Until Then

If I could lose all my memories to replay 5 games, this would be one of them. The emotional rollercoaster this game puts you through opened my eyes and taught me things about life that I never considered beforehand. If there is one story game I could recommend to someone, it would be this one. The story, the characters, and the art style are all 9.5/10 or better. My only pieces of advice are to go into this game blind and watch the credits to the very end

AAAHH SOO PEAK as a filipino who hasn't been able to go back for a while this also filled in that hole in my heart cathy is the goat please play this game or at least try the demo, me personally I absolutely loved the story, it's so worth its price, I feel $20 almost isn't enough for how great it is also my pc is a potato but it was still great

I went into it expecting a story, but I didn’t expect it to leave such a heavy feeling behind. By the end, I wasn’t sure if I had finished the game… or if the game had finished me emotionally. One of the things that impressed me the most was Mark’s development throughout the story. Watching him grow, mature, and understand the people around him was genuinely rewarding. What stood out to me was how inherently kind he is despite everything he carries. There is a sincerity to him that feels rare, the kind of person who chooses empathy even when it would be easier not to. I can relate a lot to that side of him honestly... Without going into spoilers, there is a particular moment where Nicole lashes out at him, expressing that he could never truly understand what she was feeling. The way Mark responds genuinely showed how much he had grown. It wasn’t about proving himself right or defending his own perspective.( which he could've easily done by expressing his own tragedy, which I found much more valid than Nicole's tbh).. it was about listening, understanding, and accepting someone else’s pain. That moment alone showed so much emotional maturity. The themes Until Then explores are incredibly human: loss, feeling left behind while everyone else seems to move forward, watching the spark in other people’s eyes while wondering when yours disappeared, uncertainty about the future, and the fear that maybe you’re running out of time. These are heavy themes, but what impressed me was how realistically they were portrayed. I know some people might describe this game as depressing, but I personally found it beautiful. Because even amongst all that sadness, there is so much life. I loved seeing these characters grow, stumble, fail, dream, and try again. Their flaws made them feel real. Their little victories felt meaningful. Their relationships felt genuine. It honestly felt like watching younger siblings grow up. I especially connected with Cathy. The way she saw the light in others while feeling like she was losing her own was something that really resonated with me. That feeling of looking around and wondering why everyone else seems to be shining while you’re still trying to find your own spark. And then hearing her say: "I want you to see my eyes shine too." There is something incredibly bittersweet about that sentiment. That desire to be seen, to finally have your own moment and "thing", to finally feel like you’re moving forward too. It leaves you thinking about how fragile life can be and how sometimes a single moment, a single second too late, can change everything. Maybe that’s why the game stayed with me. It reminds you that time is always moving, whether we are ready for it or not. So the best thing we can do is cherish the moments we have, the people around us, and the little sparks that keep us going. I absolutely want to revisit this game after finishing the DLC. I bought it yesterday because I am very curious on how you can add to this already wonderful game. I want to see what else they have to share, what other emotions they can pull from me, and what other moments they can create that will probably (most definitely) hurt me all over again. Later on, I also want to return to experience the other endings. Not because I want to change the ending I got, but because I feel like Until Then is the kind of story that deserves to be revisited. A beautiful, highly reflective, bittersweet experience about growing up, losing things, finding things, and trying to keep your own light alive. Until Then broke my heart a little… and somehow, I’m grateful it did.

A beautiful game with an emotional and mysterious story. The characters are fantastic, you quickly grow attached to them and genuinely care about their journeys. The pixel art and animation are simply wonderful, bringing the world to life with charm and detail. It’s a true gem that stays with you long after you’ve finished playing.

Visual novels are, in a sense, a special genre. You can get away with many things as creator. It's all about the charm. Making people love characters. Keeping them in suspense, waiting for another plot twist. Worrying about the fate of your favorite tamagotchis. You can even get away with some horrible cases of awful pacing. If only the pay-off at the end of the story is worth it. In case of Until Then - it just wasn't worth the wait. Pacing is horrible. And I mean Steins;Gate level horrible. But without nice conclusion, because the whole plot got wraped up by classic case of ass-pull to somehow glue all the wierdness that happens. The cherry on top: The mystery doesn't really exist till late 20% of the game. Which means something. Then: the whole slice of life aspect works only if you liked two particural female characters. Which might not quite work for you if you're not particularly fond of the Tsundere or needy teenager archetype. The message and theme - were simply better implemented and explored by other titles. With much better gameplay. Bellow examples: [spoiler]Omori for trauma exploration Steins;Gate - alternate timelines, playing with changing the reality Persona series - slice of life + hanging out with Friends 999 Series - The Mystery Gnosia - people disappearing, different realities and exploring different scenarios to answer the question: what's goin on? 1000xRESIST - wierdness, mystery, art sense, trauma[/spoiler]

