AFTERLOVE EP
A visual novel that will tug at your guitar strings
“ABOUT VARIOUS THINGS, SUCH AS MUSIC, LOVE, GRIEF, MENTAL HEALTH.”
FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 2022 / DEV PIKSELNESIA / PLAYERS 1
You don’t see many games with modern-day Jarkata as a setting, but Indonesian game studio Pikselnesia is setting out to change that with Afterlove EP, set in Blok M, which is, of all places, a bus terminal in the city. The slice-of-life visual novel follows Rama, a boy who is trying to get over his lost love by losing himself in city life.
“Blok M is a real-life bus terminal that somehow became the central point to reach any place in Jakarta, even though it’s not the central terminal,” game director Mohammad Fahmi explains.
“Because of its role, Blok M has become a place where people with various backgrounds gather. It’s the melting pot of the capital city. It represents the whole city and the people that live within.”
Blok M is your gateway into the vibrant city of Jarkata, a place where Rama hangs out with friends, plays guitar with his band, and tries to get over the loss of his girlfriend, Cinta. Getting through his grief won’t be easy, as Cinta’s voice now lives inside his head. It sounds like the story will leave an ache in your heart but Fahmi says that there’s more to the tale than that.
“We want to talk about various things, such as music, love, grief, mental health, learning how to love others, and, most importantly, learning how to love ourselves,” Fahmi says. “The theme might be already popular in Western media, but in Indonesia, the themes we wanted to share here are mostly only seen in movies.”
With indie band L’Alphalpha and artist Soyatu on board, the talent behind Afterlove EP is amazing. A mix of narrative adventure, dating sim, and rhythm game, Afterlove EP looks to deliver a touching story. Time to get the tissues. *sniff*