Afterdream is a psychological horror developed by Jesse Makkonen and published by Feardemic. Through a heavy atmosphere and puzzle solving, the short story is told with 2D pixel art and 4D emotions. Taking place through a peculiar and long therapy session, we join Jen in her journey of personal growth when dealing with grief, loss and change, while retaining a sense of self in the midst of it all.
Afterdream is available on PlayStation 5, Steam, Xbox and Nintendo Switch for £8.99 ($10.99).
Story – Loss and Lost
The story of Afterdream is structured around a surreal therapy experience, in which Jennifer is talking her ‘therapist’ through her series of mysterious dreams. We relive the dreams in an attempt to untangle their meaning. Jen needs to find a powerful object to end the dream, an object with emotional significance to her. As she ventures deeper into the haunted mansion in which her dreams take place, she encounters faceless ghosts, tumorous monstrosities and an artistic ice sculptor among others who are all key to finding answers.
Afterdream’s runtime is roughly around 3 hours, this in itself making the experience feel like a product of paradoxical sleep. As Jen unveils her nighttime torments, she begins to open up about recent life events, and it is through a harsh phone call that we learn this is a journey through grief. Facing the unknown, Jen must persist until the end to wake up and find her closure. While the story is short, there is plenty to ponder through the world, unspoken dialogue or notes left on scraps of paper by other estranged minds.
Journeying through darkness makes the light shine brighter.
Gameplay – Point-and-Click the Camera
There are no enemies to fight or hide from, instead the bulk of the gameplay revolving around puzzle solving. This is done by using the contextual environmental clues provided, answering the occasional riddle and combining inventory items to find solutions. As is the nature of the point-and-click style genre, some backtracking is required in order to reach previously inaccessible areas. This is often slow, but the small setting prevents retracing your steps from becoming tedious. When you are able to interact with your environment, a small prompt appears which doubles as list of actions for you to select from.
A short way into the game, Jen is provided with a camera. While it seems an unusual time to take up photography, this camera has the unusual power of exposing concealed objects, therefore it is often necessary to scan your surroundings through the lens using square. This offers the ability to manipulate reality. On one or two occasions Afterdream came to a standstill waiting for me to remember the camera, enabling me to progress the story and Jen to process her emotions. Jen also possesses a flash mechanic (presumably in the camera, not Jen herself) temporarily illuminating the screen, which is particularly useful during blackouts.
Puzzles include finding and deciphering patterns.
Audio and Graphics – Lucid Dreaming
The dreamworlds are built using a dingy palette of 2D pixel art, each of the rooms hosting personality as well as ghostly apparitions. Combining a flickering overlay with the change in aspect ratio makes it seem as though the player is watching Afterdream through a vintage slide projector, a feeling which adds to the omnipresent melancholic atmosphere. That being said, the option to lessen the intensity of the screen flicker had minimal impact, which may leave Afterdream unplayable for those sensitive to flashing lights.
This atmosphere is enhanced through the accompanying soundtrack, which changes based on the level you are exploring, fading in and out with the beats of the story. The sounds within the game world help to maintain the tension, the creaking of footsteps on floorboards or echoing drips sometimes being your only company. Overall the audio follows the rest of the game design, being simple yet effective, switching between soothing music and chilling diegetic noise.
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- Photography is not the only out of place moment in Afterdream.
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- Each room has personality and hides equipment which may be useful.
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- Frequent changes in lighting effectively cause discomfort.
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- The pixel art builds intricately detailed environments.
Afterdream was reviewed on PS5 with a key provided by Feardemic.
