This isn’t going to be a contented evaluation.

Buckle-up, everybody. We’re heading to Wrongsville. Inhabitants: What Comes After.

I most likely shouldn’t even purchase releases like this, since they’re not my factor. However, when you possibly can’t even be bothered to learn the descriptions on the eShop web page and go off simply the images and perhaps one screenshot, you find yourself with a library full of those non-games. I purchased What Comes After as a result of I believed it could be an fascinating sport the place an individual dies and goes to the following life or no matter. So, what’s it actually about?

It’s a couple of woman having suicidal ideas.

Uh oh.

Yea, this can be a topic anybody, even somebody with the perfect intentions, ought to tread very frivolously with. I’m type of proud that, within the 2020s, society has come round to the purpose the place we don’t fuck round with suicide anymore. We joke about it quite a bit much less. It’s not carried out for comedy wherever close to as a lot. I’ve misplaced a couple of good friend to it. I misplaced my God-nephew to it earlier this yr. I feel that’s what it’s known as. My Godfather’s son’s son. God-Nephew? It’s such a bizarre sounding factor. Effectively, the purpose is, he known as me Aunt Cathy, or at the least he did, earlier than he killed himself. I’ve spent the final a number of months attempting to shake the photographs of sprinkling his ashes out of my head. I used to be shut with him as soon as. He even helped me with a pair opinions on this very weblog. He was simply a youngster. Hmmph.

So, yea, with suicide as a online game story, you must be delicate. This wasn’t delicate. This can be a shotgun blast of “take a look at the brilliant facet of life!” to the face. Okay, poor selection of phrases, however I’ll clarify why that is mistaken beneath.

These Disney sequels are getting out of hand.

In What Comes After, a woman named Vivi, who’s having ideas of ending her life, falls asleep on a subway. When she wakes up, she finds the prepare is populated by the ghosts of everybody who lately died inside 10km of the prepare station. This apparently features a giraffe and an elephant. I’d prefer to assume that is organising some type of unhealthy ass Mortal Kombat-like prequel exhibiting how that occurred on the identical day. Anyway, there’s no “sport” right here. You simply speak to the ghosts, and so they wax philosophically on the which means of life. Some are okay with being lifeless as a result of they’ve lived full lives and felt full. Many have regrets. They all really feel completely satisfied for the woman that she’s nonetheless “so vigorous.” Sigh.

Okay, so, I’m going to be blunt: the dialog directed to the woman on this sport largely talks to her in a manner nearly all of the specialists agree YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO TALK TO A SUICIDAL PERSON LIKE! You’ll be aware there’s 4 hyperlinks to such specialists there, and a fifth one coming. There’s so many hyperlinks as a result of, simply to ensure my instincts on this have been proper, I Googled this topic, and skim a number of specialists on this. They agree:

• You LISTEN to individual. That’s crucial component by far, however this sport largely directs dialog at Vivi. Even give and take conversations have nearly nothing to do with why she’s having suicidal ideas, or the ache she’s in, or something. Even the three fundamental spirits who assist her out come throughout like they’re preaching AT her as an alternative of conversing along with her. You additionally let the individual know you’re ALWAYS there to hear. Now, clearly the ghosts on this sport can’t try this, however they might inform Vivi to divulge heart’s contents to her mom and sister that she lives with.
• If you do speak, you ask a variety of questions with out judgement, about how THEY really feel.
• Most (however not all) specialists say you possibly can encourage the individual to get assist, which accurately not one character does. The truth is, the angle the sport takes means that being suicidal is one thing that may be fastened with gestures. It’s not. It’s a power situation that must be managed, typically long-term.
• You don’t inform an individual to think about the brilliant facet of life or consider every little thing they need to dwell for. That serves to decrease the actual ache they’re in. It trivializes it. It’s additionally patronizing and judgmental. Although this isn’t universally agreed on, most specialists say you can provide that issues will get higher, however truthfully, “issues will get higher” is massively missing in What Comes After.

