Until Then

Ничего не узнавайте об игре. Если она вам чем-то приглянулась, смело берите её, поверьте. Я сильно сожалею, что ещё до прохождения игры узнал её сюжет. Но даже так, игра смогла пробить меня на эмоции. Получил неимоверное удовольствие при прохождении, совсем не хотелось выходить из игры. Она душевна, и этим цепляет. И сейчас, когда я узнаю, что моё первое прохождение - не последнее в этой игре, я продолжу играть в неё. Не знаю, что меня ждёт дальше, но этому я и рад.

В чем прикол русский язык удалять? Сама игра мне очень понравилась, но блин.. ОНА БЫЛА ПОЛНОСТЬЮ НА РУССКОМ! А сейчас, когда я решила добить оставшиеся достижения она сразу открылась на английском и в настройках русский язык пропал. Очень тупое решение, друзья. Спустя столько времени удалять язык... Крутая борьба у вас, крутые санкции)))

断断续续玩了一个月，终于玩完了，三周目实际游玩时长大概30h（很认真看文本的情况下） 游戏优缺点都很明显，总的来说瑕不掩瑜。 优点：画面精致，光影处理的很好，背景音乐很有感觉。个人来说，算是叙事游戏很新鲜的玩法：可以手机刷朋友圈，聊天以及各种小游戏互动等等。 缺点：一周目一开始玩有点无聊，有些对话太长太慢了，急性子玩不来。三周目的结局并不算完美，玩完有种拯救世界最后失去最重要的人的感觉。 以下纯个人吐槽（严重剧透警告）：个人觉得一周目就是一个有意义的结局，三周目打完白忙活的感觉，[spoiler] 除了二周目拯救朋友凯茜以及三周目拯救班长 [/spoiler]，更加不理解[spoiler] 为什么马克和妮可结局变成陌生人，我还是很磕他俩的啊啊啊啊 [/spoiler] dlc据说很烂，不打算玩了hh

(HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD) (Also, I have nearly 45 hours on PS5. I just got it on PC for the dlc) Until Then is, at worst, my second favorite game of all time, and at best, the best piece of gaming/literature I've ever played/read. But before I go all fanboy on you guys, here's some light negatives: 1. If you are expecting anything other than a visual novel with very light gameplay segments, this game will leave you dissapointed. This is not a exploration game, this is not a gun game, this is not nearly a game at all. It is a story, a novel even, and it should be treated as such. I, quite frankly, don't understand why there is a large group of the community that wishes it was a game, when it is clearly more of a visual novel, but I digress. 2. Certain plot-points (such as the quantum-physics plotline with Louise and everything), are convoluted at times. It can be quite hard to keep track of all the characters and subplots and romances within the story. Now I, for one, love this aspect of the game. There is so much to get out of it and follow. But I also understand that certain people, especially those who wish it was more of a game, could get lost or not really remember everything needed to get the full experience and story. 3. If you get caught onto certain side-characters storylines (looking at you, Ridel & Ryan), you might leave disapointed because I will admit certain characters weren't given much time to shine, if any at all. However, this is a minor complaint, because at the end of the day, Ryan, Sam, etc aren't exactly vital to the plot. Now, all the positives woohoo! 1. The game is, quite honestly, the most emotionally engaging and in-the-feels storyline I have personally ever gotten to experience. From Cathy's death, to Mark and Nicole's eventual separation in the third act, and even minor things like Sophia's grandma, or Cathy making simple statements and explanations to her life, this game doesn't shy away from making even the toughest of men bawl their eyes out like little babies. I was included in this bunch, don't worry. 2. The overall messaging of the game is what's most impressive to me. The devs were able to tell a crazy complicated and layered love story, whilst also having in-depth plot-points on death, acceptance, grief, loss, gain, and many more things. It's insane that an indie team that was previously basically unknown was able to craft such a good and engaging storyline. 3. The writing itself is very good. The characters all feel so different and unique from each other, which as a avid reader, is always appreciated. Take Cathy's unique dialogue and choice of words like "Oh-Ho!" and calling people "silly!". Or take Mark being relatively grounded and not one to over-exaggerate himself. The writing is honestly masterful for what it is. While the game is quite long, I must say that the dialogue was able to keep me thoroughly engaged throughout the nearly 40 hour experience. 4. For the price of just 20$, this game is able to keep you interested and engaged for well over 30 hours of gameplay, which is more than I can say for like, 75% of games out there. My words to all of the people who say the game isn't engaging: I've seen several negative comments within this steam review page, and thyey all loop around the same exact things. "The game isn't interesting enough." "The story is too confusing for me." "The payoff isn't worth the time." What I say to them? That's okay. Either your brain is fried and you can't sit and read for a while, or you're simply not cut out for this type of game. Not to be rude, but if you can't sit through amazing writing because it takes too long? This game isn't made for you.

