Afterparty

Enjoyed the world building and general vibes, gameplay-wise on the casual side but worth playing for fans of narrative games

Afterparty is a truly remarkable video game. If you're looking for a compact narrative driven game this one is absolutely worth the price and everyone will find something to enjoy in it. I did not go into the game with high expectations, because I expected one of those trauma dump VNs where the characters bemoan their tragic pasts in a world that's meant to make you feel just as depressed as they are. What I got was nothing of the sort. The version of Hell that Night School Studios have created is full of colorful and creative demons and condemned humans. It's a sprawling bureaucracy in which everyone has realized that there are no consequences to drinking if you're already dead. Satan himself has given up on it preferring instead to throw elaborate house parties and offering mortals a second chance if they can beat him at his own game: getting drunk. Afterparty is a gorgeous game. The towns in this Hell have a color scheme that wouldn't be out of place in Cyberpunk and the detailed backgrounds and environments paint a picture of world that's lived in by residents that don't really care. It's littered with bars and clubs, in which most of the game takes place. It's got great, albeit usually subtle, music that skips clear track boundaries and instead provides a very free flowing background to the action on screen (culminating in the best moment of the game with Satan, fittingly backed by the best track in the game). It really made me wishing for more, you're very limited in where you can go which is fine for a game in this style but i wanted to wander down alleyways or pop into the dive bars and just see what disgruntled occupants I'd find in them. The glue for it all is how well the game is written. Yeah there are a few eye rollers in there but impressively the game never feels like its trying too hard. The dialogue is believable and masterfully flows between light and quippy to sometimes heavier as the characters grapple with their positions in Hell. There are scenes that play on the MCs often troubled backgrounds, usually played out for them by their personal demon Wormhorn, but what really took me by surprise is how much it got me to care about the demons in Hell, especially Satan himself. No major characters are annoying or grating, and the game knows when it should be hard boiled and when it should stay light. I didn't cringe my way through it which already make it a standout. And of course the voice acting. It is incredible, good voice acting is the expectation for a game like this but it really goes above and beyond. The escaped from reality setting really makes for a lot of creativity in the voices, your taxi drive Sam is sardonic with a drawl, Satan sounds powerful and commanding, Wormhorn is shrill and flighty, all of it is expressed in such a lively and enthusiastic way that the writing could have been a lot worse than it was and I would have probably been fine with it. The point of this game is not the gameplay but I'd be remise to not mention it. It's there, most of the game is walking and picking dialogue options but the gameplay sequences are nicely positioned to make it feel immersive. You can buy drinks at the various bars and clubs that change your dialogue choices, you play mini games and complete challenges when Milo and Lola are doing something, and you can navigate around the world map to the various islands in a sea of fire. It's well past the line that separates a virtual novel from a video game and that's important to me. My biggest criticism of the game is that it left me wanting for more. The main story is a good length but I want to talk more to the demons and explore the nooks and crannies of Hell. I hope it gets a sequel or at least a DLC. It was a genuinely excellent experience from the start to the end.