Back in 2004, a young Polish team Intoxicate Interactive began the development of a post -apocalyptic RPG AFTERFALL. The authors wanted to make their Fallout, But in the end, after many years of unsuccessful search for the publisher, they decided to change the concept. So in 2011, the project was born AFTERFALL: Insanity. It was a fairly unprofitable clone Dead Space, Only the action took place not in space, but on the earth burned out by nuclear apocalypse, where few survivors were hidden in underground refuge. The authors said that the earned money would go to the implementation of the initial plan, that is, to create a non -linear RPG in the post -core world. And now, after another five years, the first episode comes out Afterfall: Reconquest, in which we see only rudiments of role -playing game, many flaws and … a good tangled for the future.
Shadows of the past
So, again the post -apocalypse, dilapidated cities and wasteland, teeming with mutants. Survivors in a nuclear disaster broke up into different families, groups and fractions. Many of them found refuge in one of the big cities hidden deep in the mountains. Others disappeared in an unknown direction. When the resources in the city ended, people began to descend into the valleys to conquer land from mutants and
restore civilization.
But the main character, a gloomy man nicknamed the Reaper, dressed in a stalker overalls, is the goal of one thing: to avenge the death of his parents and find out about the fate of his brother and sisters, who either died, or at the same time “others” disappeared.In an unknown direction. He works for one of the groups of the survivors, performs different tasks, fights with bandits and mutants, but the plot is focused around the last hero. The reaper hears voices, sees nightmares and “flashbacks” related to his family, and gradually recognizes more and more details about what happened to him and his relatives.
Of course, there were no cliches in the script – for example, there are mandatory “secret experiments”, whose victim was our hero. Nevertheless, this story really fascinates. The authors managed to dashingly twist the intrigue: at some point they turn everything upside down, make the reap go to the war against yesterday’s friends … and break the story at a glance.
All this is complemented by black and white comics illustrating the plot, well-conveyed atmosphere of gloomy post-apocalypse and the same black and white, with intersperses of red, a picture that gives what is happening a special mood and stylistics.
Plus minus
Unfortunately, the gameplay itself also turned out to be “black and white”. In the sense that some bright moments and ideas are accompanied by frank shortcomings. By mechanics Afterfall: Reconquest It is an action from a third person in a more or less open world. Performing the tasks: find out about the fate of the missing detachment, deliver the radio, collect three medical containers, and so on, we may well be distracted, delve into some shaft, kill all mutants there and then find out that it was one of the side quests.
However, there is such freedom only at first: the further, the more we are tied to the plot. There are still few secondary tasks, there are no moral dilemmas at all, and the choice of replicas in well -written (this must be admitted!) Dialogues seriously, unfortunately, does not affect. That is, it seems that the authors wanted to realize a certain non -linearity, but it remained only at the level of the hint – in any case, in the first episode.
The same with the role system. Only three skills are genetically altered – the energy shield built into the hand of Shottgan with endless cartridges (it consumes only an analogue of Mana, which is very quickly restored) and the ability to suck vitality from defeated opponents, replenishing health, replenishing health. Of these, only two are really in demand – the energy shield is actually not used. For the implementation of some missions, we get “upgrades” for abilities, in addition, they are scattered in the back streets of some locations. That’s the whole role system.
Enemies give a light, constantly keep in suspense, and the tasks are distinguished by some variety – we overcome cunning traps, minute passages, dodge the train rushing at us and even move the railway platform to run the train. However, opponents at the same time take exclusively in number, and not the skill, the types of weapons are not enough, and it differs little from each other – if desired, the whole game can be passed with a gun and a built -in shotgun with endless cartridges. There is stealth, but it is useless. Locations are large but half -empty. The picture is stylish, but still outdated, and in some places a black and white filter makes it only worse. Plus technical flaws and crooked animation of the protagonist ..
Many developers dreamed and dream of making their Fallout. But few people do. So Intoxicate Interactive it still does not work. The first episode Afterfall: Reconquest too contradictory, there are too many flaws in him to call it a successful attempt. And yet in the game you feel the potential, and the plot is completely well written, makes you wait with interest to wait for the continuation. So we hope that in the second episode the authors will still work on mistakes.
Pros: An interesting plot;unusual stylistics;atmospheric;Quite tough battles;there are beginnings of nonlinearity, freedom and role system.
Cons: Many ideas are not brought to mind;outdated graphics;Technical flaws.