Discovering Howly through Adastra and then Echo has been a treat. Getting around to Arches, I had low expectations based on the relative lack of buzz compared to Adastra and Echo. But this has to be Howly's best writing yet.
Spoiler warning below
The largest frustrations seem to come from:
1) expectation of an Echo sequel/ answers to Echo. This is better viewed as a spin-off that borrows some characters/settings from the Echo universe.
2) There are no routes/choices which may have verbose l become an expectation from Echo Project.
3) Art style feeling more different than Echo. I also found the art style a little jarring at first, but the quality and effective use of CGs, expressive sprites, and backgrounds made me quickly adjust to this. I think the art style also helps separate this from those expecting a direct continuation from Echo.
Regardless of the above, the writing and characterizations in Arches are Howly's strongest. Howly does a great job painting a picture of the different mindsets of the three main characters, making you root for all of them despite their very human flaws. The way the smaller characters and villains are also written with depth really show Howly's skill in character building.
Despite some tropey moments used to set up much of the conflict, the strong characterizations of each lead character's flaws and personalities more than make up for it.
The epilogue hits you like a brick and Devon/Cameron is easily the most rootable/ lovable romance pairing yet in an Echo Project.
Music and graphics are used extremely well to elevate many scenes. I hope to see more gay romance with substance from Echo Project after this incredible read.