Afterdream is a 2D psychological horror adventure game. Navigate the obscure location populated by ghosts, and collect items to solve puzzles as you move further through the intriguing story. Look through the lens of your strange camera and photograph highlighted objects to interact with them.
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Another solid entry from Jesse Makkonen. As with his previous games, the visuals have a unique and appealing style, and the music is quite good, working together to create an excellent dreamlike moodiness. It's hard to overstate how much I enjoyed the atmosphere. The puzzles were straightforward, but still felt satisfying, and the camera mechanic was simple but impactful. The plot feels a bit thin here, and while there's a lot of heart to it, I didn't quite get as emotionally invested as I'd hoped. I think there needed to be a bit more screentime for the major characters to really get me invested for the finale. Still, I had a good time with Afterdream and easily recommend it to fans of horror adventure games.
A short title with an interesting story behind it. Touching on the subject of letting go it also throws in some other interesting ideas. I loved the style of this game and stands out from the rest, much like the developers other titles (Distraint). The puzzles weren't too hard and the characters were interesting.
Just finished up Afterdream. That did not go in the direction I thought it was going to. I really enjoyed my time with it. The puzzles were engaging, if not pretty easy. The creeping dread gave way to a really heartfelt grief filled story. The epilogue was wild. 4/5
Succeeds in creating a creepy atmosphere with a slow but deliberate pace and using the camera for puzzle solving is good mechanic but one that isn't really expanded on in any meaningful way or has much thematic relation to the story.
Pep's Season of Spooks - Game 15
As a fan of Jesse Makkonen's DISTRAINT games I felt compelled to play this follow-up. In the same vein as those games, Afterdream is a gorgeous, dreamlike (heh) puzzle-horror that is definitely recommended for those who like their spooks a little more low-key.
The gameplay of Afterdream consists mostly of exploration, solving puzzles and talking to the game's colourful cast of characters. You are rarely in danger, and even the moments where you can die barely carry any consequence. There are a few small jumpscares - mainly audio-based stings and flashes of monsters - but nothing nightmarish and nothing I couldn't handle. For this I would consider this a great "gateway" game for anyone who wants to take their first steps into the horror genre.
The puzzles are fairly balanced and varied, from simple "find the right item for the right object" tasks to more complex tasks akin to Resident Evil and other survival horror games. The camera function is a fun gimmick and whenever I got stumped, more than likely the camera was the solution.
The themes of grief and loss are prevalent throughout, and the story took some intriguing twists and turns - however, I must admit being a little bit let down by the ending. In fact, the very last moments of the game left me feeling quite deflated. However this didn't ruin the experience since the storytelling leading up to it had been so strong. Jennifer is a great, sympathetic protagonist - along with Decarnation, 2023 has been a very good year for female-led pixel-art horror games.
With beautiful visuals, unnerving sound design and a strong story, I'm sure Afterdream will be popping up in "underrated horror game" lists for years to come.
Scary Rating 4/10 - Overall Rating 7/10
As a fan of Jesse Makkonen's DISTRAINT games I felt compelled to play this follow-up. In the same vein as those games, Afterdream is a gorgeous, dreamlike (heh) puzzle-horror that is definitely recommended for those who like their spooks a little more low-key.
The gameplay of Afterdream consists mostly of exploration, solving puzzles and talking to the game's colourful cast of characters. You are rarely in danger, and even the moments where you can die barely carry any consequence. There are a few small jumpscares - mainly audio-based stings and flashes of monsters - but nothing nightmarish and nothing I couldn't handle. For this I would consider this a great "gateway" game for anyone who wants to take their first steps into the horror genre.
The puzzles are fairly balanced and varied, from simple "find the right item for the right object" tasks to more complex tasks akin to Resident Evil and other survival horror games. The camera function is a fun gimmick and whenever I got stumped, more than likely the camera was the solution.
