Until Then Reviews

Until Then is a powerful narrative that explores both bigger- and smaller-picture issues of adolescent life. Despite some very confronting themes, the game handles its heavy tale with sensitivity and care, and the result is an experience that will undoubtedly leave its mark on anyone who plays it.

This is a minor gripe, though. Until Then is a wonderful story that manages to feel both strange and relatable, and it’s well worth playing. One quick note on the Switch 2, however: the game hasn’t been optimised for the new console yet, so after a certain point early on, it simply didn’t work for me. Stick to the Switch 1 for now.

Until Then doesn't shy away from its Filipino references and it delivers a masterpiece of a narrative. While there are problems with pacing and some minigames, Until Then's cast of lovable characters makes it memorable.

Until Then is a story-rich adventure full of standouts: its beautiful pixel art, relatable protagonist, realistic character dynamics, and thoughtful representation of Filipino culture. It’s a coming-of-age tale worth experiencing.

One of the reasons that I adore visual novels is their ability to evoke emotions in ways that just hit differently than other games. With platformers, fighters, and adventure games, you get the thrill of victory and the agony of being terrible. With modern RPGs, there’s a wide range of effects, including the very sincere loss and anger that comes with injustice or complex writing. But something about the visual novel’s pacing allows the sensation to sit within me, like a depth charge, and...

Until Then stands as a heartening example of a narrative adventure game and manages to strike a chord with its delicate balance of the supernatural and highschool drama. Managing to deftly avoid the tropes that dominate the space, every choice in Until Then feels intentional and every interaction feels far more earnest than some of its contemporaries. I very much enjoyed experiencing this story and being able to almost relive some of my own silly highschool stories through the eyes of Mark. Lying underneath the teenage awkwardness is a story about growth and acceptance, and it is one that everyone will be able to see themselves in.

When the issues of a game are rolled and stomped by its greatness, then it’s something to invest on if you have some spare.

Until Then is a moving narrative about coming of age and making tough choices in friendships and relationships. It tells an intense and beautiful story of coming of age, dealing with loss, and making hard decisions in friendships and relationships.

Until Then surprises by offering a poignant teenage drama that moves beyond being a coming of age story and into a realm that few could have seen coming at the start and is all the better for it.

Until Then is an artful and quaint narrative-focused game developed by Polychroma Games, one of many examples of the talented work coming out of South East Asia. Set in the Philippines, where the studio is based, it is a game with a strong sense of place, plenty of heart and themes that resonate on a global scale. With a story so focused on the beauty and tragedy of life to quality and authentic degrees, you better be ready for the fitting gut punch blows it’ll deal throughout.

You may find some things about it lacking, like the fact it has a pretty big cast but only focuses on a few of its characters, or that its graphics look a little sloppy, but at its core, it is a really good time. Especially when you consider how many minigames it has!

While my playthrough wasn’t without issue, overall I enjoyed Until Then. The characters Polychroma created are memorable. Like a binged television series, I’m going to miss the characters greatly. The amount of threads being pulled throughout the story is impressive and actually engaging. While a lot of narrative adventure games focus on one primary plot point, the focus of Until Then jumps around a bit, as life tends to do. While my love for Mark as a protagonist never fully developed, the rest of the cast made up for it, especially Cath, Mark’s best friend. Some of the animation was truly joyous and would often put a big grin on my face, especially when Cath was around.

While the setting and inspirations are Filipino through and through, the themes of friendship, love, loss, and acceptance in this visual novel are universal.

The devil really is in the details in Until Then, a heart warming narrative adventure.