After Us: Everything We Know

Ever since Journey phased out of our peripheral vision back in 2012, a gap has tiptoed around the platforming genre. Perhaps not as much these days, though, thanks to Piccolo Studio's upcoming venture After Us finally developing a bridge to seal that very gap. But what do we know about it, other than its blatant nod to some of the most memorable platforming games in video game history? Well, a fair amount as it turns out, thanks to The Game Awards shedding light on it at the recent showcase.

If you're looking to invest in one of the most anticipated platform action-adventure games of 2023, then be sure to read on, as we'll be listing all of the primary details on Piccolo's latest project. Here's everything you need to know about After Us.

What Is After Us?

After Us is an upcoming platform action-adventure game by Piccolo, an indie studio that formed under the feathers of Arise: A Simple Story, a 2019 tale that delivered a hearty narrative through the power of memories. Its second game, from the looks of it, will retain a lot of the core qualities as seen in Arise: A Simple Story, which will no doubt bode well with fans of the genre.

“After Us is a game about legacy and hope,” said Alexis Corominas, Game Director at Piccolo Studio. “We set out to craft a powerful game experience that blends poignant narrative with creative game design and unique mechanics.”

Story

After Us plants you in a desolate world where the souls of the fallen have become trapped in vessels. As Gaia, the Spirit of Life and a saviour of sorts, you must traverse the fractured world using a thread of abilities to restore the lost souls and return them to Mother's Ark, a haven that grants its peers passage to an everlasting afterlife.

“The last animals have died, and Mother has used all of her Life Force to save their souls, now trapped in their vessels,” the press release reads. “Gaia’s quest is to rescue each of their souls and bring them back to Mother's Ark. Gaia’s traversal abilities will allow you to glide, jump, and dash to explore new areas and evade deadly traps, while her special gifts will grant you the power to clear the oil that consumes the world, face hungry Devourers, and break souls free.”

Gameplay

From a bird's-eye view, After Us looks a whole lot like Journey, mostly for its buttery mechanics and swift movement patterns. A platformer at heart, the Piccolo-led indie will delve into an almost semi-open world setting that boasts plenty of obstacles and tricky courses for players to tackle.

To add, After Us will also include its fair share of combat, though the trailer does suggest players will more than likely tackle these situations through the use of stealth or evasive maneuvers. Also, players can expect a variety of puzzles to solve, which will no doubt play into the whole platforming elements that the bulk of the game will so clearly favor.

It's hard to picture After Us being an overly complicated game, or even a long game, for that matter. Of course, we can only really speculate at this point, but history suggests that games of this kind usually only last roughly three to four hours. Only time will tell on that one, though.

Development

After Us is being developed by Piccolo Studio, a firm that made its start with Arise: A Simple Story, a 2019 platform action-adventure game that took its players through an emotional journey built on memories, love, and loss. Its second venture, After Us, will serve as the studio's second platform game, and will come to light in early 2023.

“Arise was us looking back and that's why we had an old man looking back at memories of his life and all that,” Alex Corominas, co-founder at Piccolo Studio said. “We were having a middle age crisis, I had the dream of creating a video game company. Now we're a working company, we have to do a second title, [and] we decided to look ahead. We were older, some of us had sons during the process, and so you start to see the future and… what are we leaving behind us?”

After Us will be published by Private Division, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, and a leading factor in the fulfilment of indie-led projects. For more details on the publisher's portfolio, see here.

Trailer

So, does After Us have a trailer to help whet our appetites? Yes! Thanks to The Game Awards, Piccolo was able to stage their latest project over a relatively short but surprisingly insightful gameplay trailer. Curious? You can see it for yourself up in the embed above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

After Us is set to launch in Spring 2023 on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam. Although without a concrete release date, the initial announcement seems to draw a circle around March, April, and May. And if we're to go by that, then Piccolo should (hopefully) shed a little extra light on the official date over the coming months.

As it stands, neither Xbox Game Pass nor PlayStation Plus have mentioned anything about After Us coming to their respective platforms. This is subject to change prior to the release window, though at present, signs indicate that it will only be available as either a store-bought physical or digital copy. There have been no updates on the game's day-one editions, which leads us to believe that it will only be available in a standard format.

Looking for more updates on After Us before it goes live? Feel free to check in with the official social feed here for more details.

So, what's your take? Will you be picking up a copy of After Us when it drops? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.