ActionIs After Shadows worth it for you?
We tell you who should skip it, too.
Play it if you…
Good fit- Metroidvania players who want routes that change between sessions
- Players who enjoy high-risk exploration and can accept frequent deaths
- Action-adventure players interested in branching outcomes and a post-apocalyptic story
Skip it if you…
Saves you a refund- Players looking for forgiving exploration may find the hazards and frequent deaths punishing.
- Players who prefer consistent maps may dislike routes that change between sessions.
- Players seeking a multiplayer experience may prefer a game with a stated multiplayer mode.
Our take on After Shadows
Rather than keeping the same route for repeated exploration, the fortress changes between sessions. The game also layers roguelike elements onto its metroidvania structure, with outcomes tied to the path taken and character development shaped by deaths and victories.
What is After Shadows?
After Shadows is a metroidvania with roguelike elements set in a post-apocalyptic future where humanity is gone.
Ana, a half-elf, enters an unexplored fortress to find a cure for her infected mother while a Dark Monster pursues her. The fortress is full of traps, hostile creatures, and passages that reach into underground darkness. Each session changes the route, and deaths and victories affect character development through curses and rewards. Players can meet creatures that may aid their progress, choose a path that leads to different endings, and explore the fortress’s history. The game emphasizes careful movement: hazards can kill Ana, including traps such as a branch underfoot.
How After Shadows plays
- 01Changing routes
- The fortress’s layout varies between sessions, sometimes substantially.
- 02Curses and rewards
- Both failure and success influence Ana’s development through a selection of curses and rewards.
- 03Branching endings
- The chosen path determines which ending follows.
- 04Potential allies
- Some fortress inhabitants, including a water imp and a metal robot, can assist during progress.
Games like After Shadows
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Ocean Drive Studio, Inc.For:Twin-stick shooter players who want runs through a paranormal facilitySkip if:Players seeking a fixed level layout may find the shifting levels less suited to repeatable route planning.
ActionNoRoY
Edco GamesFor:Fans of punishing climbing games who accept losing significant progress after mistakesSkip if:Players who want falls to have little effect may hit a wall when a mistake sends them back down and costs significant progress.
ActionLivestream 2: Escape from Togaezuka Happy Place
qureateFor:Survival-horror players who want side-scrolling exploration with pursuit sequencesSkip if:Players seeking direct combat rather than evasion, hiding, and escape from a pursuerPicked by overlapping fit notes and genres, not an editorial comparison.
After Shadows: platforms & release
Is After Shadows worth it?
It is worth it if: metroidvania players who want routes that change between sessions. Skip it if: players looking for forgiving exploration may find the hazards and frequent deaths punishing.
Where can I download After Shadows?
Use the Download Now button on this page: it opens After Shadows's store page, where you can choose how to get it.
What platforms is After Shadows on?
Windows only.




