Polychroma Games’ debut title definitely captures the same vibes as last year’s A Space For The Unbound, without delving too far into sci-fi territory.
Until Then puts players in the shoes of Mark Borja, a seemingly regular high school kid who’s simply trying to get by, but as we look closer into his life, he’s far from normal.
First off, he lives alone because his parents have to work abroad to make ends meet. In the Philippines, these people are called “overseas Filipino workers” or OFWs for short, and while this isn’t out of the ordinary, typically children are left with other loved ones. So without people looking after him, there isn’t much of a reason for him to put much effort into the things he’s doing, school included.
Despite this, Mark is a well-liked guy. He has two best friends, he’s friends with a jock, he’s friends with the class president, and over the course of the game he enters a romantic relationship with a new student. And then he eventually finds his passion, the piano, and the story really starts to take shape.
I took a special interest in this game not only because I love these kinds of slice-of-life narrative titles but because I’m Filipino. My pride in my Filipino-American upbringing and the fact that this is the first game I heard of that actually takes place in the Philippines and is very much about Filipino people is something that speaks to me, and I believe I have a lot to offer as the head reviewer of this game.
Gotta love that fake Jollibee.
That said, I need more time. I’ve spent around 10 hours in the game and I rolled credits, but there’s actually some post-game content that I won’t talk too much about here that deserves some more time. On top of this, I was told the game takes 15-20 hours to actually finish, so I’m thinking this isn’t post-game content at all. I’ve probably said too much at this point, so that’s pretty much I’ll say about that.
There’s a lot to love about what I played so far. The story, in my mind, was beautifully told, but the content kind of makes the game far from cozy even though there really isn’t too much gameplay aside from mundane minigames to really speak of. The visuals are really nice, and I know I’ll bring up A Space For The Unbound a lot, and while I’ll make that comparison a lot, Until Then takes the extra step by really bringing out the liveliness of the characters and its world with its clever use of color to emulate lighting and the sun shining in various ways. The result is something as beautiful as it is simple.
If there’s anything to complain about, aside from a “lack” of gameplay, it’s with polish issues here and there. Twice in the post-game, I’ve had to close and open the game because it froze during dialog. I’ve also have had a hard time grasping the game’s text system that pretends to give the player some agency with how responses are made. The game just doesn’t do a real good job of telling you when it’s your turn to text, or whether there’s something on social media you should comment on if you’re able to. Of these, only the freezing was “game breaking” but it was nothing overly destructive.
That said, in addition to having an embargo for another game, I do want to take my time with Until Then. I don’t know when I’ll be ready with the game’s full review and score, but definitely keep it plugged to SmashPad for any updates. I’m aiming for the end of this week, but will very likely have it done earlier. Until Then comes out on later today on the PC and PlayStation 5.
There’s a lot to love about what I played so far. The story, in my mind, was beautifully told, but the content kind of makes the game far from cozy even though there really isn’t too much gameplay aside from mundane minigames to really speak of.
Polychroma Games’ debut title definitely captures the same vibes as last year’s A Space For The Unbound, without delving too far into sci-fi territory.
Until Then puts players in the shoes of Mark Borja, a seemingly regular high school kid who’s simply trying to get by, but as we look closer into his life, he’s far from normal.
First off, he lives alone because his parents have to work abroad to make ends meet. In the Philippines, these people are called “overseas Filipino workers” or OFWs for short, and while this isn’t out of the ordinary, typically children are left with other loved ones. So without people looking after him, there isn’t much of a reason for him to put much effort into the things he’s doing, school included.
Despite this, Mark is a well-liked guy. He has two best friends, he’s friends with a jock, he’s friends with the class president, and over the course of the game he enters a romantic relationship with a new student. And then he eventually finds his passion, the piano, and the story really starts to take shape.
I took a special interest in this game not only because I love these kinds of slice-of-life narrative titles but because I’m Filipino. My pride in my Filipino-American upbringing and the fact that this is the first game I heard of that actually takes place in the Philippines and is very much about Filipino people is something that speaks to me, and I believe I have a lot to offer as the head reviewer of this game.
Gotta love that fake Jollibee.
That said, I need more time. I’ve spent around 10 hours in the game and I rolled credits, but there’s actually some post-game content that I won’t talk too much about here that deserves some more time. On top of this, I was told the game takes 15-20 hours to actually finish, so I’m thinking this isn’t post-game content at all. I’ve probably said too much at this point, so that’s pretty much I’ll say about that.
There’s a lot to love about what I played so far. The story, in my mind, was beautifully told, but the content kind of makes the game far from cozy even though there really isn’t too much gameplay aside from mundane minigames to really speak of. The visuals are really nice, and I know I’ll bring up A Space For The Unbound a lot, and while I’ll make that comparison a lot, Until Then takes the extra step by really bringing out the liveliness of the characters and its world with its clever use of color to emulate lighting and the sun shining in various ways. The result is something as beautiful as it is simple.
If there’s anything to complain about, aside from a “lack” of gameplay, it’s with polish issues here and there. Twice in the post-game, I’ve had to close and open the game because it froze during dialog. I’ve also have had a hard time grasping the game’s text system that pretends to give the player some agency with how responses are made. The game just doesn’t do a real good job of telling you when it’s your turn to text, or whether there’s something on social media you should comment on if you’re able to. Of these, only the freezing was “game breaking” but it was nothing overly destructive.
That said, in addition to having an embargo for another game, I do want to take my time with Until Then. I don’t know when I’ll be ready with the game’s full review and score, but definitely keep it plugged to SmashPad for any updates. I’m aiming for the end of this week, but will very likely have it done earlier. Until Then comes out on later today on the PC and PlayStation 5.
by Danreb Victorio
