Afterdream is short and sweet coming in at around 3-4 hours runtime and in general I had a good time with it. If it weren't for the fact it was a horror game I might even call it relaxing, as most of your time is spent enjoying the unfolding story and solving simple puzzles. There is a constant implied threat that occasionally manifests itself but you're never in any real danger. I don't see this as a bad thing however - in fact I think it fits the game well.
The focus is clearly on the story in Afterdream. You play as Jennifer, whom awakes in a mysterious, dilapidated building that almost feels like a dream. Donning an unfamiliar suit, you venture out of the eerie bedroom you woke up in to unravel the mystery surrounding you and your whereabouts. On your journey you will encounter interesting characters with varied personalities, unsettling and seemingly disconnected locations, and maybe the occasional scare. The story is mostly told through textual dialogue - either Jennifer monologuing about her current situation or in conversation with one of the many vibrant characters you meet. While the story itself is quite simple, the people you meet and the constant slew of events kept me hooked for the game's duration. Nothing here is going to blow your mind but the stable pacing and dream-like theming meant by the time I hit credits I was mostly satisfied. Mostly. Occasional hiccups in grammar, spelling, writing style and more brought me out of the experience. Stuff like saying "eatable" instead of "edible", "electroshocked" instead of "electrocuted" or even alluding to getting a noble prize for... sculpting something? Hell there was even a verbatim Lord of the Rings quote thrown in at one point. It's all minor stuff, but it was constant enough that it detracted from my enjoyment somewhat.
Gameplay-wise things are very simple. It is essentially a point-and-click adventure with a few bells and whistles, and puzzles are typically solved in a linear fashion. Every chapter you arrive at a new location and solve puzzles one after another, each leading into the next, until the end. There is plenty of variety here too - of course we have the classic "use item on thing" type puzzle, but we also have a plethora of unique, self-contained, Resident Evil-style puzzles that I enjoyed solving. I never particularly found myself stuck, but with the aforementioned linearity your experience may vary. A significant amount of the puzzles also involve the use of a special camera that, upon taking a photograph, might reveal hidden objects in the environment to help you on your way. Maybe half the time there are contextual or dialogue clues that encourage you towards using the camera. However, you quickly learn it's advantageous to use it in every nook and cranny regardless as there are plenty of situations where there are no hints towards a room containing a hidden object. This became a point of frustration - if you're stuck on where to go next, more often than not it's because you missed an unannounced hidden object.
Visually, Afterdream is very distinct. Everything is drawn in a pixel art style and then heavily manipulated and distorted with layers of post-process visual effects. A lot of love went into this - characters are smoothly animated and each room is noticeably different to the last, full of minute details and animations that bring them to life. It was all thematically consistent too; everything felt grimey and well-lived in and the visual effects constantly remind you of the dream-like scenario. My only criticism is that sometimes the post-processing was so heavy it obscured some of the scares. Often this was definitely the intention, but other times I got the feeling not so much.
Finally we come to the audio. Audio is always incredibly important in horror to build atmosphere and Afterdream succeeded tremendously. Ambient drones were used to great effect to build tension, with layers of atmospheric foley like a log fire burning or your echoing footsteps on a hollow wooden floor. Dialogue indications pleasantly blended into the mix and even the little ticks as you scroll through your inventory felt satisfying. When tensions rise a cacophony of sound assaults the ears and draws you into the moment, greatly enhancing the visual onslaughts the game loves to indulge in. If it isn't clear yet, the audio was a definite highlight for me and I massively encourage anyone playing to take the game's advice and wear headphones for the best experience.
Getting down to brass tacks, Afterdream is what I would call "accessible" horror. Everything about it is non-taxing: it probably won't get your heartrate up, the puzzles are varied but simple and the story is engaging but relatively one note. At the end of the day Afterdream is well crafted and entertaining, despite some minor fumbles. If you enjoy a mystery and are up for some light spooks, then I highly encourage you give it a go.
The focus is clearly on the story in Afterdream. You play as Jennifer, whom awakes in a mysterious, dilapidated building that almost feels like a dream. Donning an unfamiliar suit, you venture out of the eerie bedroom you woke up in to unravel the mystery surrounding you and your whereabouts. On your journey you will encounter interesting characters with varied personalities, unsettling and seemingly disconnected locations, and maybe the occasional scare. The story is mostly told through textual dialogue - either Jennifer monologuing about her current situation or in conversation with one of the many vibrant characters you meet. While the story itself is quite simple, the people you meet and the constant slew of events kept me hooked for the game's duration. Nothing here is going to blow your mind but the stable pacing and dream-like theming meant by the time I hit credits I was mostly satisfied. Mostly. Occasional hiccups in grammar, spelling, writing style and more brought me out of the experience. Stuff like saying "eatable" instead of "edible", "electroshocked" instead of "electrocuted" or even alluding to getting a noble prize for... sculpting something? Hell there was even a verbatim Lord of the Rings quote thrown in at one point. It's all minor stuff, but it was constant enough that it detracted from my enjoyment somewhat.
Gameplay-wise things are very simple. It is essentially a point-and-click adventure with a few bells and whistles, and puzzles are typically solved in a linear fashion. Every chapter you arrive at a new location and solve puzzles one after another, each leading into the next, until the end. There is plenty of variety here too - of course we have the classic "use item on thing" type puzzle, but we also have a plethora of unique, self-contained, Resident Evil-style puzzles that I enjoyed solving. I never particularly found myself stuck, but with the aforementioned linearity your experience may vary. A significant amount of the puzzles also involve the use of a special camera that, upon taking a photograph, might reveal hidden objects in the environment to help you on your way. Maybe half the time there are contextual or dialogue clues that encourage you towards using the camera. However, you quickly learn it's advantageous to use it in every nook and cranny regardless as there are plenty of situations where there are no hints towards a room containing a hidden object. This became a point of frustration - if you're stuck on where to go next, more often than not it's because you missed an unannounced hidden object.
Visually, Afterdream is very distinct. Everything is drawn in a pixel art style and then heavily manipulated and distorted with layers of post-process visual effects. A lot of love went into this - characters are smoothly animated and each room is noticeably different to the last, full of minute details and animations that bring them to life. It was all thematically consistent too; everything felt grimey and well-lived in and the visual effects constantly remind you of the dream-like scenario. My only criticism is that sometimes the post-processing was so heavy it obscured some of the scares. Often this was definitely the intention, but other times I got the feeling not so much.
Finally we come to the audio. Audio is always incredibly important in horror to build atmosphere and Afterdream succeeded tremendously. Ambient drones were used to great effect to build tension, with layers of atmospheric foley like a log fire burning or your echoing footsteps on a hollow wooden floor. Dialogue indications pleasantly blended into the mix and even the little ticks as you scroll through your inventory felt satisfying. When tensions rise a cacophony of sound assaults the ears and draws you into the moment, greatly enhancing the visual onslaughts the game loves to indulge in. If it isn't clear yet, the audio was a definite highlight for me and I massively encourage anyone playing to take the game's advice and wear headphones for the best experience.
Getting down to brass tacks, Afterdream is what I would call "accessible" horror. Everything about it is non-taxing: it probably won't get your heartrate up, the puzzles are varied but simple and the story is engaging but relatively one note. At the end of the day Afterdream is well crafted and entertaining, despite some minor fumbles. If you enjoy a mystery and are up for some light spooks, then I highly encourage you give it a go.