After Us

After Us brings a different view of what the world is turning into with an incredibly touching story. It has endless layers underneath the overall design, but going deeper is what makes every second spent playing the game so much more rewarding.

After Us is a grim yet hopeful tale of what the future of humanity and our planet looks like, given our current actions. Within its dark moments shine a fantastic platformer that shouldn’t be missed. It not only carries a strong message, but it also shows what is possible for the platformer genre on modern consoles.

An ocean of miscellaneous garbage stretches endlessly across the horizon. Hissing industrial flames scorch the sky, as thick acrid rain drizzles lazily into steaming sumps. Lumbering, crimson-eyed ghasts snarl and claw at any sign of life, greedy husks of the beings they once were. Amid the desolation, a glowing being darts desperately through, healing and cleansing whatever fragments of nature they can. This is the setting of After Us, an atmospheric puzzle-platformer that tasks you with sal...

As a development team, the members of Piccolo Studio have an apparent interest in artistic interactive representations of uncomfortable realities. Their previous project, Arise: A Simple Story, was an affecting and powerful portrayal of death and heartbreak. After Us has broader ambitions, telling an allegorical tale about life after humanity and the complicated and often-devastating relationship we have always had with nature. The conclusions it leaves to the player to draw on those subjects are thematically heavy-handed but still impactful. The traversal-focused adventure that gets you there...

After Us is a decent 3D platformer that captures and holds your attention with the surrealist nature of its world design and compelling environmental storytelling.

Not even two months ago, I reviewed an environmentally-friendly game by Devolver Digital called Terra Nil. A game which, despite not being exactly one of the indie label’s most prolific hits in recent times, managed to come up with a neat gameplay loop while also managing to deliver its ecological message without ever sounding overly pedantic. Sadly, games like this are a rarity. Such is the case with After Us. Between its “in your face” attempts at telling us what we already know (huma...

After Us is a surrealist dream showing the effects of human devastation, though it has some issues in other aspects and the Steam Deck performance.

After Us wants to call attention to an important topic, but is short on engaging ideas to reach its audience.

When developing a game, having lofty ambitions in mind for your project can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, if everything involved works in concert to execute on a well-defined creative vision, the results can be magical. However, if any of what you strive to accomplish misses the mark, each failure shines that much brighter, drawing attention to itself. Developer Piccolo's After Us falls somewhere in between these two extremes, nailing some things, but dropping the ball on others.

Despite wishing that the story and enemies were more engaging, After Us is a good time. The gameplay is enjoyable, with simple mechanics and additional abilities that add diversity to the gameplay. The level design is clever and strikes the perfect balance between simplicity and complexity, resulting in a fun experience. The game doesn’t introduce any new elements to the platforming genre, but it doesn’t need to. If you’re in the market for an engaging platformer that tackles the topic of global rehabilitation, After Us is definitely worth considering.

Set in a world that died, After Us is a great example of an industrial apocalypse story done correctly — standing strong in its story, visuals, and ambiance that breath new life into the genre.

After Us serves as a compelling reminder of the far-reaching consequences of environmental neglect. While there are stories to glean through memories, the game is primarily a tactile experience, emphasizing parkour and puzzle-solving over delivering a strong narrative. The game has approachable puzzles and straightforward controls that should be easy for most to pick up. Its engaging gameplay mechanics, stark visuals, and poignant message make for a satisfying puzzle-platformer overall.