Shadows of the Afterland shows first signs of life

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Upcoming supernatural pixel art comedy adventure unveiled by the creators of Intruder in Antiquonia

Is death really the end, or does it represent a new beginning? The answer is a whole lot of both, at least according Shadows of the Afterland, the upcoming new supernatural comedy adventure from Aruma Studios, creators of Intruder in Antiquonia.

It's 1960, Madrid, when "the old city zoo is rocked by a mysterious death, catapulting a soul to the threshold between the world of the living and the afterlife." However, instead of being ushered off to your next phase of existence, something goes seriously awry and you find yourself stuck with "the memories of Carolina, one of the pioneers in Madrid's police force, who has yet to be born." Now you must travel back and forth between the physical and ethereal worlds in an attempt to "unravel the mystery of your own demise and these perplexing memories of your future self." To succeed, however, you'll need to "face your deepest fears" and "confront sinister forces to find out if you are merely a pawn of fate or if you can change your own future."

As with its (unrelated) predecessor, Shadows of the Afterland is a traditional point-and-click adventure filled with "logically sound puzzles" to solve. In many other ways, however, this game promises to be a much different experience. Where Intruder in Antiquonia featured a hand-drawn aesthetic and serious tone, this one features colourful pixel art and a whimsical comedic approach to its otherwise solemn themes of "identity, courage and destiny." Plus, you're dead, which actually has its benefits, as you discover the ability to "harness the power of magic" and even possess the living. You'll also get to "explore the wacky realm of the afterlife, teeming with unique characters and with its own set of rules." One such character is César, an "elusive ex-agent of the afterlife," who may just offer his assistance if you can "persuade him to join you in this transformative odyssey."

While no firm release date has been set yet, Shadows of the Afterland is on track to be launched sometime in 2024 on Steam for Windows, Mac and Linux, along with a console version for Nintendo Switch. In the meantime, for those interested in checking out the two-person Spanish developer's previous game, Intruder in Antiquonia is in the process of getting an update of its own, offering Steam cloud saves and trading cards for the first time.