Afterparty blends genuinely thought-provoking depictions of growing up, working, and the afterlife with great comedy and fantastically awkward conversations. While technically it has a few hiccups, the story and tone they strike are near flawless.
So in the grand tradition of only extreme judgement in this red & green world i'm going to be the knight of the tipping order, so as to bring this score to balance.
This game is a continuation of the traditions set by the studio with their amazing Oxenfree adventure game. Notice the genre - both are essentially adventure games sans unbearable perverted puzzles - all of your decisions lead you somewhere (like all good adventure games should), but contrary to some of the "opinions" here - your decisions DO matter and change the story, although not as much as some would prefer. But you can't see everything the game has to offer in one playthrough, as some of your decisions block other paths (think more quantic dream & telltale).
The story is amazing both in style AND substance, but it is very high-brow and metamodern, brimming with weird puns, existential half-jokes and some serious tone roller coasters. If you understand what i've just blabbered about - you'd love the game, but i can certainly see how it's not everyone's cup of cocktail. Oxenfree was straightforward (yet still on par with Afterparty), but it was something most could relate to. Going through a literal hell pondering Sartre-like question about your own identity and relation to others. It requires you being at least a hipster to try to pass off as enjoying the ride. I still feel a sour aftertaste having to reflect on the game, but that's also why i like it. It's as deep as the setting we play in. Both writing and delivery really sell the extensional motifs.
The art is good, but that's apparent from the trailer. Mini games or okay, but they fit really well into the story, so don't be too harsh on them. Yeah, they are simple and waste time, but they are unapologetically framed as such, so i can't fault the tiny studio for that. Music is great. I don't think it jived with me at first, but the more i play (and the more i listen to it), i can see how subtly it plays on the emotional strings of your soul under several layers of hip hip hop.
So if you like to spend you sundays shivering with dread under the sweat-soaked blanket and you are that wallflower who preferred to look at others dance at the disco, while panicking about the choices you've made in your life - Afterparty is for you. Well.. only if you got through it though, if you still battle with anxiety be a tad more careful, as this thing here gets you in da feels.
Night School has mastered its own style at this point and Afterparty represents its confirmation. It's still seems lacking a real gameplay but that is part of the style, that is all focused on narrative.
At the end of the day though, Afterparty will leave many with a bit of a hangover, wondering if there was more that could have been done with the drinking system and its branching narrative.
Like a sober night in the town with drunken friends, it starts off amusing enough, but it wears out its welcome after a while becoming tiring and grating, and towards the end.
This game gripped me from start to finish, and few games do that. For that reason, I have to give the game a 10. It's on a par with Oxenfree and is definitely worth your time
I love this kind of story games, dialogs of our characthers are on point represent their personalities really well and ending is satisfying only bad thing i can say about the game is walking distances.
In this game you do only two things. Either you walk left, listen to a ton of annoying dialogues (the game literally NEVER shuts up) and occasionally pick one of the two replies which don't have an impact on anything, or you walk right, listen to a ton of annoying dialogues (the game literally NEVER shuts up) and occasionally pick one of the two replies which don't have an impact on anything.
What a disappointment ****. I LOVED Oxenfree, for is the best indie games hands down. When i read that Night School Studio were to released another game i was SO excited cause i thought they had amazing talent doing stories that connect whit people and make you don't want to move out your chair until you finished...i was wrong. Now i see that NSS were just lucky creating Oxenfree. Afterparty is an insult to my expectations. Really boring game, didn't see the time to finish it instead of making me feel like i didn't wanted to finish it. I couldn't even end the game cause of how slow, talkative and empty it was. Going to clubs drink and have stupid dialogue couldn't get any boring that what NSS just created. I wasted my money and left so disappointed that I'm even angry writing this review. Won't buy another NSS game since they just showed me that Oxenfree experience was just a one time trip.
SummaryIn Afterparty, you are Milo and Lola, recently deceased best buds who suddenly find themselves staring down an eternity in Hell. But there’s a loophole: outdrink Satan and he’ll grant you re-entry to Earth. What adventures will you stumble through in the underworld? Every step is up to you. Time to go on the best bender ever, uncover the...