Afterdream

Afterdream is a 2D psychological horror adventure game by an indie developer Jesse Makkonen, known for the warmly received Heal and DISTRAINT. It was published by Gamera Games, a Chinese studio known for publishing Firework and The Rewinder.

Plot

The game begins in a psychologist's office, where the protagonist talks to a psychotherapist about her most recent dream. She claims she was able to notice and feel details that are usually blurry within dreams. The psychologist encourages her to keep telling him more, but she can't recall the rest. To help her get back on track, he suggests the protagonist close her eyes.

A moment later she's transported back to her disturbing dream. The player gets to see it and participate in it.

Mechanics

Like in other adventure games, the gameplay revolves around exploring the world, collecting scattered items and talking to encountered NPCs. There's an additional mechanic, however, and that is to take photos of the environment.

We unlock the camera very early on. Using it lets us discover previously unseen things, such as hidden passages or devices. Pressing Q activates the camera, having us look through it. We move it left or right, searching the area until we find something special. Taking a photo of it uncovers unseen objects, letting us access new rooms, get rid of barricades or complete objectives. With the F key we can also temporarily light up dark areas.

Technical aspects

Afterdream features 2D pixel art visuals. The game's subdued color palette consists primarily of shades of grey and black. As there are many flickering images in the game, it may not be suitable for those suffering from epilepsy.