After Death

A nice little SotN-like. Great pixel art, great music. The gameplay is a little weak (like all Sotn-likes) in that you don't really move faster than your Simon Strut, excluding a cooldowned slightly-faster dash that doesn't even have iframes. You really do feel powerful as you gather more items, though, and exploring is rewarded both with powerups you will want for the final boss and a secret :) Solid 7/10, pick it up during a sale.

I enjoyed it. It took me a little bit to adjust to the main punch attack, which has an unusually small and oddly placed hit box compared to typical metroidvanias. But I wasn't having much difficulty after the first 30 minutes or so. The area designs and bosses were interesting and varied, with the focus seeming to be more on exploration than providing difficult bosses (which I prefer and appreciate). Overall, the game has more of a classic style to it.

After giving this a lot of thought, I can say that this game is a piece of ♥♥♥♥. I got into it, liked the SNES vibes (couldn't afford one as a kid so this was cool to me), but I was kinda repulsed by the lame character and bargain bin dialog boxes. I was about to process my return when the music and animated backgrounds hit me. WOW; I was pulled in by that, and the boss fights are great too. Here are the problems: character animation sucks, you're limited to ONE straight punch as your attack unless you spam magic (you can't), and the hit boxes are kinda funky- like, you can't hit them before they hit you. I love 'Blasphemous' and thought this would be a nice new backdrop. But with the stiff and limited controls, I can't possibly recommend it. Lots of good stuff in here (e.g.: atmosphere), but too much broken gameplay to counteract it. Its too late to return it, but I'd like to express my disappointment with a game that had so much gothic beauty and potential, just to drop the ball on lazy game design, feel, and general assness. What a waste of a cool idea.

Fun throw back Metroidvania. Nothing too flashy or earthshattering but it's competent and has a great pace. Many will probably dislike the back tracking later in the game but it's not as bad as others in the genre. Solid 7.5/10 Looking forward to the Alpha and Omega update to finish off the achievements.

I found this game purely by accident and was pleasantly surprised by it. After Death is a fantastic metroidvania harking back to the classic 2D Castlevania titles from the 16-bit era, even down to the way the main character walks. The game looks and feels like a true Sega Genesis game, the aesthetic is fantastic, the soundtrack is awesome, and the pixel art is gorgeous. In typical metroidvania fashion the player has to traverse a 2D map looking for upgrades and new abilities that unlock more regions of the map. Save rooms and warp rooms allowing fast-travel are scattered through the map making navigation and backtracking easier. The many regions have very distinct designs and color palettes, they are easily recognizable and are a joy to explore, which can't be said of all games in the genre. The game starts quite linear but opens up in the second half once enough special moves have been acquired. Speaking of abilities, the most noteworthy of them are the skills to freeze/unfreeze water, required to solve traversal puzzles involving bodies of water at several points in the game, these are very well done and are never annoying. The controls are tight and responsive and enemies are varied in design and attack patterns providing a decent challenge. I'd say the difficulty is adequate, it's not frustrating but it isn't a cakewalk either. Some bosses, specially the last ones, can be quite difficult and require precision, patience, and memorization of attack patterns. The beginning of the game is harder as the main attack has a short range and most enemies require multiple hits, not to mention some of them are small and hard to hit, but once a few upgrades are acquired it becomes much more manageable and by the end of the game the main character is basically unstoppable. The story is about a nameless skeleton trying to escape from a hellish place full of hostile monsters. The skeleton will meet several lost souls providing clues and insight about how to proceed. It is simple at first but it is deeper than it sounds and it becomes very intriguing as one progresses through the game. It has two endings as far as I know but one of them can be a little cryptic to obtain, in either case both endings are fantastic and wrap up the story beautifully. I can't say enough good things about After Death, I had a blast playing it and loved it from start to finish. Definitely recommended to all metroidvania fans.

Na verdade fiquei dividido em recomendar ou não recomendar, pois o jogo é divertido! Porém o fato de ter que ficar salvando o jogo direto para contornar um bug nos loads entre os estágios que, na maioria das vezes, fecha o jogo quando o bug acontece (sem mencionar que uma vez tive que recomeçar tudo de novo por ter perdido o save do nada!).

What a retro jewel! Two people have given their all to create this throwback experience from the 16-bit era. The team decided to mix an action-platformer with some metroidvania elements with excellent results. The game is engaging but it requires a fair dose of patience because it is not an easy one. This sounds frustrating but thankfully the save points and especially the superb OST really makes you push for one more try. In addition, one element that surprised me in a positive way is the plot. It is a simple one, don't get me wrong, this is not a masterpiece in writing. However, it keeps things interesting after a certain point in the game. All in all, it is a must buy game for any retro fans and people interested in hidden gems.