Afterimage

Afterimage is a vibrant and vast Metroidvania adventure that rewards you the more you dig into it. A must play for fans of the genre.

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"Afterimage is a single-player Action game with masterful mechanics, compelling graphics, and amazing music. Discover the wholesome story of Engardin, a world created by a great deity and home to four goliaths, where humans' ambition led to war and ultimately, the end of their age. The Deluxe Edition includes a digital artbook and soundtrack. Be prepared for grinding while experiencing the captivating atmosphere."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

80%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,616 reviews

story160 positive mentions

grinding68 negative mentions

Beautiful hand-drawn art that captivates players.
Massive interconnected map with plenty of secrets and exploration opportunities.
Fluid combat mechanics with a variety of weapons and skills to choose from.

Confusing story with poor translation and unclear objectives.
Lack of direction can lead to frustrating backtracking and getting lost.
Contact damage from enemies can feel unfair and punishing.

story
1,050 mentions
15 % positive mentions
74 % neutral mentions
11 % negative mentions
The story in the game is widely criticized for being convoluted, poorly translated, and difficult to follow, often leaving players confused about the plot and character motivations. While some players appreciate the depth and potential of the lore, many find it overshadowed by a lack of clear direction and engaging storytelling, leading to a disjointed experience. Despite these issues, the gameplay and visuals are praised, suggesting that players may still enjoy the game even if the narrative falls short.
- “There are more than 5 endings, with non-obvious clues to get the required items for them; and the epilogue content is almost exclusively story.”
- “The hand-drawn visuals are gorgeous, the gameplay is smooth and rewarding, and the story is deep and engaging.”
- “I found the story and worldbuilding quite engaging, though it's not paced in a way that maximizes said engagement.”
- “The story is convoluted and didn't peak my interest too much.”
- “The game's story is extremely convoluted, told in many piecemeal fragments spread throughout the game before culminating in large plot dumps towards the end, but because of how the story is told in combination with the rough translation, it's extremely difficult to follow and understand any more than the bare basics of what's going on in the story.”
- “The mc and npcs have no soul and no personality, the main quest doesn’t hold any importance; whatever, I don’t even know the people who died, I guess I’ll just have fun exploring this massive world rather than being eager to learn how the story unfolds.”
gameplay
394 mentions
38 % positive mentions
58 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Afterimage is generally praised for its smooth mechanics, engaging combat, and beautiful visuals, making it a solid entry in the metroidvania genre. While many players enjoy the variety of weapons and exploration elements, some criticize the pacing, enemy design, and certain mechanics that can disrupt fluidity, such as collision damage and a lack of clear guidance. Overall, the game offers a rewarding experience for fans of the genre, despite some noted shortcomings in story coherence and mechanical depth.
- “Afterimage started out beautifully - the gameplay is fun, the scenery is gorgeous, and the world is intriguing.”
- “The hand-drawn visuals are gorgeous, the gameplay is smooth and rewarding, and the story is deep and engaging.”
- “Still though, the gameplay is some of the best I've seen from a metroidvania, and it has beautiful art and music to boot.”
- “The gameplay is a bit slow and the movement runs into the issue of pausing when doing different attack animations, making the gameplay less fluid.”
- “The enemies, at least in the beginning, are quite boring to fight; they have cute designs and some gimmicks, but the actual combat is pretty limited. Despite having an arsenal of different weapons, the gameplay is a bit dull.”
- “I see the large amount of work that artists put into everything, but gameplay is key and that is missing here.”
music
351 mentions
55 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its beauty and ability to enhance the atmosphere, while others find it forgettable or generic. Some players highlight standout tracks that evoke strong emotions, while others note issues with looping and a lack of memorable boss themes. Overall, the soundtrack is generally considered a strong point of the game, contributing positively to the vibrant world and gameplay experience.
- “The music is fitting, definitely one of the better soundtracks out there.”
- “The world is absolutely gorgeous and the music is fantastic.”
- “The music matched the environments for the most part, ranging from sweetly serene melodies to even some Dark Souls-tier tracks when engaging with the later bosses.”
