When humanity ends, what will be left on Earth? This is the question that Piccolo Studio’s platform adventure game, After Us, seeks to answer. As Gaia, the Soul of Life, you’re tasked with sprinting, jumping, gliding, and grinding the tracks on a surreal and barren planet while freeing the souls of extinct animals. Along the way, you’ll encounter monstrous Eaters, countless tear-jerking moments, and plenty of bleak yet beautiful scenery.
During our hands-on with the game, we came across all of this based on a core of unique gameplay and great expressiveness that proved that After Us is a great addition to the pantheon of players. platformer.
Unique power supply
Bringing life back to the world: Gaia is the Soul of Life, endowed with the ability to bring beauty back to a world shrouded in darkness. Pressing L2 fires a boomerang-like orb of light, which is used to regain lost souls, attack enemies, and even turn simple ropes into green grindable rails. Instead, hold L2 down to power her with light, and when released it releases a blast of bright energy that replaces impenetrable dung-covered ground with grass and animals that are safe to traverse. .
Fight the darkness with life: Gaia’s power can not only be used to return trees to the world and unlock secrets, but it can also be used to defeat hordes of dark enemies. Cannibals, oil-covered monsters that trap souls, wait in many nooks and crannies. To free the trapped souls, Gaia must use her boomerang-like soul orb to fight back while also using her superb movement options to evade their attacks.
Foundations in a post-human world
Free, expressive backgrounds: Gaia can jump to various heights, double jump, dash through the air, hover, run through walls and through the world. Putting all of this together allows players the freedom to express themselves regardless of the challenge faced. Those who master these movement options will never have to stop moving on their journey to free the animal spirits.
An open world platformer journey: You don’t have to follow a path when searching for souls in After Us. The world is masterfully crafted and encouraged to complete quests however you wish. Want to use your airdash to approach a floating car to cross a dangerous street? Or maybe you’ve seen a remote island that you’d like to detour to? The direction you take to explore this grounded wasteland is up to you.
Multiple challenges: Around each corner is a new challenge to tackle and whether or not you can win each one. This includes puzzle platformer challenges where you must challenge your foundation skills in tandem with Gaia’s special life force.
Many require a combination of Gaia’s move and attack options – such as jumping over a large gap while perfectly timing the burst of energy to create a vegetated path. Other challenges prompt players to react to their environment to create opportunities to run through walls and grind rails. Just be ready for the plastic bags that seek to block your motivation and hinder your progress.
An emotional journey
You can pet dogs, cats, raccoons, horses, etc.: After Us is a game with the message that we must be responsible for the innocent animals on this planet. Gaia’s job is not only to free the trapped souls of extinct creatures on the planet, but she can also comfort them with pets using the following DualSense controller’s trackpad. when they are saved.
There will be tears: After Us gives players a unique vision of a post-human Earth. You will find statues of people who were once, showing images of their last moments. This feature is shared by several animals, some of whom have passed away from loneliness and simple sadness. Freeing these souls not only provides a bittersweet ending to a sad story, but it also gives you an idea of their memories before the end of the world. Once again turn on the emotional roller coaster.
A beautiful empty world: Despite the gloomy theme, After Us’ surreal world is filled with beautiful visuals that will take your breath away. From bobbing streets to post-apocalyptic cities like Babylon and crumbling buildings that signify a once-existing civilization, the world around Gaia and her mission makes exploring the world sad. This residue becomes a pleasure.
The journey to rescue the last souls on Earth begins when After Us releases on May 23, 2023 for PS5.
