Afterimage Reviews
A relatively enjoyable Metroidvania that is still noticeably rough around the edges.
"Debute Metroidvania for fantasy lovers."
Review in Finnish | Read full review
A gorgeous and solid Metroidvania on PS5
Afterimage is a Metroidvania with attractive 2D visuals and crisp combat, and it really wants to make sure you've earned any victories you get. The action is tricky, especially with the numerous bosses that are smarter than what you may be used to. But if you're up to the challenge, you'll find the game's rewards.
If not for some design flaws, Afterimage could have been an exemplary metroidvania. Not knowing where to go most of the time and the confusion of the story prevented it from getting a higher rating, but for fans of the genre, it's a real (and endless) blessing.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
A metroidvania that follows the basics of the genre to the letter and with a great artistic taste. Getting lost in the world and doing trial and error until you find the right path will be the norm, but that's how curiosity is born to explore this world and its mysterious history.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Afterimage looks fantastic, plays well, and is a ton of fun in its best moments. However, the lack of direction in its large world leads to constant pathfinding annoyances. In a genre filled with great titles, it's a solid option but one that doesn't truly stand out.
Not just a pretty face: Afterimage is not only a beautiful metroidvania, but also a very competent one, clever in taking inspiration from the right sources and able to deliver a world that you never get tired of exploring. Good thing too, considering how big it is.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Unlike a lot of games that pull together pieces from the Souls-like formula and the Metroidvania template, Afterimage manages to give equal weight to each half. Better yet, it mostly delivers on the best parts of both sub-genres.
Although not without flaws, Afterimage manages to stand out in the panorama of 2D adventures in metroidvania sauce, thanks to its wonderful backdrops, good level design and playful set-up.
Review in Italian | Read full review
With a more than 26-hour runtime, Afterimage kept me hooked to my seat as I ventured through the beautiful world with elegantly designed creatures and battles everywhere I turned. For the price of entry - Afterimage is one of the best Metroidvanias I have personally ever played.
Afterimage is a solid and aesthetically amazing metroidvania. Despite some minor flaws, it's a title absolutely worth playing for all the fans of the genre.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Aurogon Shanghai studio definitely created Afterimage as a work made of a lot of effort and beauty. The intention to produce such a vast and dense metroidvania doesn't always contribute to the game as a whole but it delivers a ton of content to explore, admire and face. Curious players will be rewarded with many discoveries in impressive sceneries, but those who are bothered by backtracking and a lack of direction may be frustrated by the big distances between the spots of Engardin.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
You have to give props to developer Aurogon Shanghai for putting a lot of secrets and areas to explore and conquer, as well as a New Game+ and a couple of extra endings to unlock that try to make sense of the plot involving an amnesiac and her tiny familiar. Afterimage is solid search action bliss that will keep you immersed and engrossed for 20+ hours on end, even if it sounds like a third-party Photoshop plug-in.
Afterimage is a fascinating and content-rich metroidvania, capable of keeping us glued for dozens of hours through fantastic worlds, an elegant combat system, challenging bosses, and platforming stages to master. All beautifully blended and delightfully packaged, making Aurogon Shanghai's adventure shine as one of the best titles of its genre.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Afterimage is a game with many and varied virtues: aesthetically it is beautiful, its addictive combat, soulslike mechanics and difficult bosses are a challenge... But in the same way, it does not do anything especially innovative, nor surprising, diluting a little all the good that is in it, which is not little. It is also quite long and comes translated.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
While it absolutely has some visual appeal, the familiarity and general lack of spark in play makes it underwhelming
Sure, Afterimage has plenty of flaws. It’s a little too difficult at times. Its choice to lock fast travel behind a rare potion is frustrating. And it’s all too easy to feel like you’re at a dead end. But despite its issues, it has kept us coming back for more. This is a beautiful metroidvania with a huge, impeccably-designed world that begs to be explored. Whether you’re a long-time metroidvania fan or enjoy action RPGs, Afterimage is well worth pouring some time into.
If you’re looking for an adventure that will keep you busy, Afterimage will fit that bill quite nicely. A single playthrough will take you roughly 30 hours to complete. With such a sizable quest, heaps of hidden items to uncover, and multiple endings to unlock, dedicated players can expect the game to keep them busy for weeks on end. Not bad for a Kickstarted project from a tiny Shanghainese studio, right? To call Afterimage ambitious would be an understatement, to put it mildly. Despite its excessive backtracking and hard-to-follow story, Afterimage is hands-down the most enjoyable Metroidvania I’ve played since Hollow Knight. With an engrossing world to explore, superb combat, and a plethora of fun abilities to master, it’s a game that’s almost impossible to put down once it gets its hooks in you. Even if you feel like you’ve had your fill of Soulslike Metroidvanias in recent years, you owe it to yourself to make time for Afterimage.
Afterimage is an artistic and intricate Metroidvania game, and it is good at being challenging and also approachable.