Threefold Recital | Steam Deck Review

February 12, 2025 Alyssa White

I’m always on the hunt for a good, cozy game. Nothing beats curling up and becoming absorbed in a virtual world to escape your everyday life. Everspace Games has crafted a truly welcoming game with Threefold Recital. I adored my time in its universe.

The Three Best Friends

In Threefold Recital, you play as three different protagonists. There’s Triratna, a wolf who is a Buddhist monk, Daoist priest/fox Taiqing, and snake Transia. Each has their own special power(s). Triratna can see and sever karma lines, Taiqing can enter another dimension to hear and see what’s hidden in the main world, and Transia has the gift of being able to travel through murals and utilize bodypaint to transform into other characters. I adored each character and their individual personalities.

They reside in the world of Bluescales, which is segmented into different zones. Each zone has its own distinctive style and flavor. Starting off, the three are separated and each have their own unique mystery they must solve while utilizing their particular set of skills. After these cases are tied up, they’re brought back together to crack the biggest puzzle. You’ll need all three to solve this enigma and bring peace back to Bluescales. I loved the approach the game took in rolling out these episodes and was intrigued for my entire ten hour playthrough.

How Did You Do That?!

Threefold Recital utilizes multiple game genres. It’s got flavorings of visual novels, puzzle games, and platformers. It’s very gentle in these approaches, and I greatly appreciated that most of the gameplay wasn’t too challenging. My only gripe was with the difficulty spike in its puzzles at the end of the game. It was cozy and simple, then jumped to being rather more difficult. It felt a tad jarring. Otherwise, this game nails blending several genres together beautifully. It felt like the gaming equivalent of being wrapped in a warm blanket.

Quite the Looker

Threefold Recital is a gorgeous game. I adored the bright and colorful visuals and the character design was exquisite. Each tiny detail felt like it was added with love and care. The soundtrack was also wonderful. Its cheerful tracks lifted my spirits and fit with the gameplay perfectly. Another plus was the localization, with only a few typos slipping past in its large amount of dialogue. It’s also genuinely hilarious, with character names evoking Phoenix Wright (think Sherr Lok, Toma To, etc.).

The Final Verdict

Threefold Recital feels like a warm hug of a game. It melds genres together beautifully while mostly maintaining an even level of gentle challenge. It also looks great with wonderful music to compliment what’s going on. This is a charming, cozy game that deserves some more love.

To hear me talk more about Threefold Recital, be sure to listen to the February 6, 2025 episode of The Gaming Outsider podcast around the 1:03:19 time stamp.

This review is based on a Steam copy of Threefold Recital provided by Jesus Fabre for coverage purposes. As of the time of this writing, it is exclusive to this platform.