After Us Review Summary

Stunning visuals and immersive atmosphere pair with fun platforming, but floaty controls, a required gamepad and persistent stuttering hold it back.

Stunning and beautiful visuals: Players repeatedly praise the game's gorgeous visuals, describing it as a visual masterpiece with stunning, stylized graphics and spectacular views. The art direction and overall aesthetic are highlighted as a major strength.

Fun and satisfying platforming: The platforming gameplay is described as fun, surprisingly deep, and satisfying, with comfortable controls. The movement mechanics are a highlight for many players.

Enjoyable atmosphere and immersive experience: The game's atmosphere is widely praised as wonderful and enjoyable, drawing players in and keeping them immersed. The environment and overall mood contribute to a captivating experience.

Excellent and atmospheric soundtrack: The soundtrack is frequently commended as great, carefully crafted, and perfectly fitting the atmosphere. It enhances the overall experience and is worth listening to separately.

Varied and refreshing level mechanics: Each level introduces a different mechanic or gimmick, keeping the gameplay fresh and preventing boredom. Players appreciate the unique aspects added in every level.

Floaty and imprecise controls: Reviewers frequently complain that movement and jumping feel floaty with little air control. Controls are described as imprecise, clunky, and janky.

Gamepad required, no keyboard support: Many players note the game requires a gamepad and lacks native keyboard and mouse support. This limits accessibility for players without a controller.

Boring and repetitive gameplay: Multiple players describe the game as boring, not fun, and very repetitive. The core loop lacks engagement for these reviewers.

Poor optimization and stuttering: The game lags even on PCs above requirements, with heavy stuttering in some areas. Optimization is described as horrible.

Overall rough and buggy: Players describe the game as rough around the edges with occasional bugs and iffy gameplay. While not severe for all, these issues affect polish.

Core 3D platformer gameplay: The game is fundamentally a 3D platformer where players jump, dash, and traverse levels to progress. Many reviewers describe it as a pure platformer with collectibles and light puzzle elements.

Players control Gaia: The protagonist is a small spirit named Gaia, a human-like girl who travels a ruined world to save animal souls. Players control Gaia throughout the game.

Puzzle solving and combat included: The game features puzzle-solving segments and combat encounters alongside platforming. Some reviewers describe the combat as light and minimal.

Collectibles scattered throughout levels: Players can find collectibles such as memories, spirits, and other items scattered across levels and worlds. These collectibles encourage exploration.

Chapter-based level structure: The game is structured in chapters, each themed around a different animal with its own distinct style. Each level introduces new mechanics or gimmicks.

Persistent stuttering and frame drops: Stutters occur regardless of resolution, FPS cap, or settings, and can worsen over time or in specific areas like the Power Plant. Frame drops are severe in certain puzzle regions and during scene changes.

Long shader compilation on first launch: Players report shader compilation taking 10-45 minutes on first launch, often on a black screen. This affects both PC and Steam Deck, with some cases causing crashes during compilation.

Runs well on some systems: Some players report smooth performance with no bugs, glitches, or crashes, even on older GPUs like GTX 1660 Ti and GTX 1060. The game runs fluidly at 4K max settings for some.

Poor Steam Deck performance and optimization: Steam Deck users report the game runs at 30fps or below, with dips into the low 20s or teens. Graphics options are disabled and settings may need lowering, making it not recommended for the device.

Inconsistent optimization and performance bugs: Optimization is inconsistent, with performance degrading after initial areas and bugs causing a big mess. Frame drops and crashes are linked to poor optimization, even on hardware above requirements.

Recommended overall: The majority of reviewers give a positive recommendation, often with high enthusiasm. Many describe it as definitely worth playing and even a must-have.

Atmospheric platformer appeal: Fans of atmospheric, artistic platformers with emotional storytelling and surreal visuals will enjoy this game. It is often recommended for its mood and environmental narrative.

Buy on sale: Many reviewers recommend purchasing only during a sale or as part of a bundle. Full price is often considered too high, while discounts make it worthwhile.

Gamepad support confirmed: Multiple reviewers confirm that the game supports controllers and recommend using one. It enhances the experience and is necessary for some.

Dark themes warning: The game contains dark surrealism and upsetting scenes, especially involving animals. Reviewers caution sensitive players or those easily depressed by such content to avoid it.

Community fair range: $9.99 - $14.99.

Game completion: 16.0h.

Story completion: 5.0h.

Players often find an initial spark in the art, setting, or movement, but many report that repetitive platforming, clunky controls, and weak hooks make the experience wear thin. A minority say the lore clicks later, but no explicit timing for that turn is provided.

Friction: Clunky controls and tedious platforming.; Slow, frustrating movement, combat, and puzzles.; Repetitive mechanics and level design.; First hour feels like simply going from point A to point B.; Weak story or character hook.; Linear paths, technical issues, and input lag at lower frame rates..

Unlock drivers: Piecing together the lore until it clicks.; Level-specific mechanics that vary play.; Different settings and stories that sustain interest..

Chill Atmospheric Explorer: Slow-paced exploration and collecting, with easy platforming and story appreciation. Motivation: Relaxation, aesthetic pleasure, and light exploration. Stance: buy.

Completionist Achievement Hunter: Thorough collection and 100% achievement completion, including online-linked tasks. Motivation: Completion, collectibles, and achievement hunting. Stance: buy.

Social Co-op Replayer: Repeated playthroughs solo and in co-op, valuing communal moments. Motivation: Sharing the experience and replaying with others. Stance: buy.

Steam Deck: Steam Deck compatibility is mixed. Several users report that verified status overstates performance: long shader compilation, a 30 FPS cap, dips into the low 20s or teens, stutter, disabled graphics options, and small-screen/input-lag concerns. Controller-only input is a repeated desktop complaint, though it is less damaging on Deck because built-in controls exist. Positive reports show the game can run well for some users, so the experience is not universally broken, but friction remains high within the playable range.

Linux and Proton: The Linux/Proton evidence is mostly positive. Multiple users report that the game runs well on Linux desktop with standard Proton and works on Steam Deck. There is one notable complaint about low frame rates and poor Steam Deck optimization, but no consensus of launch failures, anti-cheat blockers, or required Proton workarounds. The isolated performance issue does not outweigh the broader positive compatibility evidence.

Short 5-15 hour playtime: Many reviewers state the game lasts between 5 and 15 hours, with most citing around 8-12 hours for a normal playthrough. A few consider this length appropriate or balanced.

Compared to Journey and similar games: Reviewers frequently compare the game to Journey, ABZÛ, INSIDE, Gris, and Ori for its wordless environmental storytelling and emotional impact. Some note it is more challenging than Journey.

Environmental damage theme: The game deals with serious themes of environmental destruction caused by humans and conveys a message about respecting nature. Some reviewers find the message heavy-handed or misanthropic.

Beautiful audiovisual presentation: Reviewers consistently praise the game's excellent audiovisual presentation, including beautiful graphics, music, atmosphere, and landscapes. The art style and world design are highlighted as standout features.

Emotional and artistic experience: The game is described as an artistic and emotionally compelling experience with a very emotional ending. One reviewer calls it a tearjerker with high replay value and one of their favourite games.