Visual novels are, in a sense, a special genre. You can get away with many things as creator. It's all about the charm. Making people love characters. Keeping them in suspense, waiting for another plot twist. Worrying about the fate of your favorite tamagotchis. You can even get away with some horrible cases of awful pacing. If only the pay-off at the end of the story is worth it. In case of Until Then - it just wasn't worth the wait. Pacing is horrible. And I mean Steins;Gate level horrible. But without nice conclusion, because the whole plot got wraped up by classic case of ass-pull to somehow glue all the wierdness that happens. The cherry on top: The mystery doesn't really exist till late 20% of the game. Which means something. Then: the whole slice of life aspect works only if you liked two particural female characters. Which might not quite work for you if you're not particularly fond of the Tsundere or needy teenager archetype. The message and theme - were simply better implemented and explored by other titles. With much better gameplay. Bellow examples: [spoiler]Omori for trauma exploration Steins;Gate - alternate timelines, playing with changing the reality Persona series - slice of life + hanging out with Friends 999 Series - The Mystery Gnosia - people disappearing, different realities and exploring different scenarios to answer the question: what's goin on? 1000xRESIST - wierdness, mystery, art sense, trauma[/spoiler]

It's hard to put into words how utterly devastated I feel after completing both the base game and Afterimages. When I really sat down to play, I couldn't get enough and tried to play it as often as I could. Now that I'm done, I wish I took my time, and don't want it to be over. As a guy named Mark from the Philippines, I naturally had a connection to the game, but going through the game's themes of loss, trauma, grief and longing connected with me in ways that hardly any form of media has before. It was 24 hours of gameplay that will stick with me the rest of my life and was well worth the time and the money hundreds of times over. I don't usually write reviews, but I can't truly feel closure with this game until I do. Some games you finish, and some games finish you.

[h1] An... Interesting Experience [/h1] [i]A kinetic VN with some trappings of the point-and-click adventure genre, Until Then, as stated in the title, was an interesting or, to be more fair, a mixed experience, to say the least.[/i] A bittersweet story of grief, loss, and acceptance, the game has an incredible first act with a gut-wrenching finale to it, followed by decent second and third acts that unveils the mystery teased throughout while giving it a more or less satisfying conclusion, aside from a couple of personal pet peeves. If it was just that, however, the game would still be a 9/10, since that's how strong the first act is to me. Unfortunately, the game does NOT seem to be satisfied with [i]simply[/i] being a fantastic VN. In its efforts to be, I don't know, unique (or perhaps memorable?), it inserts huge swaths of interactive gameplay that absolutely grind the game's pace to a halt while accomplishing little beyond being there for the sake of it. As I said before, it borrows the trappings of the point-and-click genre, without seemingly understanding the point of it. It's as if the developers played Steins;Gate and came away thinking, "You know what this game needs? ♥♥♥♥♥♥. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Minigames. And hours of pointless walking and manual interactions." Or perhaps they took the wrong inspiration from the gameplay sections of [i]Danganronpa[/i] and [i]Ace Attorney[/i], without understanding why those segments actually work in those games. Whatever it was, the end result is that you're left with large stretches of pointless gameplay that could have been excised entirely without any negative repercussions to the player experience. In fact, it's something that should have been. Honestly, the gameplay portions grew to be incredibly frustrating by the time I was halfway through the game, when I just wanted to see the story progress instead of wasting another minute walking from one side of the room to the other while interacting with every item in between. It got bad enough to make me seriously consider leaving this as a negative review instead. Not because I thought the game deserved it, but because its overwhelmingly positive ratings does not properly communicate to the steam customers what exactly lies beneath all the glowing, and admittedly well-deserved, praise. In the end, I still went with a positive review because, at its core, the narrative it weaves is a beautiful one. I just wish it wasn't buried beneath so much... bloated gameplay. [b]7/10[/b]

Damn what a roller coaster. Not gonna spoil anything, but it's such a beautiful and emotional game. DO NOT look anything up and be sure to go in blind. It's one of those games where you just have to reflect after you play it.