What if Hell were really just a place like any other? The idea behind Afterparty seems ludicrous at first, but the more you think about it, the more plausible it seems. Here, humans and demons meet up in bars during their off-hours, unwinding with a nice glass of colourful acid before returning to a long day of torture. It’s another world with a touch of the familiar – like putting Starbucks on the moon.
Afterparty reviewDeveloper: Night School StudiosPublisher: Night School StudiosPlatform: Reviewed on PCAvailability: October 29th on PC, PS4 and Xbox One
Fittingly, the first thing best friends Milo and Lola see of Hell is a sports bar populated by demons. The pair soon realise they’re dead, with no memory as to how they died or why they ended up in the fiery pit in the first place. Being late for their torture assignments provides the two with a chance to escape the Underworld unharmed – apparently all anyone ever does in Hell after hours is party, and Satan more so than any of them. Outdrinking the Dark Lord thus becomes the name of the game.
Just as developer Night Moon Studio’s previous game Oxenfree wasn’t just about escaping a haunted island, Afterparty isn’t just about drinking demons under the table. It’s the classic tale of Orpheus and Eurydice turned on its head – to escape, the heroes have to take an uncomfortably close look at themselves and each other.
What begins as a laugh-out-loud funny examination of the inherent awkwardness of partying with strangers slowly made me shiver with unease as Milo and Lola are confronted with their fears and inadequacies. Through all that, Afterparty chips away at the fourth wall, making you uncomfortably aware of how games tend to reward you for losing your inhibitions and doing terrible things in the name of winning and completing the quest. It’s an approach that works well, but it can be a bit too on the nose, especially when towards the end, the game really starts pushing for you to reach the good ending by breaking its own rules.