The themes of grief and loss are prevalent throughout, and the story took some intriguing twists and turns - however, I must admit being a little bit let down by the ending. In fact, the very last moments of the game left me feeling quite deflated. However this didn't ruin the experience since the storytelling leading up to it had been so strong. Jennifer is a great, sympathetic protagonist - along with Decarnation, 2023 has been a very good year for female-led pixel-art horror games.
With beautiful visuals, unnerving sound design and a strong story, I'm sure Afterdream will be popping up in "underrated horror game" lists for years to come.
Scary Rating 4/10 - Overall Rating 7/10
Afterdream is short and sweet coming in at around 3-4 hours runtime and in general I had a good time with it. If it weren't for the fact it was a horror game I might even call it relaxing, as most of your time is spent enjoying the unfolding story and solving simple puzzles. There is a constant implied threat that occasionally manifests itself but you're never in any real danger. I don't see this as a bad thing however - in fact I think it fits the game well.
The focus is clearly on the story in Afterdream. You play as Jennifer, whom awakes in a mysterious, dilapidated building that almost feels like a dream. Donning an unfamiliar suit, you venture out of the eerie bedroom you woke up in to unravel the mystery surrounding you and your whereabouts. On your journey you will encounter interesting characters with varied personalities, unsettling and seemingly disconnected locations, and maybe the occasional scare. The story is mostly told through textual dialogue - either Jennifer monologuing about her current situation or in conversation with one of the many vibrant characters you meet. While the story itself is quite simple, the people you meet and the constant slew of events kept me hooked for the game's duration. Nothing here is going to blow your mind but the stable pacing and dream-like theming meant by the time I hit credits I was mostly satisfied. Mostly. Occasional hiccups in grammar, spelling, writing style and more brought me out of the experience. Stuff like saying "eatable" instead of "edible", "electroshocked" instead of "electrocuted" or even alluding to getting a noble prize for... sculpting something? Hell there was even a verbatim Lord of the Rings quote thrown in at one point. It's all minor stuff, but it was constant enough that it detracted from my enjoyment somewhat.
Gameplay-wise things are very simple. It is essentially a point-and-click adventure with a few bells and whistles, and puzzles are typically solved in a linear fashion. Every chapter you arrive at a new location and solve puzzles one after another, each leading into the next, until the end. There is plenty of variety here too - of course we have the classic "use item on thing" type puzzle, but we also have a plethora of unique, self-contained, Resident Evil-style puzzles that I enjoyed solving. I never particularly found myself stuck, but with the aforementioned linearity your experience may vary. A significant amount of the puzzles also involve the use of a special camera that, upon taking a photograph, might reveal hidden objects in the environment to help you on your way. Maybe half the time there are contextual or dialogue clues that encourage you towards using the camera. However, you quickly learn it's advantageous to use it in every nook and cranny regardless as there are plenty of situations where there are no hints towards a room containing a hidden object. This became a point of frustration - if you're stuck on where to go next, more often than not it's because you missed an unannounced hidden object.
Visually, Afterdream is very distinct. Everything is drawn in a pixel art style and then heavily manipulated and distorted with layers of post-process visual effects. A lot of love went into this - characters are smoothly animated and each room is noticeably different to the last, full of minute details and animations that bring them to life. It was all thematically consistent too; everything felt grimey and well-lived in and the visual effects constantly remind you of the dream-like scenario. My only criticism is that sometimes the post-processing was so heavy it obscured some of the scares. Often this was definitely the intention, but other times I got the feeling not so much.
Finally we come to the audio. Audio is always incredibly important in horror to build atmosphere and Afterdream succeeded tremendously. Ambient drones were used to great effect to build tension, with layers of atmospheric foley like a log fire burning or your echoing footsteps on a hollow wooden floor. Dialogue indications pleasantly blended into the mix and even the little ticks as you scroll through your inventory felt satisfying. When tensions rise a cacophony of sound assaults the ears and draws you into the moment, greatly enhancing the visual onslaughts the game loves to indulge in. If it isn't clear yet, the audio was a definite highlight for me and I massively encourage anyone playing to take the game's advice and wear headphones for the best experience.
