Review for Afterlove EP

Afterlove EP is a story about grief and loss – but it’s also an exploration of everything in between. It’s a game that has been in development for several years, with its original narrative director, Mohammad Fahmi, having sadly passed away in 2022. Fahmi was also the director of beloved, character-driven Coffee Talk and the existential journey that is What Comes After. The team at Pikselnesia has built from his outline a rich adventure that’s full of his passion for people. It’s clearly a labour of love, too, that is stunning in its scope.

The tale is intriguing because the player character, Rama, is a complex person to inhabit. His journey involves returning to the world after a year of being shut away at his home in Jakarta, unable to cope with the death of his girlfriend Cinta. He has to try connecting again with his neglected and frustrated bandmates, as well as finding a place once more in the social and romantic worlds. But this is muddied by needing also to deal with the potentially real voice in his head, Cinta – the only voice-acted character and a constant presence. It’s not about overcoming grief, then, but the constant, confusing role that grief plays once it’s been encountered.

What first grabbed me about Rama’s story is how it doesn’t pull punches. Rama’s bandmates are not afraid to be critical, rightly or wrongly, of him having disappeared. His interactions with the rest of his surroundings, too, don’t necessarily go smoothly, as other people carry their own burdens that he’s not always well attuned to. The lack of cathartic resolutions and easy compassion for its lead was initially quite unsettling. It uncomfortably reminded me of similar incidents in my own life, and might first feel a little off-putting to some, given how raw the dialogue can be. But it’s rewarding to play a video game that will challenge you to look inwards, rather than pull on the medium’s obvious levers of wonder and sentiment.

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Playing through the game for the first time is an experience that builds intelligently on that antagonistic opening. Rama is uncertain about himself, especially with his every conversation and decision being interrupted by the unavoidable voice in his head. The player is equally uncertain, with no real objectives beyond making it through to the revival gig of his band, the fittingly (and punningly) named Sigmund Feud. But the game’s small, intricate side-scrolling world soon has you bumping into various characters, building relationships, and giving a sense of a textured domain of complex, interesting people. 

One of the elements of the game that becomes ever more compelling is the score. Exploring the world is accompanied by melancholic-yet-energetic guitar work that never threatens to become repetitive. It’s a soothing constant alongside the peaks and troughs of Rama’s daily life. But it’s particularly impressive thanks to L’Alphalpha’s original, story-central songs that players take part in during a regular rhythm-action mini-game. The rhythm action itself is a little simplistic but worthwhile, given that it creates a chance to get more viscerally connected with beautiful sounding, lyrically meaningful songs. Such high-quality music means a deeper immersion in the reality-driven fiction of Afterlove EP.

A manga visual aesthetic is another powerhouse of the game thanks to lead artist Soyatu’s direction, being almost perfectly pitched for the atmosphere of the story. Sure, some of the lettering can be garish and the backgrounds occasionally a little untidy. But these are small matters given that the artwork overall has a nicely pitched impressionistic vibe. Character designs in particular have a balance of striking manga linework and exaggerated expressions, yet the run-of-the-mill fashion grounds them in reality. Fans of Coffee Talk will be familiar with Fahmi’s passion for anime and manga, but the choice of this style feels like more than a whim. It takes you away from the preconceptions of reality and into Rama’s intense version of the world, more willing to engage with its powerful emotions and touches of fantasy.

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Rama’s journey is so compelling because it doesn’t rely on melodrama, however, but has a rich environment that rewards the curious. As a narrative about Rama’s growth, it’s also naturally a dating simulator. In addition, it has other experiences with which to fill up its time, such as charming flashbacks and neatly written songwriting tasks. But what stands out is that it’s a remarkable friendship simulator. One of the most exciting discoveries to be made in the game is how its different paths interweave, and how friendships and relationships can knock against or support each other. There’s not necessarily a perfect way to play, reflecting the messy and complicated, fun and dramatic choices of real life.

Such richly woven storytelling requires consistently great writing, and it’s staggering that such a high-quality script is maintained across a dense game. Different character routes never present the feeling that you’re experiencing a lesser option, but instead unveil different sides to a character. You might have seen them as an emotionally reserved partner in one timeline, but then an open and warm friend in another. This is outside of the incidental details of NPCs who have plenty of dialogue themselves, creating running jokes or one-sided friendships with the player. All in all, there is the sense of the game world as a microcosm of reality, and a reminder of the interesting figures – lovers, friends, and acquaintances – who populate it.

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Of course, it isn’t entirely perfect. It’s arguable that it doesn’t do quite enough to highlight the mechanics, which means that getting to grips with Rama’s phone and its possibilities – fast travel, messages, photographs, and such – happens by chance. There are a number of bugs, too, that hopefully will be patched out early on, such as audio glitches and missing map markers. It will be worth keeping regular saves, which is always worth doing anyway to explore alternative routes. The missteps are easy to overlook in a game of such complexity.

I have played quite a few games recently that have made me indulge my own outlook on the world. There are lots of ingenious titles that have made me feel good about aiming towards compassion, and have played on my desire to escape day-to-day humdrum monotony. It’s rare to have an experience to make players challenge the way they view the world and interact with others. Afterlove EP, though, is not some heavy venture that feels like a life lesson. Change is at the core of the tale, and so it’s also fun, surprising, inventive, and touching. The richness of the game in all aspects is a constant reminder of the team’s efforts, who’ve created something both distinctive and altogether brilliant.