Game news Between Silksong and Genshin Impact inspirations, we’ve found the most magical video game of this new year!
The most beautiful game of April is here and it’s a mix of Ori and Genshin Impact. We played it for a good hour, here are our impressions!
Waiting for Silk Song…
With every Indie Direct from Nintendo, it’s the same old story. Everyone goes there with their little joke, playing over the line hoping that basically this time is really the right thing. “It’s for tonight!”, “the shadow drop”… Everyone only has eyes for Hollow Knight: Silksong. And as with every Direct for more than 4 years, it’s a disappointment once again. No, the sequel to the acclaimed Metroidvania has no release date yet. And to drown my tears a bit (I didn’t want to hope, but I gave in, yes…), I decided to target another Metroidvania in search of a bandage to mend my little broken heart. And the game is about Afterimage. It’s been a while since we set our sights on the Aurogon Shanghai title. In fact, it was part of our list of 10 Metroidvania to watch in 2022 and beyond. And we won’t lie to each other: he doesn’t actually have much to do with our little hollow knight. Stiffer and brighter, it’s more like an Ori. In addition, it borrows many things from the first opus, both in terms of interface and combat, repetitive and rigid to say the least. Like any good self-respecting Metroidvania, the title offers a significant evolution of its gameplay, but in order to benefit from it it will be necessary to overcome the (great) frustration of the beginnings.
As I’m sure you understood, in 2023, taking control of a game with yesterday’s gameplay is going to be a bit complicated. Finally, we’re in the era of complete remakes, designed to make games with aging and overly rigid mechanics more accessible. Suffice it to say that it will take you some time to get used to appreciating Afterimage and its rigidity. But once your fingers get used to the gameplay, the title is quite an entertaining Metroidvania. Unsurprisingly we find the clichés of the genre and of course it is pleasant to (finally) bring down a boss. The enemies are numerous (and that even with only one hour of gameplay), the complete and interesting interface, the equipment system that allows you to opt for a personalized fighting style… The only downside is the difficulty of the title, which is greater than the rigidity of the gameplay as patterns not always very inspired by enemies. As a result, there is sometimes a lack of rhythm and the gameplay can be frustrating. But if you can get over that, Afterimage is a nice Metroidvania. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, nor is it among the best, but I enjoyed discovering it for an hour. To tell the truth, I was even charmed by this remarkable clip (although I prefer ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights in a darker style). But we have to admit that this isn’t really due to Afterimage’s gameplay. The game owes this magic above all to its universe.
Genshin Impact’s air in 2D
It literally jumps out at you: Afterimage is beautiful, very beautiful! On the Steam page, we are told about a “Wonderful hand-drawn 2D world” and the least we can say is that the promise will be kept. With certain plans, as well as with the design of our heroine Renée, we almost have the impression of dealing with a Genshin Impact in 2D. And that clearly shouldn’t displease me. What kept me going all the time was the thought of being able to find out a little more about the wide world of Engardin. Above all, not only is it pleasing to the eye, it is also rich. For over an hour we were able to see surprisingly varied environments and that inevitably makes us want more. Add to this a soundtrack that is not always present but catches the eye as soon as it appears and you have a very pleasant universe to browse and discover.
On the other hand, on the story side, it’s a mess! It’s funny because during the cutscene at the beginning we want to get involved with what Afterimage is telling us. We let ourselves be carried away by the soft voice of the narrator who speaks to us of a “Promised War Lost in Time”of the fate of the sun and moon, from a “courant” which allows souls to emigrate and to a specific “elle”. It looked exciting, especially with the beauties artwork basically… but then I didn’t understand much. And I would have a hard time explaining to you what the story of this game is, to tell you the truth. Afterimage spends its time showering us with cryptic imagery, puzzling terms, and a lore that’s clearly in no hurry to give us explanations. We’re still not far from indigestion, and if you’re going to follow the narrative, you’ll have to hang in there. And this is the feeling that remains after closing Afterimage: Tedious beginnings for a pleasant experience at the end. At the very least, the game will have managed to pique my curiosity, enough to keep me entertained for a few more hours.
Note that Afterimage will be released on April 25th on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series.
