Until Then
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Critic Reviews for Until Then
While the setting and inspirations are Filipino through and through, the themes of friendship, love, loss, and acceptance in this visual novel are universal.
Until Then is still a visual novel, clinging to a large cultural stratum of contemporary culture. However, it is also a very emotional and lampooning story about growing up, friendship, betrayal and love.
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My feelings about Until Then evolved the longer I played. What at first seemed like a slow-paced visual novel with retro graphics gradually began to reveal itself as something much more sophisticated. Excellent character development and a surprising, emotionally varied narrative are at the heart of Until Then, but its storytelling mechanics are fresh and contemporary, too. Mark and his gang have interesting stories to tell, and so does Until Then.
In the end, Until Then is a bit like a pixelated Life Is Strange. And like the best Life Is Strange games, it strikes a near-perfect balance between the mundanity of every day life and the joyous and devastating moments that occasionally perforate that normality.
Until Then stands as a heartening example of a narrative adventure game and manages to strike a chord with its delicate balance of the supernatural and highschool drama. Managing to deftly avoid the tropes that dominate the space, every choice in Until Then feels intentional and every interaction feels far more earnest than some of its contemporaries. I very much enjoyed experiencing this story and being able to almost relive some of my own silly highschool stories through the eyes of Mark. Lying underneath the teenage awkwardness is a story about growth and acceptance, and it is one that everyone will be able to see themselves in.
The visuals are a standout in this regard too. For one, the graphic a friend makes in honor of a “date” you went on with a new classmate is so overblown (complete with doves) that it would look right at home memorializing someone’s tragically premature death. These jokes are funny, but they’re also emblematic of the way in which these kids—all of whom have their own deeply felt emotional baggage—ultimately lift each other up. It reflects a genuine and kind-hearted rejection of the kind of cynicism that’s far too often romanticized in other teen dramas.
Until Then is a must-play for lovers of narrative-focused games everywhere. The game already depicts living the life of a teenager in the Phillippines in the 2010s beautifully with its thoughtful and authentic writing, combined with a picturesque world. That alone would be enough, but it goes above and beyond, adding breathtaking pixel animation, an intriguing mystery and a palpable geopolitical subplot. The cast of characters is incredibly endearing and you'll grow to love them all, building to the final emotional gut punch of the game that takes the wind out of you. Joining the plethora of quality narratives in 2024, Until Then is a game you won't soon forget.
The devil really is in the details in Until Then, a heart warming narrative adventure.
