After School

Whether it’s just a string of chemical reactions or not, love seems to control a great portion of the human life. Many great things have been accomplished in its name, but maybe just as many horrible acts have been committed as well. Rejection is difficult to accept in every kind of situation, but even more so when the one rejecting you is the person you envision the rest of your life with.

After School is a simple and rather short interactive story that puts you in the role of a school girl with a crush on a boy. You don’t actually do very much, other than click around the screen to move and interact with a few objects. Everything else is just a long cutscene in which the story is explained, and you can see what the girl is thinking about when she tries to get the boy’s attention somehow.

Speaking of which, the plot is also quite basic, yet pretty powerful in some regards. There are no great epiphanies or realizations to open your eyes to a greater truth, but the atmosphere is great, and the girl’s feelings are portrayed in a very touching way. There is no actual dialog involved either, but there are short text pieces that explain what goes through the girl’s mind at certain points during the story. In short, a girl is in love with a boy, and she goes by his house every evening to try and get his attention.

There is a puzzle element to tackle as well, although it shouldn’t take you very long to figure out what needs to be done. You can collect a couple of objects every time the girl returns from her walk, and these items can then be combined and used together to solve a riddle. It’s certainly not the game’s strong point, but it adds a bit of action to the overall atmosphere.

In the same regard, the hand-drawn graphics do a wonderful job when it comes to portraying a sad, yet beautiful environment. The characters are rather crude and sketchy, but you can look at them as symbols instead. To top things off, a nice melody plays in the background as well, one that emphasizes the constant feeling of sorrow and sadness that characterizes the adventure.

In the end, After School is a bit too short to be considered a full game, but the experience is definitely touching and memorable. It’s a great way to experience a rollercoaster of emotions, so you must be ready to hold back a few tears if you are easily impressed.