Right here’s the place I take concern: it’s by no means fully said why fundamental character Vivi is pondering of killing herself. It hints that she’s depressed and appears like she’s a burden on her household and has no prospects in life. By preserving it so obscure and generic, it type of implies that it doesn’t matter. Which, I’m guessing the “why” issues an excellent deal to the individual. However the What Comes After treats suicidal ideas as if what can carry somebody up to now isn’t extremely difficult or nuanced, and even whether it is, it doesn’t matter since you simply have to understand what you will have and set a purpose for a gosh darn happier life. I get that developer Mohammad Fahmi most likely needed to maintain the small print as minimal as attainable in order that anybody in an analogous place might insert themselves into Vivi’s sneakers. However, the general downside is, any knowledgeable will let you know that what helps people who find themselves considering suicide probably the most, statistically talking, is simply having somebody hearken to them. This can be a sport a couple of prepare full of individuals speaking AT a suicidal individual and never WITH them.

For God’s sake, ONE OF THE GHOSTS IS A BABY! A child that comes throughout as preachy and guilt trippy, and it’s so cringey and mistaken. This complete factor is simply mistaken. That is the kind of sport it’s essential to make in collaboration with accredited specialists within the subject. There are features of this sport the place characters speak to Vivi in methods you’re particularly instructed to not speak to a suicidal individual like. Why is that this subject material uncommon in video games? As a result of it’s the type of factor most individuals don’t need to take an opportunity of getting mistaken.

That is the purpose within the sport the place I threw up my arms and mentioned “what the fuck? Actually?” If an individual is suicidal, having the ghost of a lifeless child making them really feel like shit as a result of they don’t admire sufficient that they really received to expertise life ISN’T GOING TO MAKE ANYTHING BETTER! What Comes After largely isn’t tone deaf. It’s simply very uninformed and misguided. However, this half right here? That is the place the sport received tone deaf.

By the best way, there’s completely no malice in What Comes After. It’s a sport made with probably the most stunning of intentions. The entire expertise is a one-and-done, no replay worth “sport” that you may full in underneath an hour. To its credit score, the story was compelling sufficient that I by no means received tired of it, although I feel that Mr. Fahmi might have reduce the quantity of passengers by half and the expertise would have been higher for it. There’s a tiny trace of damaged English (the developer is Indonesian), however nothing that wrecks the expertise. And I do genuinely admire that the sport tries to current a constructive message. Hell, I even choked-up a little bit bit throughout a dialog with a ghost canine that made me consider my beloved service canine Cherry, who handed away Christmas morning 2018, and the way a lot she would have hated how unhappy all of us have been that day.

On the identical time, having animals.. after which even vegetation and bushes.. guilt journey a suicidal woman into wanting on the brilliant facet of life? YIKES!! Simply don’t try this. Why are we even speaking about how circus elephants are mistreated? How on Earth can a plant relate to the ache a human being in disaster is in? It’s an vital topic FOR HER, however now we’re speaking about one thing fully off subject. It doesn’t precisely come throughout as insensitive or tone deaf. It appears like a foul manner of getting a very good message throughout. I want I might suggest each sport that had its coronary heart in the proper place, however that’s not how this job works. And this can be a sport about serving to somebody in a disaster that doesn’t comply with any of the rules advisable by specialists and ends along with her cured of her ideas by means of the grand gesture of getting her look over a field of kittens. I discovered it extremely misguided and irritating to learn. As charming and heartfelt because the characters come throughout, it simply fully misses the mark. It’s uncommon that I say a sport shouldn’t have been made, however this sport SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN MADE. As a result of people who find themselves not specialists, who’ve NOT devoted their lives to learning these items, are going to remove from this the mistaken methods of serving to individuals. It’s mistaken.

Once more, was What Comes After made with the perfect of intentions? Positive. However, so is the street to hell, or so the philosophers say.

What Comes After isn’t IGC Accredited

What Comes After was developed by Pikselnesia
Level of Sale: Nintendo Change, Steam

$4.19 (usually $6.99) famous this sport got here out April 1, 2021.. YOU RELEASED A GAME ABOUT SUICIDE ON APRIL FOOLS DAY? JESUS FUCKING WEPT.. within the making of this evaluation.