The game
Only Memories are Eternal. with this phrase we are greeted soon after the introduction of the game, in the world of Afterimage. A fascinating place, full of secrets, mysteries and above all with an artistically superfine visual impact, completely hand-drawn by the artists of Aurogon Shanghai, a development team that has taken the by now saturated genre of metroidvania infusing it with its own originality and unique style, capable of captivating us for dozens of hours of gameplay. A terrible cataclysm has occurred in the lands of Engarin that has struck the whole world, wiping out cities and Kingdoms. A young girl named Renee awakens near her home village, in the company of her faithful friend Ifree, deprived of her memories. Memory is what makes us who we are, which gives us experience and knowledge of the world around us, imprinting on our soul who we really are. Renee has been deprived of this and so she embarks on a journey to the East, in search of answers about her, about the world now at the mercy of those who survived the Cataclysm and why not, even for revenge. We, like you, know nothing of what we will find. I don’t want to spoil in any way the narrative plot that the team has woven, as fascinating as it is articulated, which will keep you glued to the screen for about twenty hours. Even more if you want to discover every secret of the world of Engarin.
The game looks like a normal metroidvania, very reminiscent of the classic Castlevanias of yesteryear. Our protagonist Renee, although she appears to be a slender girl, is actually an incredible warrior, capable of wielding different weapons and equipment. Among the weapons at our disposal, Renee will be able to wield swords, broadswords, scythes, whips and even two swords at the same time. Furthermore, by finding spell books, divided into different categories, our heroine can cast powerful spells against her opponents. The use of magic involves the consumption of Mana, which will be recovered in refreshment places or thanks to the Mana potions that we can find by exploring the various game scenarios or by buying them from merchants. The inventory collects all the objects that we can take with us, such as potions and elixirs of various types, consumable foods and dishes, artifacts and unique objects useful for getting to know the world of Engarin. Equipment includes breastplates, helmets, boots, and accessories such as talismans and bracers. Keep in mind that clothing will change your stats but not your character’s aesthetics.
By facing and eliminating the various enemies we will obtain some kind of Tears, currency to be used at the merchants to obtain weapons and equipment, and experience, necessary to level up and obtain Talent Points to spend in the Skills tree. The latter has several ramifications, which involve our competence with certain weapons or spells, or which increase statistics such as resistance, health points, mana, etc. The tree itself isn’t very large, but it has two to five sublevels for each experience node, called a Fruit in the game. To give you an example, let’s imagine that a node has a bonus of +5 Health Points. Once this node has been obtained with a Talent Point, it is discovered that it can be upgraded four more times, thus increasing the Health Points by +10 +15 and finally +20. The problem is that each new sublevel, as well as asking you for more Talent Points to be obtained, will also require a minimum level for Renee. If the first time you could get the bonus at level 20, the next sublevel may ask you to be level 30 or maybe even 55. It depends and varies from node to node.
Furthermore, even the weapons can be strengthened, thanks to the use of particular balms which, according to the legends of the game, bring out memories in the weapon itself, of past battles and challenges. Upgrading the weapon will increase its damage, consuming the balm and spending a certain amount of tears. The latter, among other things, as well as from defeated enemies, can be recovered from particular caskets that resemble marine corals. There are also other types of chests, but we will not reveal them for spoiler reasons.
Afterimage it also features some elements that come directly from the most recent Souls. For example the refreshment points, which serve as a place of regeneration in cases of death. If Renee succumbs to the blows of her enemies, she will be brought back to life at the last visited Tree of Souls and you will have to return to the point of death to recover the lost experience. Furthermore, by visiting the Trees you will update the map with the areas visited (if you do not do this, the map of the area will remain completely obscured), also revealing the name of the Region of the world you are visiting.
The truly fascinating, rich and varied world of Engarin. From cramped caves, ruined castles, magical woods and cursed cities, each explorable area is truly unique and all are artistically curated to excellent standards. Furthermore, the various areas are full of secrets and hidden passages, which sometimes require a specific skill to be discovered (such as double jump), this will invite you to return to previously explored areas to discover each ravine. As you discover regions and kingdoms, updating the map at the Trees, a vast, intricate and fascinating world will be revealed to your eyes.
