Games you need to try – Afterlife
Welcome to the first day of the end of your life. Fortunately, everybody here is just as dead as you. That’s why they call it the Land of the Dead. Oops, wrong game. Well, we’ve journeyed to the 8th Underworld already, but what treats, or terrors, can you build for souls who make the arduous journey to the 9th?
Afterlife is a city building game. These were a dime a dozen in the later half of the 90’s, as various developers tried to capitalize of the popularity of SimCity. But unlike these other cheap knockoffs, like so many “Gucci” bags found in the shops of Hong Kong, you’re not managing the real world, but the sweet here after.
You play as a demiurge, a god-like being who’s been put in charge of running heaven and hell for an unnamed alien planet. Nobody’s quite sure why the Powers That Be thought this would be a good idea, but they’ve given you a bucket full of pennies and a blank canvas of astral plane to do as you see fit.
Now, if you’re thinking this is some sort of religious game, you’d be barking up the wrong island of indestructible yip dogs. It’s jam packed with all the irreverent humour and 90’s pop culture references that LucasArts was known and loved for. You can choose to reward your diligent souls with a never ending run of their favourite TV shows, or punish the lazy by making them repeat middle school gym class for all eternity. There’s no end to the different ironic fates you can make your people endure.
Like most city builders, you lay out zones on your grid of astral plane. There are different types of zones which correspond to the Seven Virtues, and Seven Deadly Sins. You have to monitor the situation on the planet to ensure you have enough fate structures for that specific type of virtue or sin, to avoid souls becoming “lost”. Lost souls equals lost money. You’ll also need to build housing and training centres for your angels and demons, and keep everything powered up with a steady supply of “ad infinitum”. Special buildings can improve property value (or “vibes”), or be used to reincarnate souls.
So far, this isn’t all that different from SimCity. The twist is that you have to manage two separate realms, simultaneously. Which can make things a bit of a challenge, as both will have different needs you have to balance. While fairly simple on the surface, there’s also a deep metagame running in the background that allows you to micromanage every aspect of your afterlife. Fortunately, you have your advisers Aira and Jasper to let you know what needs your attention, and how to fix it.
Of course, if you screw up, well, what’s a good city builder without absurd disasters? Be it hell literally freezing over, disco demons, or the dreaded Four Surfers of the Apocalypso should you lapse on your loans. Even the Death Star itself will come and obliterate your planet if you cheat too much. So be sure to manage those pennies for a rainy day.
The one problem I do have with this game, despite owning it for over 20 years, is how to actually make money. So, uh, you may want to go seek out some guides for that, as the game really isn’t clear on that particular subject, important as it may be.
If you have any interest in classic city building games, you should give this one a crack. I guarantee you’ll love it to death. It’s hellishly good. You can grab it for PC, Mac, and Linux over on GOG for just 839 Canadian pennies.
