The Ride of Your Afterlife

What Comes After is a narrative adventure game from Fahmitsu, Rolling Glory Jam, and Flynn’s Arcade.

If you want a game that will make you cry like a baby in under two hours, then go no further. This is that game!

(Wipes tears from the keyboard just thinking back on What Comes After…)

Apologies, let’s get started with the review!

Since this game is so short, I will not go deep into the story. All I will say is that you are a young woman (Vivi) who falls asleep on a train, only to wake up surrounded by ghosts of the dead. Everything after needs to be experienced for yourself, and when I say ‘experienced’ I mean it. Saying this game is an experience from start to finish is an understatement.

This game is linear in every sense of the word as you literally go from one end of the train to the other, and then back again. This may sound a bit bland, but the encounters that Vivi has on the way are both thought provoking and emotional to the core of humanity. I’ve played this game once, about a few weeks ago, but everything about it is just so damn MEMORABLE! The ending encounters are some of the most heartfelt moments I’ve seen in a game to date with the second to last encounter being my absolute favorite.

All this is brought together by a beautiful, simple art direction. The colors, the way the characters are portrayed, and the full artwork stills set up such a magical world that Vivi has found herself in. Animations are done well especially in how Vivi is portrayed. Each step or shuffle is timid and sets up her character almost more than words could convey.

Sound wise, everything is fine. The ambient sounds, footsteps, and interactions are all done well, but the piece that steals the show is the final song. Pulang, Kembali from L’Alphalpha is great and really fits the tone of the game.

Much like the game itself, this review is going to be on the short side. I’m afraid to go into much more detail and ruin parts of the game you really must witness for yourself. I highly recommend What Comes After, and right now it sits as my top pick for Narrative game this year!