All areas feature unique and characteristic enemies. In the forests we will find aggressive wildlife such as giant spiders or a kind of billy goat ready to ruthlessly gore us, while in ruined castles we will find wandering Knights and Witches, known as Vagabonds, i.e. human beings who died but whose soul was not purified in time, returned therefore as aggressive and emotionless beings. The game also offers encounters with fascinating Bosses, with unique patterns and abilities. Some will be fast and agile, others huge and massive.
Finally, the game offers a range of rich and interesting quests, which will be proposed by colorful and all truly inspired characters. From the novice sorceress in search of knowledge to the blustering adventurer in pursuit of riches and glory, all these characters are voiced and characterized with care, a sign of excellent writing work.
The title is technically fluid and without loading, except for the initial one at the start of the game. On the audio sector, the title offers a remarkable sound sample and an excellent musical sector, which will enrich your journey through the Engarin lands even more. Afterimage excellently translated into Italian only as regards texts and subtitles, while the audio is available in various languages, unfortunately excluding Italian.
Amore
A picturesque world
– One of the items I most liked of Afterimage the world of Engardin. The developers have designed and colored truly fascinating and splendid places, giving exploration that touch of wonder that makes each discovery unique. Each mysterious passage or tunnel could lead to a completely different place, pushing the player to never stop.
Content galore
– The world of Afterimage rich, not only in areas but also in enemies, treasures, secrets and quests. The content that the development team has included in the game will keep you busy for twenty to thirty hours, without ever descending into repetitiveness or monotony. Lots of weapons to wield, skills to learn, NPC characters to discover, and quests to accomplish. An amount of content that could make many AAA titles pale.
Great customization
– The variety is certainly one of the elements that can be found already from the first hours of the game. Not only in terms of the enemies to face, but also the customization of our heroine, through equipment, upgrades and skill tree to discover. present among other things also a potion that resets all the learned attributes, in case you want to try a different build, perhaps focusing it on a different type of weapon. You can also find the Bestiary by exploring the game world. This tome is nothing more than an encyclopedia of all the creatures of Engardin with perfectly reported names, statistics and information. Always exploring the various locations you can come across mini-bosses, which once defeated can reward you with new abilities, such as the ability to throw poisonous vapors against enemies or an improvement in the collection of resources in the game world. There are many of them and you will have to choose carefully and strategically which one to activate each time.
A refined and refined gameplay
– Afterimage not only beautiful to look at and read, but also very beautiful to play. The controls work perfectly, with a well-implemented and calibrated combat system, which invites us to try weapons of different types. The platforming stages are challenging but never frustrating, as are the boss fights. The challenges that the game offers us require a good dose of concentration, but are never exasperating. Everything was balanced to perfection.
I hate it
I don’t think I understand
– The only real flaw I encountered in my journey through Engardin concerns the narrative sector. The development team has certainly created a rich and fascinating world, with a story that will captivate you, but which unfortunately, in my opinion, gets stuck for two reasons. First of all, in the initial stages of the adventure the player is bombarded with information and names that can easily confuse and disorient, although things improve considerably as the adventure progresses, making everything much clearer. Another problem is the development team’s willingness to support the discovery of the game world through the description of objects and books that the player keeps in his inventory, as he retrieves them. A feature that reminded me a lot of the Souls narrative and that can penalize the less attentive player. Surely the main narrative junctions are understood by playing the adventure quietly, but many elements will remain confusing for many players, unless you decide to investigate each element that we will be able to recover during our enterprise. It’s up to you to decide how to approach your trip.
Let’s sum up
Afterimage a fascinating and content-rich metroidvania, capable of keeping you glued for dozens of hours through fantastic worlds, an elegant combat system, bosses to defeat, platform phases to dominate and deep and stimulating customization. All well blended and deliciously packaged, making Aurogon Shanghai’s adventure shine as one of the best titles of its kind. Too bad only for a few stumbles on the narrative front, which in any case does not affect the beauty of this little gem in any way.