reappearance. Her subsequent travels across Europe serve as both a literal search and a metaphorical exploration of regret, identity, and alternate life paths.
Supporting characters encountered in different cities provide context and contrast to Alice's situation. Interactions with these figures evolve based on prior choices, reinforcing the theme that small shifts in behavior produce noticeable differences in outcomes. The European comic art style grounds the locations in recognizable detail while the time-altering mechanic introduces unexpected turns.
Is It Worth Playing?
Across the Grooves suits players who enjoy choice-based visual novels and stories that reward experimentation across multiple runs. The emphasis on personality shifts and parallel realities offers a focused take on time-travel themes without relying on combat or intricate systems.
Reception highlights the hand-drawn artwork, consistent tone, and the way music supports the narrative shifts. Reviewers note the game's length per playthrough and the satisfaction of uncovering different endings through deliberate choices. Those seeking fast-paced action or ongoing content updates may find the experience more limited, as it remains a complete, self-contained title released in 2020 with no further seasons or expansions.
The game appeals most to audiences interested in European comic aesthetics, reflective storytelling, and the mechanics of consequence in a linear yet branching format. Its strength lies in delivering varied outcomes from a compact set of decisions rather than expansive open-world elements.