- “Big map and boring music got me falling asleep.”
- “The first is that the music is rather lacklustre; most of the game's music is completely forgettable, and the field of hydro is one of the most surprising and striking areas of the game precisely because it actually has a strong background music supporting it, so it's a shame the rest of the game doesn't match up.”
- “I didn't like the music; there were only 2 or 3 tracks that I actually liked and there are around 50 in total (if I remember correctly), so music, in my opinion, was a huge miss.”
graphics
347 mentions
66 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning visuals and beautiful art style, often compared to other high-quality titles in the genre. While many players appreciate the hand-drawn aesthetics and fluid animations, some note inconsistencies in art direction and occasional graphical issues. Overall, the game's visuals are considered a standout feature, enhancing the immersive experience despite some critiques regarding animation quality and coherence.
- “The hand-drawn visuals are gorgeous, the gameplay is smooth and rewarding, and the story is deep and engaging.”
- “Stunning visuals, extremely well-crafted levels with satisfying exploration, a robust world and slick traversal and combat make this an absolute must for any metroidvania fan.”
- “The graphics are some of the best I have ever seen in 2D platforming and the music just enhances the whole experience.”
- “Sometimes the scenery is so gorgeous and beautiful, other times the art feels so cheap and cartoony, and the art style is inconsistent.”
- “This is a mixed bag; whilst the environmental and enemy designs are uniform and fitting for each area, they are often too busy and involved, making them look like nothing more than vaguely shaped themed colors. That's besides the fact that edge and wall textures are often overlapping incorrectly, or just have holes in the artwork, making me believe there is a hidden passage where there isn't.”
- “Poorly made graphics with bad animation and nonsense level-up abilities.”
grinding
69 mentions
1 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
99 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often leading to frustration due to the overwhelming map size and the low experience rewards from enemies. While some appreciate the need for grinding to progress, many feel it detracts from the overall enjoyment, making exploration and combat feel repetitive and unfulfilling. Despite the beautiful environments, the lack of engaging worldbuilding and the necessity to backtrack frequently contribute to a sense of monotony in the grinding experience.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “It was getting tedious and boring.”
- “Not only is this frustrating but killing enemies is a tedious grind because whether they are above or below your level, enemies only give you 1/30th of your required XP.”
- “This was the most tedious part of the game for me and had me rubbing the top of my head in annoyance.”
atmosphere
31 mentions
81 % positive mentions
13 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its relaxing and immersive qualities, enhanced by beautiful art design and a soothing orchestral soundtrack that evokes Studio Ghibli vibes. Reviewers note the captivating environments, varied enemy designs, and well-crafted levels, contributing to an overall engaging experience, despite some mixed opinions on the music's impact. Overall, the atmosphere is considered top-tier, with many highlighting its effectiveness in creating a rich and diverse world.
- “The art design is beautiful and immaculate, enemy designs are varied and unique, and the atmosphere feels captivating as well with the beautiful orchestral soundtrack that gives me Studio Ghibli vibes.”
- “The atmosphere and art are also top tier, and all of that for a super low price.”
- “Beautiful graphics, immersive atmosphere, enormous world with diverse biomes, varied bestiary, challenging and memorable boss fights, many options for customization, intuitive and responsive controls, etc.”
- “It just doesn't enhance the atmosphere of the game.”
- “The general atmosphere, while no Hollow Knight, is still efficient and varied.”
emotional
30 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game received mixed feedback, with some players finding the story enjoyable yet convoluted, making it difficult to connect with the characters. While one of the bad endings elicited genuine sadness, many felt that the overall emotional impact was diminished by poor game design choices and a lack of character development. The combination of frustrating gameplay mechanics and a sprawling world contributed to a sense of disconnection from the narrative.
- “If a game’s ending is emotionally void, I consider that a huge video game sin.”
- “And even though I wouldn't say any of the main characters really grew on me, one of the bad endings was so heartbreaking that it actually made me sad.”
