After Us, the second video game from Piccolo Studio, takes players on a captivating adventure as they embody the main character, Gaia. As Gaia, players are tasked with saving and reviving the souls of extinct animals, such as the last whale or eagle, while uncovering the tragic events that led to their demise. Players will face dangerous, oil-covered Devourers that threaten remaining life, while utilizing special abilities that allow for exploration, evasion of traps, and the power to clear the world's consuming oil.
In a recent Game ZXC interview, After Us co-game directors Alexis Corominas and Jordi Ministral shed light on the development of the game and the significance of Gaia's abilities in shaping the gameplay and story.
After Us: Gaia's Traversal Abilities
Gaia is personified as a small nymph with nature-inspired characteristics who possesses a range of traversal abilities, which are a core element of the gameplay experience. She is light, agile, and fast, effortlessly gliding, jumping, and dashing through the world. Players have the freedom to combine these traversal skills, allowing for the exploration of a large, organic world. Additionally, Gaia possesses special skills such as throwing her heart and performing a burst of life, which add a unique touch to her abilities. As Corominas said,
“Gaia is a small character in a huge, menacing world, but we wanted her to feel powerful and dynamic. We designed the traversal skills so they felt good and cool to perform. We wanted players to be able to combine them and explore a big, organic world.”
Gaia's traversal abilities are not only essential for exploration but also play a crucial role in combat against the Devourers, dangerous creatures encountered throughout the game. Instead of relying solely on combat mechanics, the game emphasizes the integration of traversal and combat. Players are encouraged to use Gaia's traversal skills creatively to navigate around enemies. Gaia's heart, for example, acts as a boomerang that can be thrown and recalled at will, interacting with the environment to switch or activate elements. In addition, the burst of life ability grows different types of vegetation around Gaia, temporarily stunning the Devourers and providing an opportunity for redemption, with Ministral adding,
“We wanted combat to feel like an extension of traversal. You can jump over enemies, round them, dodge them, or go through their legs. Gaia’s traversal is very powerful against them, and we encourage players to do that, not just run away from them.”
Stats and Abilities in After Us
One notable aspect of After Us is the absence of traditional stats or special abilities. Instead of focusing on mechanical rewards, the game opts for emotional rewards. The actions performed in the game, such as freeing animal spirits or growing life, are entirely optional and driven by the player's desire to create a more beautiful world. This decision aligns with the game's concept and encourages players to connect with the narrative on a deeper level. “The border between gameplay and background is intentionally blurred,” Corominas said. “It is the way you perform them and the world in which you perform them that create an original experience.”
Furthermore, Ministral added that the team’s goal was to make the game easy to play while allowing for a bit of challenge as well.
“We want to reach a wide audience, so the platforming shouldn’t be difficult, but at the same time it should allow for a bit of challenge here and there, specifically in moments that we want players to feel under pressure."
The World of After Us
Gaia's traversal abilities allow players to explore the vast environments and landscapes in the game, uncovering hidden secrets, and piecing together the puzzle of what led to the world's downfall. In the game, players can grow vegetation and free animal spirit with their special abilities. According to Ministral, the developers wanted players to have power and freedom both in terms of travel and their special abilities. This gameplay design falls in line with the overall theme of the game, displaying the power of each individual to create or destroy, and Ministral added,
“You bring back life to the world because you want to, not because the game forces you to."
Beyond the devastation of the landscape sits the Ark, a Garden of Eden-styled haven to which all spirits are returned. Ministral explained that this area is “a chill, beautiful garden where all the spirits that you free can wander around.” “This area celebrates life and your actions in the game, and we wanted it to feel like a magic forest,” Ministral said.
The traversal abilities of Gaia not only serve as a means to progress through the game but also as a metaphor for resilience and adaptability. Gaia's nimbleness and agility represent the capacity for growth and the ability to overcome obstacles. Through her traversal abilities, players are encouraged to explore, experiment, and find their own paths, mirroring Gaia's journey of self-discovery.
Furthermore, the developers have incorporated a unique storytelling approach in After Us. Instead of relying solely on traditional dialogue and exposition, the game relies heavily on visual storytelling and environmental cues. The world itself becomes a narrative canvas, conveying emotions, past events, and the consequences of human actions. This approach encourages players to immerse themselves in the game's atmosphere and interpret the story through their own observations and experiences.
After Us is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.