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Review: Afterlove EP Is a Tale of a Love and a Life
Afterlove EP is Mohammad Fahmi’s final game and, in a way, I felt like the nature of it also helped with coming to terms with the loss of an incredibly creative talent. It’s the story of coming to terms with grief and a lost love, while also understanding that maybe they aren’t truly lost and there’s still hope for those left behind. That someone can not only find a new way to thrive, but also to help honor and ensure people feel how much they loved the special person who’s gone. Rama’s life is pretty promising as Afterlove EP begins. His band, called Sigmund Freud, has an opportunity to record an EP and potentially catch a big break. He’s got a girlfriend he loves named Cinta, and she feels the same about him. He has a support system. It’s all good, and the only hint that something is wrong is that Cinta is coughing after one of their latest shows. Except then, when he’s practicing a new song at home, he ends up missing multiple calls and texts from Cinta due to him having his headphones on. We can see them as it happens, with no way to stop him, forced to keep going through a rhythm minigame as an emergency is clearly underway. Cinta doesn’t make it. After a gap for grieving, Rama feels ready to move forward. He’s hearing Cinta as he goes about his daily life and actually responds to her voice. But even so, he wants to get the band together and try and work on the EP that they didn’t get to do before. While his friends get he’s grieving, bandmates Adit and Tasya also have their own plans. To the point where Tasya enacts a deadline. Rama has 30 days to get it together ahead of opening for L’alphalpha, and if he can the band will stay together and give it a serious try. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0dSiS5Iay4&ab_channel=NintendoofAmerica While Afterlove EP is something of a visual novel and life sim set in Jakarta, it plays around with genres. We’re essentially in charge of Rama’s life now. What we decide determines how his future goes. This means, after a brief tutorial, we determine what Rama does. Who does he talk to? When a conversation is going on, which responses do you choose? We get to see him deal with things like therapy, opportunities to perform, chances to play music and actually go through rhythm games for it, and potentially date some characters. The story in Afterlove EP is beautiful, heartwrenching, funny, and hopeful. We watch as Rama essentially finds a way to move forward after what happened to Cinta. Along the way, I felt like the conversations with her and memories that can be unlocked helped me understand why he was so devastated when she died. The characters around him, both friends and potential loved ones, also come across as real people. It’s especially interesting since one sort of involves getting over Rama’s initial misconception about who someone really and stopping being superficial. Like Coffee Talk, there’s a strong focus on characters stories, relationships, and enjoying a window into people’s lives. You can feel Fahmi’s presence and influence here in all the best ways. Images via Pikselnesia Given the strong focus on music here, I found it reassuring to hear how great the songs are. As Rama and Sigmund Freud prepares the EP, you’ll go through the songs. Note indicators can come from the left and right sides. Both standard and held notes appear. As they hit the marker in the center, you need to press them in time to play. Now, I found it wasn’t Hatsune Miku: Project Diva or Taiko no Tatsujin levels of gameplay. However, the original songs are fantastic. L’alphalpha did a great job with the soundtrack in general. So while I did find sometimes it didn’t seem to register with the same precision as other rhythm games on the Switch, the fact the music is good and that part is more of a supplement to the actual adventure and story meant I let it slide. The music isn’t the only way the amazing ambiance comes through in Afterlove EP. It also feels like getting an idea of what daily life might be for young folks in Jakarta. The music we hear is in Indonesian. The shops we pass and world design calls to mind the city. Everything is also drawn and designed by Soyatu, an Indonesian artist. I also appreciated the color palette and the way it evokes feelings. For example, Rama’s design is very muted in some ways, compared to others. Given he’s grieving and gradually growing after what happened with Cinta, it’s almost like we’re initially seeing someone who faded into the background and lost the color in his own life, compared to some of the more vibrant set pieces and people around him. Images via Pikselnesia Afterlove EP is a touching look at life, love, grief, and what it’s like to move on as someone comes to terms with a tragedy and looks forward. It’s a beautiful game that manages to always be touching. I did find certain parts a little awkward, such as the rhythm game response timing and Rama responding and talking to Cinta when
Afterlove EP is Mohammad Fahmi’s final game and, in a way, I felt like the nature of it also helped with coming to terms with the loss of an incredibly creative talent. It’s the story of coming to terms with grief and a lost love, while also understanding that maybe they aren’t truly lost and there’s still hope for those left behind. That someone can not only find a new way to thrive, but also to help honor and ensure people feel how much they loved the special person who’s gone.
