2023-05-26 15:42:59
Developed by Piccolo Studio, author of the friendly Arise: A Simple Story, After Us presents itself as an environmental fable, an initiatory journey supposed to allow players to become aware of the beauty of our world.
It must be admitted, the games of the genre are still few. And for a good reason, because if young people are interested in ecology, gamers tend to be less interested in the challenges of global warming.
If on paper, After Us had everything to please, in practice, we must admit that the title struggles to convince. However, we started from a very attractive specification with an action-adventure game in artistically very elaborate settings, and above all a polished aesthetic – the title being only offered on new-gen consoles. The problem is that pad in hand, it feels more like playing a walking simulator than an adventure game… But we’ll come back to that later.
In the skin of a young woman with a very particular character-design, you will go here in search of the spirits of the animals of the world, which have suddenly disappeared. We shouldn’t expect too much from the script, which doesn’t even bother to introduce us to this dreamlike universe, nor to the character we play. And it’s a shame, because suddenly, it is very difficult to understand what we come to do in these foreign worlds, which are supposed to criticize the consumerist universe. Admittedly, artistically, the worlds crossed are very successful, but the ecological message has a lot of trouble getting through, as it is sometimes difficult to grasp the connection between these two worlds. We also go from one world to another without really knowing why or how, and with the sole objective of finding the spirits of animals across the map.
Each “world” is a mini open world, in which you will however have to follow very marked paths which will lead you to the different spirits. In practice, however, you should not expect a lot of action: you will spend most of your time advancing on marked paths, like in a walking-simulator, and will occasionally have to go through short sequences of platforms. shapes. No clashes on the horizon either, in the worst case you will have to avoid some enemy “shots”. And it must be admitted, this cocktail is difficult to take and the game suffers from a very choppy rhythm. We certainly have the possibility of interacting with our environment in a few ways, but all of this is ultimately very incidental, and the absence of combat is felt.
In the end, it’s hard to really be won over: there are some very good ideas in After Us: the game’s platform sequences are pleasant, some sets are very successful and the approach was interesting. The trouble is that we are finally faced with a game in which the role of the player is very passive. And that it is often very difficult to see the point of exploring each level 100% to find each creature spirit…
You will have understood it, if it has some qualities, After Us often gives the impression of being a pretty empty shell. It’s all the more unfortunate that the dressing was rather successful. Artistically, the game is very successful, the sets are rather pretty, the sound environment too. However, don’t expect a 100% new-gen game. It’s beautiful, but far from the standards of Unreal Engine 5.
Conclusion
Halfway between a walking-simulator and a platform game, After Us is a curious third-person adventure game. A somewhat empty ecological fable, in which we wander without really knowing what to do and which ultimately does not have much to offer apart from some pretty panoramas and a pretty artistic direction. Not sure that it will be a milestone, even at the price it is offered…
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After Us
WE love :
A nice artistic direction
Not very expensive
We like less:
A disguised walking simulator
A very poor story
Misused ideas
We get bored very quickly
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#Test #environmental #fable
