Grief is tricky; Afterlove EP tries to capture the feeling of recovering from trauma against the backdrop of the Jakarta indie music scene.
What is Afterlove EP?
In Afterlove EP, you play as Rama, a young musician who cannot shake the shadow of his late girlfriend, Cinta. But she’s much more than just a shadow. She’s a voice that acts as Rama’s counsel helping with every moment and decision in his day-to-day. Afterlove EP is a hybrid of a narrative adventure visual novel and rhythm game that focuses on the grief, healing and complexity within some of our closest relationships.
You will spend most of the game running around a few distinct neighbourhoods in Jakarta. You’ll visit with your friends while trying to figure out your life after Cinta. At the same you’ll practice and play with your band Sigmund Feud.
Racing Against the Clock
Music plays a core role in Afterlove EP, both narratively and mechanically. Rama and many of his friends are musicians and the narrative of the game centres on your band’s final chance to break big. Tasya, the skillful defacto manager for your band, has gotten you the chance to open for a popular band from the area called L’Alphalpha at the end of the month.
During each day within the game’s 30-day calendar, you will have the daytime and nighttime to go and perform activities. Your text messages and map drive you to check out major character beats, but ultimately it’s up to you to decide which character you want to get closest to and what activities you carry out. A small complaint with this one is that at times I felt like the pace of the story dragged a little; I found myself really drawn to major development with the band, counselling and the character I chose to focus my affections towards, but the rest felt like it was standing between me and those activities.
There is some dialogue choice here, but apart from choosing a romantic partner, most of the the dialogue choices lead to the same outcome.
Music as a Character in Afterlove EP
It’s been a year since the death of Cinta and your band hasn’t practiced or performed in that time while Rama processed his grief. At several points in the game either in your room, band practice, busking or in the park. you’ll play music in two different ways. Music is the most gamey part of Afterlove EP.
When busking, you’ll choose the lyrics that will appear in your acoustic tracks. These sections are another avenue for your grief.
When you’re performing solo or with your band, there’s a very simple rhythm mechanic. Prompts will come from the left and right side of the screen and when they hit the centre, you’ll be asked to press the appropriate button. There isn’t a ton of challenge here but it’s just a vehicle to enjoy some of the stellar original music in the game.
L’Alphalpha, who you are opening for in the game, is a real band and their music is at the centre of Afterlove EP. The band has written 7 tracks for this game and despite being a non-Indonesian speaker, the melodies were great and the lyrics were translated to English on-screen. I’m pleased to say the music is one of my favourite elements of the game and I plan to dive into L’Alphalpha’s discography in the weeks to come.
Rama’s Support Circle
Rama has a great support network in Afterlove EP.
He’s got his Sigmund Feud bandmates Tasya and Adit as well as Adit’s spunky girlfriend Regina. In addition, there’s Mira (the shy, community-focused bookworm), Satria (who runs the local record shop/recording studio and who is a musician in his own right), Kak Mus (who runs the local coffee shop) and Dr. Santi (a mental health professional trying to help with your grief).
Having played through the entirety of this one in about 7 hours, I appreciate that the writing for each of the characters had a distinct voice and personality. At times, I found that the sense of humour was similar between characters but any hesitation about the writing here is countered by the deftness that the team at Pikselnesia had in dealing with tough subject matter. Outside of dealing with grief, the team wrote Dr. Santi with a lot of respect for mental health professionals and also wrote one of the character’s struggles with being queer in Indonesia very well.
Beyond the writing of the characters, I needed to commend Cinta’s voice work. As a spirit inside of Rama’s head – I love the decision for her to be the only voiced character and her performance really brought life to the writing.
Thank You, Fahmi
This game is a love letter to Jakarta and the messy process of moving on. It’s also a heartfelt tribute to the late Mohammad Fahmi who tragically passed away before being able to complete the game at the age of 32. Known for his contributions to games like Coffee Talk and What Comes After, the team was formed to finish the game and bring his vision to life.
If you have appreciated titles that Fahmi and his collaborators have made over the years, you will feel truly at home with this one.
Final Score: 8/10
A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for this feature. Reviewed on PC.
Our friends at Six One Indie and the Indie Game Awards have immortalized Fahmi and his impact on the industry through their Mohammad Fahmi Storyteller Award that was unveiled at the 2024 Edition of the Indie Game Awards.
If you’re looking for more music narrative games, check out our review of We Are OFK (also known as Pop. Love. Panic!).
Jacob is a creator marketing professional, and a fan of video games. He hosts/produces the Left Behind Game Club and is a co-host of Crossplay Conversations. At conventions and bars, he also hosts Video Game Trivia.