Damn what a roller coaster. Not gonna spoil anything, but it's such a beautiful and emotional game. DO NOT look anything up and be sure to go in blind. It's one of those games where you just have to reflect after you play it.

I want my $6 back HIGHKEY. The first chapter was so strong, but the rest was so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ bafflingly bad. A huge ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ waste of time with minor changes and the script writers getting lost in the sauce with their own STORY in the later CHAPTERS. There's better ways to express grief and loss, but the gameplay is such a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ pain to get through with the two main characters I lost all my endearment towards. Do yourself a favor and finish the first chapter and go to the DLC if you value your time.

Some games entertain you for a weekend, some games make you think, and then there are the rare ones that quietly settle somewhere in your heart long after the credits roll... and this game is one of those experience... I knew coming into this game was going to be a coming of age story by just the looks of it. You hang out with your friends, you got to school, you meet your love interest, yadda yadda yadda.. but as you play the game.. you notice something unsettling but you can't put your finger on it.. What makes the game so special isn't some huge twist or constant action. It's the way it slowly earns your emotional investment. Before you realize it, these characters stop feeling like backgrounds, unimportant characters, and start feeling like someone who is as important as the main character. Their victories make you smile, their struggles hurt, and the quiet moments in between become just as memorable as the big ones. The pixel art is gorgeous, full of expressive animations and subtle details that bring every scene to life. Pair that with an incredible soundtrack, and the atmosphere becomes something truly special. i want more of this, I NEED MORE OF THIS. THE WRITING IS AMAZING! It amazes me how mature the writing is. It tackles loneliness, grief, uncertainty, friendship, family, and the fear of not knowing what comes next without ever feeling preachy or melodramatic. It trusts the player to sit with those emotions instead of spelling everything out. and that ending? damn... I won't say anything...Not because there's some massive spoiler waiting for you, but because this is one of those stories that deserves to be experienced exactly as it was intended. Go in blind. Let the game take you where it wants to take you. Until Then isn't trying to be the loudest game in your library. It just wants to tell a story. Why don't you give the game the time it deserves and dive in to one of my favorite story driven game....

Perfectly encapsulates the passage of time in the absence of certainty of what the future holds. Its narrative is riddled with subtle nudges that something is amiss: misaligned memories, improbable coincidences, unexplained disappearances, remnants of déjà vu. Yet the game allows this mystique to persist and remain unsolved for quite sometime, instead centering its gameplay around ordinary rhythms like commuting, attending classes, and conversing with others. Through this, Until Then mirrors a broader lived reality of day-to-day life with its characters navigating changes that are often not cleanly resolved, and properly understood long after they have already happened. It's difficult to explain just how patiently resonant this game is without delving into spoilers, but all of this is presented in a beautiful 2.5D artstyle, melancholic soundtrack, and a broad cast of characters that will be sure to pull at anyone's heartstrings in one way or another. Cathy's storyline hit unfortunately very close to home, with me also growing up with a very similar family dynamic as her. But seeing the game highlight that the environment that dimmed her spark holds no testament to the person she truly is to both herself and others, along with the kind of life she deserves to live, genuinely made me teary-eyed on several occasions. While certainly difficult, I strive to be just as forgiving to myself, and see the future's uncertainty as potential for better things to come as opposed to a source of dread. I write this review in hopes that this game will reach many others who will resonate with it, or at the very least have a highly memorable visual novel experience <3 Unless you want to get perfect on all mini-games...

went into this game blindly, never expected it to be among my top favorite games of all time. playing this on Filipino language was ABSOLUTLEY necessary as a filipino myself. love how the game captured the nostalgia of Filipino culture circa 2015. tumatanda na talaga tayo hays GET THIS GAME YOU WILL HAVE ZERO REGRETS!!!! trust (LOUISE MY IDOL)