Hello, and welcome back to another indie game spotlight where we take a look at some of the indie games that are out there and give you the reasons to check them out if you haven’t already. The game we are going to talk about today is one that I have been looking forward to since the day it was announced, and after waiting for what felt like forever, I played and beat it on day one, and let me tell you, I wasn’t disappointed. Today’s game: “Afterparty.”
What Is ‘Afterparty’?
Does the name “Night School Studio” ring a bell to you? Well, it should! They made “Oxenfree,” one of the most interesting, story-driven mystery games with tons of dialogue choices that impacted the outcome of the game and your relationship with the friends who were accompanying you throughout the story. Seriously, check that game out if you haven’t already. While “Oxenfree” was a game to remember and a unique title both visually and in terms of its mechanics, Night School Studio decided that for their next game, they would build on top of this formula, but instead of taking us back to the world of the occult, this time they’ll take us straight to hell. Introducing “Afterparty,” a narrative-driven story of two best friends who died on the day of their graduation and are now stuck in hell.
The game gives you a choice between two characters and lifelong buds, Milo and Lola. After getting judged and being sent to hell, they come to terms with the situation they are in, and to their surprise, hell isn’t all as fiery and scary as they imagined. While exploring, they learn that, yes, the demons do torture humans during the day, and all the hellish things that they read/heard about do happen here, but as night falls, everyone from humans to demons sits and drinks with each other. Hell is one big party at night, basically, with tons of dive bars, chatty demons, and an infinite supply of booze. You can’t tell me that this premise doesn’t sound both interesting and hilarious to you. But wait—it’s about to get even more interesting. Milo and Lola are dead, and they had their whole lives ahead of them, so their sudden demise doesn’t suit so well with them. They grab a drink(all of which is free in hell, by the way), talk this through, and learn that there is a way to escape hell; all you have to do is outdrink Satan. I can’t help but chuckle while writing this, as even to this day, I find this plot as charming, outrageous, and hilarious as I did since the day it was announced. With that information in hand, you’ll literally walk through the depths of hell to make it to Satan’s palace, which has been throwing some Gatsby-style parties as of late, and you will challenge him to a drink off to get back to your old lives. Before you can do that, you’ll have to beat Satan’s underlings in drinking competitions, which is not an easy task either.
The areas you explore are stunning and very creative; seriously, if this is what the hell and its inhabitants look like, then I have no qualms about sharing eternity with them. Everything here looks so vivid, with neon signs and so much color on the screen, all the while maintaining the hell aesthetics. The creativity on display is remarkable. There are tons of nonstop conversations that Milo and Lola will be having throughout the game, who, by the way, are brilliantly voiced by Khoi Dao and Janina Gavankar, respectively. I also have to give credit to the incredible performance by Dave Fennoy, who plays Satan here. That man has the voice of an angel, truly. The iconic text bubbles with dialogue choices from “Oxenfree” also return here and feature more options and choices this time around. A new addition here is the drinks you can order and have, with each one giving you a different effect and ability for a short while. It’s surface-level, but it’s still a cool feature they added to this game. There is no combat here, just tons of exploration, story, and drinking, and all of that is well worth diving into.
That’s “Afterparty” in a nutshell, a story-driven game where you have to outdrink Satan to get back your life. The game is quite original when it comes to its premise; as I am sure you can tell, it’s hilarious from beginning to end, with some drama sprinkled in between. The voice acting and visual style are outstanding, and the game offers some replayability with two playable characters, and it does come packed with multiple endings.
Should You Play ‘Afterparty’?
As you can probably tell, I love this game, so if you ask me, my answer is a straightforward yes, but this game may not be for you. Humor is one of the most subjective things, and I feel like this game’s charm is its humor and lighthearted nature, which may or may not land for you. On top of that, this game is heavy on dialogue and storytelling, with tons of dialogue choices that pop up on your screen constantly, and there are moments when the characters just don’t shut up. If you have no qualms with any of that, like I don’t, then I’d say go and play this game if you haven’t. For some, this game can easily be classified as a glorified walking simulator, and they won’t be wrong in their judgment, but I digress. The game is fun, unique, and memorable, so that’s enough reason for me to give it a shot and recommend it to anyone reading this.
The completion time for this game will clock in at about 4-5 hours for just one character, so double that time if you wish to experience it from both Milo and Lola’s perspectives. The length of the story is almost perfect, with it neither feeling too short nor overstaying its welcome. Achievement hunters, you are looking at nearly 15 hours’ worth of gameplay, give or take, if you wish to 100% this game, that is. There are tons of missable achievements, a couple of which are hard or annoying, so feel free to take a look at a guide and plan your path accordingly. It’s an easy completion, though, just like most indie games.
“Afterparty” is available for $19.99 for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC and is playable on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 thanks to backward compatibility on those consoles. This game is a tad divisive, and it surely has its problems, but those can easily be overlooked because of the uniqueness on offer here. If you like story-heavy narrative games and wish to laugh out loud a few times while playing one, then definitely play this short and sweet adventure through hell.
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