- “While the story was good and enjoyable to experience, it was sometimes a bit of a word salad with too much lore and naming things taking up too much of the dialogue instead of focusing on the emotional beats that are more universal.”
stability
18 mentions
11 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
89 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag; while it generally runs smoothly with tight controls and no significant hitbox issues, players frequently encounter bugs and glitches, particularly with quests and NPC interactions. Restarting the game often resolves these issues, but some players report frustrating game freezes and the presence of easily replicable glitches that can unintentionally benefit gameplay. Overall, the visual performance is praised, but the stability concerns detract from the experience.
- “Beautiful to look at and runs great on deck.”
- “Also buggy, followed a quest, looked it up online, but the NPC character was nowhere to be found.”
- “A lot of the quests you receive are vague or straight up buggy, but it seems to be resolved with just simply restarting the game.”
- “Game freezes instead.”
character development
14 mentions
57 % positive mentions
21 % neutral mentions
21 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is praised for its intricate subsystems and overall quality, contributing to a rich gameplay experience. However, some users express disappointment with the inconsistency in character design, noting that while the artwork is impressive, it doesn't always translate effectively into the final product. Overall, the combination of strong visuals, music, and storytelling enhances the character development aspect, despite some critiques.
- “The graphics are stunning, the music is amazing, and the story, along with the character design, is absolutely top-notch.”
- “The game has some lovely art and character designs.”
- “The character development subsystems are quite intricate for the genre as well.”
- “Weak character design.”
- “In artwork, character design has a face, but why don't the developers use it in the final product?”
replayability
12 mentions
33 % positive mentions
42 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability through multiple endings and a vast map filled with diverse content and mechanics, making it enjoyable for players seeking to explore different outcomes. While some players appreciate the challenge of limited explanations and the potential for future DLC and randomizers, the overall consensus is that the game provides above-average replay value.
- “Deep replayability, huge map, and fun mechanics.”
- “It's an awesome metroidvania with a lot of content and variety of enemies, combat is very fun too, art style and music are both great and it has pretty decent replayability with the trial of soul content.”
- “Re-playable for the extra endings, I guess... the game explains almost nothing to you, which was kind of fun, but see the cons section below.”
- “Hopefully they can add the DLC and also some randomizer for replayability.”
- “The game has several endings that add to the replayability of the game.”
optimization
9 mentions
22 % positive mentions
44 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
The game is generally well-optimized, featuring fluid and responsive controls that enhance gameplay. Players have successfully optimized their gear and talents to overpower bosses, although some have noted performance issues when docked and frequent difficulty spikes that can lead to confusion and backtracking. Overall, while the optimization allows for a smooth experience, certain aspects may detract from the overall performance.
- “Well optimized game with fluid and smooth responsive action control (very tight control).”
- “The majority of the bosses I simply overpowered through optimization of gear/talents (plus air sword/smash down combo is OP).”
- “I've made all the recipes, optimized my talents, and explored every nook for power-ups to no avail.”
- “Performance suffers when docked, frequent difficulty spikes, easy to get lost; requires backtracking.”
- “The majority of the bosses I simply overpowered through optimization of gear/talents (plus air sword/smash down combo is overpowered).”
humor
8 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by charming dialogue and whimsical elements, such as a funny sidekick and amusing character interactions, including a memorable snail that speaks in a quirky manner. Players find the absurdity of certain game mechanics, like the distant main quest location, to be hilariously entertaining, contributing to an overall lighthearted vibe.
- “The dialogue could be charming, especially with the cute magical girl and her funny sidekick going on an adventure.”
- “It starts nice - you run around, kill fluffy stuff and some funny skeletons!”
- “It's kind of hilarious that the main quest you get in the beginning is so far out on the map that the devs bothered to even show you where to go.”