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Taiqing.
I don’t think I need to say much more.
We all need wholesome best boi Taiqing in our lives. He automatically makes this game a 10/10.

…Ah, but I do beg your pardon. You wanted a review of the full game, didn’t you? Allow me to start over…
Threefold Recital is an absolutely spectacular video game, and I’d go as far as to say it’s one of the best games I’ve ever played!! The visuals and music are nice, but it’s the amazing and insanely well-written story where this game truly shines.
I deeply enjoy this game’s beautiful art style, and all the characters and environments are super detailed and well-drawn and look great! The soundtrack is very nice as well, with some nice melodies and banger tracks.
Out of all the music tracks, however, one track stands out to me the most, and that is Taiqing’s piano theme, titled “My Own Way”. This isn’t even my bias for Taiqing speaking; it’s genuinely one of the best, most beautiful piano pieces I’ve ever heard, and it’s heartbreaking in the context in which it plays in game.
Now, for the gameplay! Threefold Recital is a fun and compelling visual novel experience with platformer mechanics that are implemented super well! It’s very cute to watch the main characters jump around. I love all of the fun varieties of puzzles scattered around the story, none of them too easy or too hard. My favorite puzzle has to be the sliding puzzle dungeon in the later part of the game! It did a similar kind of thing to Zelda Skyward Sword’s Sky Keep, which had a super innovative and creative sliding puzzle architecture that I LOVE. Threefold Recital’s sliding puzzle dungeon is very similar but more in-depth, and I LOVE it!!!
One thing that must be discussed about this game is the charm and quirkiness of all the references and off-brand titles! CANDY BRUSH had me laughing uncontrollably for five minutes!!! And I really love Triratna’s “OBJECTION” moment which is a clear nod to Ace Attorney. (Seriously, whoever drew Triratna’s glorious “OBJECTION” pose deserves a raise.)
Of course, we need to talk about the characters as well. I absolutely love the main trio, and it didn’t take long at all to get attached to them! Transia’s sassiness and sarcasm never fails to get a chuckle out of me. I found Triratna very endearing because beneath this monk’s calm and strong exterior, he’s a little bit of a dork with an extensive library of dad jokes!
And of course, TAIQING!! I love everything about my boi Taiqing!!
In fact, the entire cast of characters in Threefold Recital is fantastic, and the side characters all have a wide variety of personalities, backstories and subplots. Some of my favorites among the side characters are Smarty who is cool, Drab who is eccentric in a fun way, and Johnny Chen who I will never forgive for the things he did to Taiqing. Give me Wai Fai back!!!
Naite Maer, however, definitely stands out among the rest of the side characters to me. In fact, I’d say he’s tied with Triratna for my second favorite character spot (Taiqing being first place obviously). While I absolutely loved his humorous slapstick moments throughout the game, he is such a great and respectable dude, as seen especially during his interaction with Taiqing at the very end of Chapter 2.
On the topic of the cast of characters, I liked the ending of this game’s story because it showed every single one of these characters getting a proper conclusion. That, in my opinion, is what a proper video game ending should be like.
(Except, uh… was Taiqing ever able to finally pay up his late rent??)
Above all else, however, the overall story and plot is where this game shines. There are lots of plot twists and reveals throughout the story, several of which made me go “WHAT!!!” and stand up and walk around, processing what I just learned. And when I stand up and walk around, you know it’s serious. Additionally, several of these reveals are written in such a way that they were right in front of you all along, but you didn’t realize. The true genius of this game’s plot is how it dots little details, some of which you might overlook or dismiss as trivial, throughout the story prior to big reveals. And then they all connect into one ultimate turning point. And this happens again and again until by the end you’re speechless, like I was. That is GENIUS storytelling.
And just when I thought this game couldn’t get any better, Harrod and Willie from Mercury Abbey made a cameo together!!! And you can talk to them anytime between chapters!
Overall, Threefold Recital is an absolutely fantastic video game with some of the best storytelling I’ve ever seen in any media. And it’s presented with nice music, detailed artwork, and charming puzzles and platformer gameplay! It’s already my top candidate for Game of the Year 2025, and I absolutely recommend that you play it!!
Overall Rating: 10/10!!!