It is becoming more and more common for games to take a stand on global affairs. Whether it’s a political statement in the Road 96 game, or the environmental activism efforts we saw in Endling: Extinction is Forever, games are a great way to raise awareness about issues that plague humanity as a whole. Speaking of the latter, developer Piccolo is joining the effort to show how destructive and destructive humans are to the environment, and where that might ultimately lead, in the form of a new adventure platformer, After Us.
Set to debut May 23 on PC, PS5, and the Xbox family of consoles, I had the chance to preview the game and play its opening sequence to see how it came to be, and while its basics are pretty clear, the gameplay isn’t. Didn’t impress me that much.
After Us puts the player in the place of Spirit of Life Gaia, a being who must travel across a devastated Earth in search of extinct animal species, all so she can collect their life essence and explain to protect them in eternity Mother’s Ark. This journey will take Gaia through various places on Earth scarred by oil spills, highways, wrecked cars, concrete structures, power lines and various other types of human infrastructure that take our Needs are placed above the impact on the environment and the organisms that live there.
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With this in mind, After Us asks you to lead Gaia around these locations while avoiding deadly contamination and other hazards, which you do by using a range of platforming techniques and special abilities to illustrate clearing the hazards. Between jumping, gliding, sprinting, and a few other platforming moves, all the way to recharging Gaia’s energy to be able to clear certain hazards (and briefly replace them with verdant lawns and wildflowers) so she can cross over unharmed they.
The platforming system is very basic and easy to grasp, if in my experience it can be a bit laggy and difficult to manage. After Us insists on having multiple different abilities, all based on the same input, which means you end up having to use the right triggers on the controller to sprint in mid-air, recharge and use Gaia’s scavenging abilities, etc., which leads to The frequent misuse of moves and ultimately failed jumps is, simply put, frustrating.
As for the actual level and world design, it’s fairly linear and only allows Gaia to travel in one direction and one path, meaning there aren’t many options for how to handle gameplay. Since the levels are designed to reflect a post-apocalyptic Earth dotted with what can only be described as fossilized humans, you won’t be wandering around feeling awe. It’s harrowing and creepy, and while the level design might not be the most ingenious and exciting, it at least makes you think about what we humans have done to the planet.
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However, there are a few ways to venture off the beaten track, from small clearings on the road. When you get to these, Gaia is able to look around for small animal spirits to collect, and begins beautifying the world by adding actual spirit creatures around the level. These sprites don’t make up the core main sprites of After Us, as Gaia primarily seeks out larger sprites, but these are secondary collectibles that enhance gameplay slightly.
After Us is also a game without much audio. Gaia doesn’t seem to speak, and aside from the occasional dialogue from Mother, the only audio comes from the ambient soundtrack that plays as you explore the world. I’ve always had moderate thoughts about this style of game design, as it puts more emphasis on how to convey narrative and story through gameplay, which is something After Us really struggles with at times due to its more basic level design.
While I haven’t been particularly drawn to what I’ve seen of After Us so far, the underlying message it’s trying to convey has certainly intrigued me, and I’m excited to see what the rest of the narrative is and how Gaia evolves. Evolve and grow with further skills and abilities.