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Afterparty developer interview: Can you outdrink Satan?

From the developers of Oxenfree comes Afterparty, a game where players must escape the confines of hell by drinking Satan under the table.

Kevin Tucker

June 4, 2019 4:05 PM

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Afterparty has one of the most unusual and interesting pitches to be found in gaming: Stuck in hell, the game tasks players with earning a pass back to life on Earth by besting the devil in a drinking competition.

Shacknews was recently able learn more about Afterparty straight from Sean Krankel, director at Night School Studio, who spoke on the game's design origins and the admittedly unusual pitch of imbibing alcohol to escape hell. Check out our interview in the video embed featured below.

"It's sort of [an] adventure comedy about two friends who die and go to hell [and then] find out that there's a loophole in hell that if you can outdrink Satan, he'll grant you re-entry to Earth," Krankel summarized. To put the game's pitch another way, he says Afterparty is "a pub crawl through the afterlife."

The details only seem to get more unusual from there. In Afterparty, the characters who wind up in hell are assigned a demon to oversee their torture personally. Part of this system involves a sort of personality test, where players answer various questions in place of the heroes at the start of the game. The answers to these questions influence when and how the demon named Sister Mary Wormhorn appears.

As for the gameplay itself, Afterparty seems similar to classic adventure games in that it puts an emphasis on spinning a customized narrative. Much of the game's action plays out through dialog options, with new conversational choices appearing based on bars frequented or drinks ordered. There is an overarching story to be found, but the specific details will be influenced based the approach taken by individual players. Outside of the story, there are also several side activities and minigames, notably including beer pong.

Night School Studio doesn't have a firm release date for Afterparty just yet, but the developers are hoping to launch the game sometime in 2019 — "in a matter of months," according to Krankel. When it does release, fans will be available to find it available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Stay on top of more in-depth developer interviews by following Shacknews and GamerHubTV on YouTube.

Kevin Tucker

Guides Editor

Kevin Tucker is a core component of Shacknews' powerful guide development team. For questions, concerns, tips, or to share constructive criticism, he can be reached on Twitter @dukeofgnar or through e-mail at kevin.tucker@shacknews.com.