Visual Novel Takes Fans Back To Gravity Falls, Kinda

It’s been a year since Gravity Falls aired its series finale, and I, one of the show’s many super-fans, miss it so much. But now, there’s a visual novel on the way that can help me relive some of the wackiness of that small, mysterious Oregon town. It’s called Reverse Falls.

The idea for Reverse Falls first appeared in a 2017 April Fools trailer produced by Mike Inel, a YouTube animator whose credits include “What if The Amazing World Of Gumball was an anime“. Soon after the video was released, the Giddy Fresh Team formed in order to make the joke idea a game, currently playable as a demo that introduces the game’s concept and characters. (Mike Inel is not listed as a member of the team.)

Reverse Falls takes place in an alternate timeline of Gravity Falls. After facing defeat by the Pines twins in his original reality, Bill Cipher, an evil dream-demon and main antagonist of the original show, visits in order to team up with his counterpart, Will, and take over the universe.

In this reality, some character traits and relationship dynamics have changed dramatically. For example, Wendy is now Goth, even wearing a version of Robbie’s jumper from the original series. Robbie is geekier but nicer, and the two are dating. (Their counterparts in the original reality, as fans of the show will remember, broke up.) Additionally, Mabel seems to be more interested in the paranormal than Dipper and practices magic by casting spells. Pacifica and Gideon are friendly and goofy, whereas Mabel and Dipper come across as malicious and conniving. This is in contrast to the original show, where the Pines twins were the protagonists, and Pacifica and Gideon were the antagonists.

The demo splices lines of Bill Cipher’s dialogue and other sound effects from the show. Although the characters have largely been redesigned, many of the familiar areas remain the same, such as Greasy’s Diner, the woods, and the overlooking shot of the town.

Currently, there is not much to do in the demo besides click through and read what little story it offers. In the final version of the game, Giddy Fresh plans to include more point and click elements. They also state that the game will have “an inventory/map system, along with mini-puzzles, mini-games, and branching story choices”. The demo has some sexual, albeit non-graphic, content, but the developers say that it will “remain appropriate enough for younger fans of Gravity Falls to enjoy”.

Although it isn’t the original Gravity Falls, I’m interested in seeing where this fan-made universe goes. I’d also love to see the original character versions make a cameo. I’m also curious to see how closely Giddy Fresh follows the original April Fools trailer in terms of its overall concept, features and storyline.

You can follow the development of the game on Tumblr. The developers also plan to release a more official prologue demo in the near future; however there isn’t an exact release date at this time.