Getting down to brass tacks, Afterdream is what I would call "accessible" horror. Everything about it is non-taxing: it probably won't get your heartrate up, the puzzles are varied but simple and the story is engaging but relatively one note. At the end of the day Afterdream is well crafted and entertaining, despite some minor fumbles. If you enjoy a mystery and are up for some light spooks, then I highly encourage you give it a go.
The focus is clearly on the story in Afterdream. You play as Jennifer, whom awakes in a mysterious, dilapidated building that almost feels like a dream. Donning an unfamiliar suit, you venture out of the eerie bedroom you woke up in to unravel the mystery surrounding you and your whereabouts. On your journey you will encounter interesting characters with varied personalities, unsettling and seemingly disconnected locations, and maybe the occasional scare. The story is mostly told through textual dialogue - either Jennifer monologuing about her current situation or in conversation with one of the many vibrant characters you meet. While the story itself is quite simple, the people you meet and the constant slew of events kept me hooked for the game's duration. Nothing here is going to blow your mind but the stable pacing and dream-like theming meant by the time I hit credits I was mostly satisfied. Mostly. Occasional hiccups in grammar, spelling, writing style and more brought me out of the experience. Stuff like saying "eatable" instead of "edible", "electroshocked" instead of "electrocuted" or even alluding to getting a noble prize for... sculpting something? Hell there was even a verbatim Lord of the Rings quote thrown in at one point. It's all minor stuff, but it was constant enough that it detracted from my enjoyment somewhat.
Gameplay-wise things are very simple. It is essentially a point-and-click adventure with a few bells and whistles, and puzzles are typically solved in a linear fashion. Every chapter you arrive at a new location and solve puzzles one after another, each leading into the next, until the end. There is plenty of variety here too - of course we have the classic "use item on thing" type puzzle, but we also have a plethora of unique, self-contained, Resident Evil-style puzzles that I enjoyed solving. I never particularly found myself stuck, but with the aforementioned linearity your experience may vary. A significant amount of the puzzles also involve the use of a special camera that, upon taking a photograph, might reveal hidden objects in the environment to help you on your way. Maybe half the time there are contextual or dialogue clues that encourage you towards using the camera. However, you quickly learn it's advantageous to use it in every nook and cranny regardless as there are plenty of situations where there are no hints towards a room containing a hidden object. This became a point of frustration - if you're stuck on where to go next, more often than not it's because you missed an unannounced hidden object.
Visually, Afterdream is very distinct. Everything is drawn in a pixel art style and then heavily manipulated and distorted with layers of post-process visual effects. A lot of love went into this - characters are smoothly animated and each room is noticeably different to the last, full of minute details and animations that bring them to life. It was all thematically consistent too; everything felt grimey and well-lived in and the visual effects constantly remind you of the dream-like scenario. My only criticism is that sometimes the post-processing was so heavy it obscured some of the scares. Often this was definitely the intention, but other times I got the feeling not so much.
Finally we come to the audio. Audio is always incredibly important in horror to build atmosphere and Afterdream succeeded tremendously. Ambient drones were used to great effect to build tension, with layers of atmospheric foley like a log fire burning or your echoing footsteps on a hollow wooden floor. Dialogue indications pleasantly blended into the mix and even the little ticks as you scroll through your inventory felt satisfying. When tensions rise a cacophony of sound assaults the ears and draws you into the moment, greatly enhancing the visual onslaughts the game loves to indulge in. If it isn't clear yet, the audio was a definite highlight for me and I massively encourage anyone playing to take the game's advice and wear headphones for the best experience.
Getting down to brass tacks, Afterdream is what I would call "accessible" horror. Everything about it is non-taxing: it probably won't get your heartrate up, the puzzles are varied but simple and the story is engaging but relatively one note. At the end of the day Afterdream is well crafted and entertaining, despite some minor fumbles. If you enjoy a mystery and are up for some light spooks, then I highly encourage you give it a go.