Pep's Season of Spooks - Game 15
As a fan of Jesse Makkonen's DISTRAINT games I felt compelled to play this follow-up. In the same vein as those games, Afterdream is a gorgeous, dreamlike (heh) puzzle-horror that is definitely recommended for those who like their spooks a little more low-key.
The gameplay of Afterdream consists mostly of exploration, solving puzzles and talking to the game's colourful cast of characters. You are rarely in danger, and even the moments where you can die barely carry any consequence. There are a few small jumpscares - mainly audio-based stings and flashes of monsters - but nothing nightmarish and nothing I couldn't handle. For this I would consider this a great "gateway" game for anyone who wants to take their first steps into the horror genre.
The puzzles are fairly balanced and varied, from simple "find the right item for the right object" tasks to more complex tasks akin to Resident Evil and other survival horror games. The camera function is a fun gimmick and whenever I got stumped, more than likely the camera was the solution.
The themes of grief and loss are prevalent throughout, and the story took some intriguing twists and turns - however, I must admit being a little bit let down by the ending. In fact, the very last moments of the game left me feeling quite deflated. However this didn't ruin the experience since the storytelling leading up to it had been so strong. Jennifer is a great, sympathetic protagonist - along with Decarnation, 2023 has been a very good year for female-led pixel-art horror games.
With beautiful visuals, unnerving sound design and a strong story, I'm sure Afterdream will be popping up in "underrated horror game" lists for years to come.
Scary Rating 4/10 - Overall Rating 7/10
As a fan of Jesse Makkonen's DISTRAINT games I felt compelled to play this follow-up. In the same vein as those games, Afterdream is a gorgeous, dreamlike (heh) puzzle-horror that is definitely recommended for those who like their spooks a little more low-key.
The gameplay of Afterdream consists mostly of exploration, solving puzzles and talking to the game's colourful cast of characters. You are rarely in danger, and even the moments where you can die barely carry any consequence. There are a few small jumpscares - mainly audio-based stings and flashes of monsters - but nothing nightmarish and nothing I couldn't handle. For this I would consider this a great "gateway" game for anyone who wants to take their first steps into the horror genre.
The puzzles are fairly balanced and varied, from simple "find the right item for the right object" tasks to more complex tasks akin to Resident Evil and other survival horror games. The camera function is a fun gimmick and whenever I got stumped, more than likely the camera was the solution.
The themes of grief and loss are prevalent throughout, and the story took some intriguing twists and turns - however, I must admit being a little bit let down by the ending. In fact, the very last moments of the game left me feeling quite deflated. However this didn't ruin the experience since the storytelling leading up to it had been so strong. Jennifer is a great, sympathetic protagonist - along with Decarnation, 2023 has been a very good year for female-led pixel-art horror games.
With beautiful visuals, unnerving sound design and a strong story, I'm sure Afterdream will be popping up in "underrated horror game" lists for years to come.
Scary Rating 4/10 - Overall Rating 7/10