You have to admit dreams suck sometimes, especially those dreams where you’re dreaming within a dream. Nothing makes you feel more messed up than one of those, but what if it was a nightmare? This, is the question presented by Jesse Makkonen, Gamera, and Feardemic Games’ Afterdream. Thanks to Feardemic for sending me a copy to see if this is a dream or a nightmare. Let’s see!
Afterdream is a 2D side-scrolling psychological horror where players take on the role of Jennifer, a young woman who just lost her father and has a lucid dream that makes her question if she’s dreaming or is awake.
Controls in Afterdream are minimal, but I wish there were options to turn off controller vibrations, as having the controller vibrate for every little thing and draining battery life is quite annoying. The lack of spoken dialogue is made up for with a soundtrack that sets the mood. There are times. When spooky things happen, the music changes along the imagery can be jarring.
Afterdream‘s gameplay is pretty straightforward. Jennifer has a camera that allows her to see things through its lens and change the world around her with a snap of a picture. The camera’s flash can also help Jennifer navigate darker locations. There are puzzles to solve, but thankfully, they’re not super hard, but they make you keep an eye out for clues.
Overall, Afterdream is an interesting game. It’s not that long to play, unfortunately, making it a “one-and-done” kind of game. I’m personally not crazy for games that look like this, but it is pretty to look at if I’m being honest. Personal feelings aside, I think this will appeal to many, but as I warned, it’s short.
On my scale of 1-10, with the constant controller vibrations and short game length affecting the score slightly, Afterdream is an 8.5.
Afterdream is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