Rama’s life is pretty promising as Afterlove EP begins. His band, called Sigmund Freud, has an opportunity to record an EP and potentially catch a big break. He’s got a girlfriend he loves named Cinta, and she feels the same about him. He has a support system. It’s all good, and the only hint that something is wrong is that Cinta is coughing after one of their latest shows.
Except then, when he’s practicing a new song at home, he ends up missing multiple calls and texts from Cinta due to him having his headphones on. We can see them as it happens, with no way to stop him, forced to keep going through a rhythm minigame as an emergency is clearly underway.
Cinta doesn’t make it.
After a gap for grieving, Rama feels ready to move forward. He’s hearing Cinta as he goes about his daily life and actually responds to her voice. But even so, he wants to get the band together and try and work on the EP that they didn’t get to do before. While his friends get he’s grieving, bandmates Adit and Tasya also have their own plans. To the point where Tasya enacts a deadline. Rama has 30 days to get it together ahead of opening for L’alphalpha, and if he can the band will stay together and give it a serious try.
While Afterlove EP is something of a visual novel and life sim set in Jakarta, it plays around with genres. We’re essentially in charge of Rama’s life now. What we decide determines how his future goes. This means, after a brief tutorial, we determine what Rama does. Who does he talk to? When a conversation is going on, which responses do you choose? We get to see him deal with things like therapy, opportunities to perform, chances to play music and actually go through rhythm games for it, and potentially date some characters.
The story in Afterlove EP is beautiful, heartwrenching, funny, and hopeful. We watch as Rama essentially finds a way to move forward after what happened to Cinta. Along the way, I felt like the conversations with her and memories that can be unlocked helped me understand why he was so devastated when she died. The characters around him, both friends and potential loved ones, also come across as real people. It’s especially interesting since one sort of involves getting over Rama’s initial misconception about who someone really and stopping being superficial. Like Coffee Talk, there’s a strong focus on characters stories, relationships, and enjoying a window into people’s lives. You can feel Fahmi’s presence and influence here in all the best ways.
Given the strong focus on music here, I found it reassuring to hear how great the songs are. As Rama and Sigmund Freud prepares the EP, you’ll go through the songs. Note indicators can come from the left and right sides. Both standard and held notes appear. As they hit the marker in the center, you need to press them in time to play. Now, I found it wasn’t Hatsune Miku: Project Diva or Taiko no Tatsujin levels of gameplay. However, the original songs are fantastic. L’alphalpha did a great job with the soundtrack in general. So while I did find sometimes it didn’t seem to register with the same precision as other rhythm games on the Switch, the fact the music is good and that part is more of a supplement to the actual adventure and story meant I let it slide.
The music isn’t the only way the amazing ambiance comes through in Afterlove EP. It also feels like getting an idea of what daily life might be for young folks in Jakarta. The music we hear is in Indonesian. The shops we pass and world design calls to mind the city. Everything is also drawn and designed by Soyatu, an Indonesian artist. I also appreciated the color palette and the way it evokes feelings. For example, Rama’s design is very muted in some ways, compared to others. Given he’s grieving and gradually growing after what happened with Cinta, it’s almost like we’re initially seeing someone who faded into the background and lost the color in his own life, compared to some of the more vibrant set pieces and people around him.
Afterlove EP is a touching look at life, love, grief, and what it’s like to move on as someone comes to terms with a tragedy and looks forward. It’s a beautiful game that manages to always be touching. I did find certain parts a little awkward, such as the rhythm game response timing and Rama responding and talking to Cinta when he’s clearly aware he’s with others who have no idea what’s going on. But it is generally a lovely game and a charming final project from Mohammad Fahmi.
Afterlove EP is available on the Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.
The post Review: Afterlove EP Is a Tale of a Love and a Life appeared first on Siliconera.
