AFTERPARTY
Drink your heart out
There are lots of similarities between Earth and Hell in Afterparty, which might say more about our own existence than the fire-and-brimstone one inhabited by demons and tormented souls. Yes, those who find themselves in the bad place have to deal with eternal torment, but only as part of the 9-to-5 to give their torturers a break. Outside the workplace, humans and demons share drinks, and party long into Hell’s night.
Recent college graduates Lola and Milo unfortunately find themselves graduating life too, entering into Hell together due to their untimely deaths being linked. Narrowly missing sentencing as they turn up late, they’re granted one free night in Hell, and end up pursuing a loophole they hear about – outdrink Satan in a drinking game, and he’ll let you go back to the world of the living.
The lighting effects on show in Hell are utterly gorgeous, but we do encounter more than a few bugs, from lighting glitches to pathing problems.
Taking place on a 2D plane, you control the duo as they explore each district in Hell in order to allow Satan to challenge them, meeting various demons and helping them out in exchange for favours. It’s reminiscent of classic point-and-click adventure games, but puzzles are very light – mostly you’ll be branching the narrative as you make dialogue choices. 1 At each bar you end up at, you can choose different drinks that often unlock a third dialogue choice relating to the chosen drink. 2 Considering there’s the touch of an interesting puzzle here and there, we’d have loved something a little stronger than the tasty but weak cocktail we got. Oscar Taylor-Kent