Afterimage Analysis – Dangerous Beauty

Memories in Afterimage will be essential if you want to survive the dangers their locations contain.

Life and death. The two sides of the same coin intertwine in a cycle of terrifying beauty. Romanticism at its best, which is always accompanied by stories, stories and fables of all kinds. It wouldn’t be less Afterimagewhere thanks to its exuberant landscapes full of colors, they invite us to discover a story where the flows of the lifestream are the common link between the protagonists. Of course, don’t get engrossed in the sights of each scenario, because you can die at any time if you get lost…

Taking on the playable mechanics seen in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Hollow Knight or Aeterna Noctiswe have the latest works developed by aurogon shanghai y Modus Games. Afterimage concerns a metroidvania to use, which incorporates the virtues of the aforementioned games, but giving it a very elaborate artistic aspect. That, and a progressive difficulty that increases as our protagonist acquires new skills.

Memories are the only ones that last forever

This time we will control Renée, a girl who does not remember her past and who by force majeure has to leave her town to embark on new adventures. Of course, we are not facing any heroine. Renee has the ability to travel through the Stream, a place where the souls of those who die transcend the underworld. Although ours, for unknown reasons, it ends again in the Tree of Memories, from where we will resume our walks.

While we won’t be faced with such a difficult job as the fine folks at Aeternum Studios present to us, The lands of Engardin present many dangers that will require our full attention. Fortunately, Renee will have many abilities that we will unlock by exploring the map. And not just skills, we will have grimoires who will grant us a different magic and a full set of weapons with several types of behavior that will adapt to each type of player.

Do not neglect anything… or memorize

Field exploration will be essential, as in many other titles of the same genre. Afterimage is very big, full of places with radically different settings. And not just their locations. The type of enemies will also change, having to develop new combat strategies and learn to approach the fight against new adversaries.

It will not only be necessary to take into account the strategic factor in the fights against the fauna of this idyllic place. Its exploration system, focused on past memories, is its main feature. And I explain below. in any other metroidvania, as we explore the storyline, we see on the minimap the different rooms through which we have traveled. But in Afterimage it’s different.

In this proposal we will go blindly, without seeing the rooms passed through until we return to the Tree of Memories. What seems like a trifle becomes a factor to consider. You can get lost due to unfamiliar mapping, leave paths uncharted because you forget they’re there (or don’t see them directly), or fail to do a general composition of the area. until you reach our loved ones checkpoints. It doesn’t break the patterns of what has been seen in this type of game, but at least it offers something different so far.

Races for dream worlds

As we said before, Afterimage is a big game for a metroidvania. It can easily take us 25-30 hours to complete the game, even more if we want to do backtrack and leave no area of ​​the scene unexplored. Besides the main story, we will have several secondary missions that we can complete to gain more experience.

At first, it is highly recommended to make these commands optional, because In the beginning, we have few skills and means to face the battles. The better equipped we are, the more affordable encounters against typical final bosses will be. In any case, each time we go to a new area of ​​the map, it will set us the recommended level to cross that part of the map. A positive aspect that also gives us a hint on the places to visit or postpone for when we are better equipped.

memories that kill

Already when we spent several hours exploring the world of Engardin, we’re going to carve out a protagonist in our playable style. In addition to weapons of various types (scythes, sabers, katanas, etc.), we will spend talent points from a skill tree that will give us bonuses of a different nature. that youn type of badge very similar to Hollow Knight or Ori and the Will of the Wisps which we will equip according to our needs.

I leave for last one of the most striking sections of Afterimage, its visual style. It’s wonderful to visit the dream locations of the title, whether open spaces full of light and color, or caves full of mushrooms that generate a very striking contrast. The handwork done by the studio is spectacular, and never falters.

Outstanding craftsmanship is useless if the gameplay is disastrous, but fortunately, this factor does not occur in the game. The protagonist moves like a charm, and thanks to his skills that we will acquire over time, the dash lateral and its fluid jumps, we will soon be doing fancy things for each phase that makes up this dream world.

Conclusion of the afterimage

Aurogon Shanghai and Modus Games offer us a metroidvania special, both for its artistic section and for several new playable facets in the genre. Visiting the landscapes of Engardin is wonderful, as each region has its own radically different style, with its own types of enemies and dangers. But also, we are faced with a demanding title, which invites us to concentrate so as not to die and gradually advance in the plot which concerns our heroine.

Fortunately, Renée will not be ill-equipped. We will have different types of weapons, magic and special abilities that we will unlock as we progress through the plot. And when you start to carve out a heroine with a thousand associated powers, the game gains in versatility and strategic factor. If you don’t like the genre, you should try the benefits that Afterimage has to offer, as it’s one of the best exponents we’re going to see this year on consoles.