What makes a review? How long can I keep rambling on about how much I love a video game before it stops being a critical evaluation of a form of media and turns into nonsensical rambling? The urge to just scream, vent, and let it all out are a pretty accurate way to describe how I feel about finishing the latest DLC from Polychroma.
Until Then: Afterimages is a DLC that introduces two new chapters apart from the base game. Developed by Polychroma Games, this new content is essentially a love letter to fans who had their heart broken after finishing the main story.
What drowns out heartache? More heartache. With the original story already neatly coming to a close, you may be asking what this DLC has to offer. Does it add something fundamental to the story that we already didn’t know about? Or does it just add more unneeded drama to a story that has already neatly reached its conclusion?
Let’s find out.
While the Afterimages DLC can be played as its own separate experience, it is highly recommended that you play the base game first. The DLC itself is accessible even if you haven’t completed all the main game’s contents but you will be missing out if you choose to play without some background knowledge.
Because of the contents of Until Then, this review of Afterimages may contain spoilers. So be warned!
Compared to the main game, Until Then: Afterimages has themes that are more adult in nature. While the base game’s story had themes centering around a coming-of-age, Afterimages gives us more mature protagonists who are dealing with trauma while still trying to discover themselves and making plenty of very human mistakes along the way.
If I have to describe what playing Afterimages feels like: it would be like having something squeeze your heart while making it hard to breathe. It’s that hollow bittersweet feeling you get that’s not quite happy but more closer to somber sadness of how, perhaps in a different life, things could have been better had you made the right choices.
I have to give credit to Polychroma for knowing where to hit you where it hurts while tackling some serious themes. If I had to rate the main Until Then game, it would have received a perfect score for me because, aside from its excellent writing, the execution was flawless. The Afterimages DLC isn’t a necessary addition to that experience but it’s a welcome one nonetheless.
This DLC gets you two chapters. These chapters are separate from each other and have their own small, contained stories that are played apart from each other.
I have to clarify that I said chapters and not acts. The base game had three acts with multiple chapters between each. There is only one act in this DLC. As such, Afterimages can feel quite small. However from my experience, it should take somewhere between 4-6 hours to complete.
If you want the full experience, I highly suggest you take your time and fully digest what the game has to offer. You’ll appreciate it more if you have time to contemplate between each section rather than binging it all in one sitting. A game like this doesn’t come out every year.
Sofia Rubio, who was a memorable side character in the original game, is now promoted to a playable character. The first chapter of the game, titled “Homecoming,” is a story exclusively centered around her trials and tribulations in dealing with growing up, having people changing around her, finding her place to adapt, all the while dealing how the pandemic affected the place she once called home.
Homecoming kind of stands out because it has nothing to do with the overall story of Until Then at all. With the story so ingrained with Mark and Nicole, it’s nice to see how the other characters are dealing with their own struggles. Someone like Sofia who cherishes her past relationships, it really highlights the struggles of letting go of the comfortable past to embrace the uncertain future.
Sofia’s story is something we can all relate to. Growing up and seeing the people we used to hang out with, the places we used to visit, change for better or worse. All the while it feels like we’re still stuck as the same person we once were. Homecoming is actually shorter of the two DLC chapters but it’s a enthralling tale nonetheless.
Still, I couldn’t help but feel that Homecoming was a bit underwhelming. It’s not bad overall but it doesn’t hit as hard as it wanted to. While I can’t really get to specifics without spoiling it, I feel that the overall execution of Homecoming came up short. This chapter has such a small and tight cast and for Sofia who is coming back home after a long time abroad I sort of expected to meet with other familiar faces to see how much they’ve changed.
Regardless, it’s still a nice story and one that is well worth playing through.
Now we have the other chapter, titled “Sparks.” Centering around Mark Borja who is now in university, his chapter is more focused on the aftermath of the base events of the game. Now the biggest question to those who completed the main story is which events are we following?
It’s really nice to see such familiar faces again. Mark is like an old friend you haven’t seen in a while and sort of reminds you a bit of yourself. It’s easy to insert yourself as him. But this time, he’s older, he no longer has Cathy and Ridel by his side, and he has a new group of friends.
College isn’t easy especially as the VP of one of the organizations. Mark’s chapter is a bit more complicated than Sofia’s as he deals with a new flame. What makes it interesting is due to how we, as the players, know the endings of the base game. It makes us question if this relationship will last because we know for a fact who ends up with who. It’s more of a matter of when.
Only the answers don’t come easy. Mark is clearly troubled and we initially find out that things have only gotten worse after the events of his middle school prom. Despite coming off as successful in college, we get to see the cracks slowly get bigger as the games presses on.
Looking at it in hindsight, Sparks does feel like the main story of Afterimages. It’s longer and has more focus. Not only that it also has deeper ties to the base game compared to Homecoming.
Except it sort of falls a bit short in gameplay compared to its prior chapter. Homecoming has a fun little minigame, in Sparks you sort of have this minigame where you have to time where you press to get Mark to say the right thing. It’s not as impactful as it sounds because the story is sort of linear. Even picking the wrong words have zero consequence.
Let me say that I think the Sparks story is amazing. It’s executed well and sort of reminded me how much Filipinos really love drama. There are some really hard hitting moments here and there that make you feel like you’re riding a roller coaster. Only to stop, get off, and then clutch your heart from the adrenaline.
Of course it isn’t all about Mark. Yes, Nicole is back, as revealed in the official trailers. Only this time, her and Mark aren’t together. A lot of what happens in Sparks also deals with the fallout of the events that take place after their prom night. As such, their stories are once again intertwined.
Very few times in the game where I wanted to just yell at the screen. Because it’s clear to me that Polychroma games loves teasing the fans between these two. The chemistry is there but the spark has died out. My mind was always on will they, won’t they.
Either the developers have done a really good job of crafting the characters or it’s just that easy to project ourselves into them. Unlike many other video games that I have personally played, Until Then just has a way with making these characters feel human.
So after finishing Afterimages, I can’t help but feel a bittersweet void where my heart should be. It’s definitely one of those games where you contemplate after finishing. It sticks with you and it’s hard to shake off.
Maybe if you’re into painful games, Until Then: Afterimages is for you. If you’ve already played the base game, there’s no reason not to dive into the DLC. It’s particularly cheap for a length of up to 6 hours by the time I finished the two chapters.
Actually my only real complaint is the lack of minigames to spice things up. Though I didn’t notice at the time because of how enthralled I was with the story. There aren’t many games at all where I feel obsessed but this was one of them.
Remembering that even simple adventure games like Until Then can have such a huge impact on me is humbling. It proves that indie developers can stand shoulder to shoulder with giants and have more lasting effects when their hearts and souls are poured into their craft.
Knowing that there might be more for Until Then fills me with a bit of hope for the future. Afterimages was an amazing DLC and worth every cent I paid for it.
Until Then: Afterimages (PC)
Until Then: Afterimages knows where to hit you where it hurts and make it stay that way for a long time. While the DLC doesn't quite reach the same heights as the main story it's still a fantastic addition that needs to be experienced first hand.
The Good
- Deep, sentimental story that has you thinking
- Characters have a lot of depth and feel real
- A wonderful addition to the base game
The Bad
- Minigames can feel lackluster especially on Sparks
