After love EP Review: LA Edition (2025)  Is It All That and a Bag of Chips?

Yo its Leo here… Afterlove EP comes instantly outta the creative thoughts of Mohammed Fahmi great called the brains behind Coffee Talk.

But let me let you know this game? It hits special. Its manner more nuanced sobering and relatable than that city fable duology.

If you bounced off Coffee Talk Afterlove EP is like a breath of clean air. But if youre a returning fan itll still sense acquainted.

Taking area a yr after the tragic loss of Ramas female friend Cinta Afterlove EP offers you a stark honest study the whole grieving procedure.

And it hits even tougher because Fahmi surpassed away in 2022 when the game was best in part finished.

Losing the creative lead might have impacted the very last product that can experience a bit tough round the rims with a few gnarly bugs.

But if you can look beyond those hiccups youll discover a heartfelt and fascinating tale thatll stay with you for a long time.

Ive already clocked in approximately 14 hours in this game across two play throughs. And definitely?

I just desired to preserve vibing in its sketchy vibrant international even when it become manner past my bedtime.

 Its fantastically compelling. However in case you aint were given the endurance for gradual less dramatic tales and stripped down gameplay you may wanna check out something else.

But if youre looking for something authentic that may tug at your heartstrings Afterlove EP might just be your jam.

Sticky Grief: More Than Just a Feeling

Afterlove places you in Ramas footwear a younger dude grappling with the lack of his girlfriend Cinta.

You best certainly get to fulfill her at some stage in the games prologue. The specifics of her death? Never absolutely defined.

But agree with it was worrying because it changed into so sudden  a freaky parallel to Fahmis real world passing.

Even even though you most effective see Cinta for a warm minute at the start shes a constant presence. Both literally and figuratively. Rama hallucinates her speaking to him.

Afterlove EP is all approximately grief however its no longer some over the top dramatic sob tale. Its mature complicated and messy.

Its the sort of grief that doesnt let you move on even if the world continues spinning. Thats the pickle Rama unearths himself in.

He desires to convey his old band returned together with a few new innovative juice.

But this power is stunted by way of the emotional and innovative desires of his friends and bandmates whove already moved on.

Ramas trauma which manifests as hallucinations of Cinta receives in the manner of his empathy for his bandmates.

These were his closest homies earlier than he dipped right into a yearlong depressive state.

Relatable Interactions: Where the Game Shines

The video games at its quality for the duration of those awkward real deal interactions wherein Ramas often in the wrong.

Hes essentially relearning a way to feature after losing his associate. Cintas hallucinations serve a realistic cause but they also block out the mild from the outdoor world.

Its like a psychic defend that keeps threats at bay.

This complicated interplay among Ramas preference to transport forward and his reluctance to allow cross of the past is what makes Afterloves storytelling so intimate authentic and fascinating. Even whilst the game indicates a few cracks.

Gameplay: More Visual Novel Than Rhythm Game

Afterlove EP has been advertised as a mixture of a visible novel and a rhythm sport.

But that is probably deceptive.

Truth is its almost entirely a visual novel with some courting sim vibes sprinkled on top.

The primary course is your interactions with the NPCs. And theyre all immediately cute and particularly complex.

After gambling thru it twice I can verify that your alternatives do trade the story.

Dialogue options might not continually steer conversations in a specific course but who Rama spends his time with virtually influences the overall narrative.

These changes come within the form of natural narrative content material.

For instance youll miss out on some severe scenes with Satria if you decide to romance Mira.

These selections additionally component into the games finale.

Mostly this indicates a unique very last scene and epilogue. But its nonetheless cool to peer how Ramas future may be shaped by your in game decisions.

Even if maximum of the variations sense isolated from the center story…

Rhythm Game? More Like a Rhythm… Nudge

The rhythm recreation part of Afterlove EP is regrettably pretty weak. These sections which commonly take the shape of band practices or live performances are few and far between.

You can go several in game days with out seeing one. When you do get to play those mini games they aint a great deal of a task.

Theyre all straightforward or even if youve never played a rhythm recreation before youll breeze thru them.

Theres a severe lack of range and wonder in those sections. And they could on occasion feel like an afterthought.

But in case you see them as emotional punctuation marks for the tale beats their minimalist design is a chunk more forgivable.

It facilitates that the track courtesy of Indonesian rock band Lal phaalpha is directly hearth. It makes it clean to wander off within the deep emotion of the narrative.

But on the quit of the day the rhythm mini games are essentially extended quick time occasions set to a killer soundtrack.

 Theyre cool in case you take them for what theyre. But they arent routinely interesting.

I realized they were glorified cut scenes once I tried to deliberately fail a few instances and wager what? You cant.

Even in case you omit every single observe the performance keeps going.

 And the characters in the following scenes usually dont even point out your screwups.

Bugs: When Things Get Glitchy

The fact that Cinta is the simplest human voice you listen (except the rhythm sections) facilitates make her sense like this overwhelming pressure in Ramas world.

But its a bummer that I saved going for walks right into a glitch that skipped all her communicate as if I hit the fast forward button.

I needed to near the sport and restart it to restore it. But it saved coming again for no reason.

Other immersion breaking troubles protected man or woman portraits now not matching who Rama changed into speak me to and characters speaking off screen.

But those are nothing compared to the main glitch I encountered throughout my first play through. You can talk to a therapist throughout the sport who gives you perception into what Ramas going through.

 Near the quit after I was accomplishing the climax of my selected romance subplot I visited the therapist.

And I couldnt accept as true with it Rama commenced speaking approximately scenes that hadnt even befell but.

He spoiled the finale. In a game that lives and dies on its narrative that is a game breaker.

Final Verdict: Is It Worth Your Time and Money?

Afterlove EP clearly has its troubles. It lacks meaningful gameplay. And the bugs can variety from stressful to straight up apocalyptic.

But it says a lot that Id nevertheless suggest it to every person who likes smaller story driven games.

Dont get me incorrect these problems do drag down the experience.

But Afterlove EP is more than the sum of its components.

The song the fascinating characters the nuanced portrayal of grief and the beautiful manga inspired artwork design are all really worth the fee of admission.

 If Pikselnesia can squash those insects Afterlove EP should emerge as a classic in the visible novel genre.

Author : Yo its Leo here your friendly neighbourhood gamer enthusiast directly from the heart of Los Angeles. Ive been diving deep into the gaming scene for a couple of years now and Im all about bringing those digital visions to lifestyles with a unique style and a whole lotta aptitude. You can catch me published up at 3215 Overland Ave Los Angeles California (CA) 90034 where the magic takes place..

Pros:

Touching sliceoflife storytelling

A killer soundtrack

Lovable characters

Gorgeous art design

Cons:

Underwhelming gameplay

Occasional but severe insects on PS5

Afterlove EP is currently available on Xbox One Xbox Series X4 PlayStation five PC and Nintendo Switch.

Where to Buy:

Steam

Nintendo

Xbox Games Store

PlayStation Store

Resource

https://gamerant.com/afterlove-ep-review/

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