Afterdream is a pixel art horror title that puts atmosphere and puzzle-solving above all else. Taking place within the psyche of our protagonist as she recounts her vivid dreams, this format allows Afterdream to make liberal use of weird imagery to tell an intriguing and engaging story.
Drawing inspiration from classic survival horror games - specifically in how you solve puzzles - Afterdream requires you to observe your surroundings and interact with the objects found within. For the most part, you’ll find items that might be missing a key component, meaning you’ll need to search the adjacent rooms and return once you’ve found what you’re looking for.
It’s basic stuff, but Afterdream manages to maintain engagement by striking a strong balance with its difficulty. Some puzzles may initially seem perplexing, but thanks to the confined nature of each environment, it won’t be long before you figure out what needs to be done. As such, Afterdream’s pacing is one of its strongest aspects, bolstered by a snappy UI that never gets in the way. However, we would have welcomed the ability to run at times during the game.
To help guide you, you’ll obtain a camera fairly early in the game, and utilising this at every possible opportunity is key to discovering Afterdream’s secrets. It has two primary functions: the first is a simple “quick-fire” mechanic where you use the camera’s flash to briefly illuminate your surroundings and power up objects. The other function is, of course, to take pictures. Whipping out your camera, you can move the lens around to locate hidden objects that, while invisible to the naked eye, are illuminated in the viewfinder. Taking a picture of the object then allows it to materialise in the environment. This means that if you’re struggling to locate a key item in the conventional sense, you might need to just give the area a quick scan with the camera to see what might be lurking.
In terms of scares, this is the one area that we feel Afterdream could have pushed a bit further. It’s limited to subtle moments, such as a flickering light, a shadow wandering past a doorway, or a quick jump scare as a creepy figure flashes into view. Given the fact that we’re quite literally navigating someone’s dream, we feel there could have been more opportunities to really freak out the player.
Having said that, it’s the overarching atmosphere that drives the experience home. The ambient music is haunting and amplifies the sense of dread at just the right moments, while the dirty, gritty colour palette combined with a subtle noise filter makes for some effective visuals. Finally, while the lack of screen real estate might be off-putting for some, we found the intentional use of black bars at the top and bottom a great way of keeping the view focused, allowing for a wider perspective of each room.
If you’re looking for a quick jaunt through a beautifully haunting 2D world then Afterdream is a solid choice. While it’s a shame the game doesn’t lean into scares quite as much as we’d have liked, the atmosphere makes up for this and the puzzles should keep you engaged from start to finish.
Comments 13
Well... This game looks too much similar to DISTRAINT. Yeah, I know that those games are developed by Jesse Makkonen too, but still. It looks like some kind of reimagining of DISTRAINT...
Lacking a run function? Don't you know that you can never run in dreams? You always just end up running on the spot or at least going at a snail pace even though you feel yourself sprinting as hard as you can go but somehow heavy legs hold you back.
@LavaTwilight I disagree. I had a few dreams where I was running, at least. In one of them, I've seen Kayako Saeki(Ju-On J-Horror series antagonist) in the window, ran downstairs 'till the first floor, met her, after that, I got some knife out of nowhere and when I was about to hit her with knife... I woke up, lol.
Reviewer: "not scary enough"
Me: Gets scared just from looking at the screen shots posted in this review.
Anyone else used to get utterly scared by old horror rpg-maker games?
@FishyS I think some people only get off on jump scares. I prefer the slow buildup, and uneasiness.
horror is the hardest genre for filmmakers/game devs
Nintendo Life will just about review anything before they get to FC 24.
'Good pacing throughout' yet 'A 'run' or 'jog' function would have been welcome' - make up your mind NL 😜
I'd argue that not all horror games need scares and a run/jog function seems to go against the genre and especially the setting as @LavaTwilight mentioned but still, overall great review and even though this genre isn't my cup of tea I'm glad to see the Switch getting yet another good horror game!
@Vyacheslav333 true I'm pretty sure I've ran in dreams before... but all too often in dreams where I've had to run, I find that I can't. And that is a typical trope of scary dreams.
It's cool, enjoying it quite much for the moment although the surrealist tone, music, dialogues and a couple more things remind me a lot of Lone Survivor.
@Vyacheslav333 I like the fact running is not allowed, it helps setting the right pace of the gameplay in my opinion
@Bardoom Lol. I didn't say anything about running in the game. )
Edit: I was talking about running in the dreams...
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