• Video

How "Superbad" influenced Afterparty's story

Night School studios took inspiration from several films and games when developing their new IP, Afterparty.

Donovan Erskine

October 8, 2019 1:30 PM

1

Oxenfree was one of the surprise hits of 2016. Coming from indie studio Night School, this adventure game found itself on many top lists at the end of the year. Since then, folks have been patiently awaiting Night School Studio’s second title. This comes in the form of Afterparty, an adventure game that sees two friends facing an eternity of suffering in Hell. Their only way to get a second chance on Earth? Outdrink Satan himself. We chatted with Night School Studio about where this kooky idea came from.

Our own reviews editor, Blake Morse, spoke at length with Sean Krankel, Studio Director at Night School Games about Afterparty. As mentioned, the story follows Milo and Lola, a pair of newly deceased friends on the brink of spending an eternity in Hell. They discover that the only loophole to escape their fate is to get invited to Satan’s party and outdrink him. Thus, kicking off a series of adventure and mischief. In the interview below, Krankel states that the team wanted Afterparty to be a “buddy romp adventure” at its core. To make this happen, the team at Night School looked to films like Superbad for inspiration. Since Superbad deals with a young and quirky group of friends in way over their heads with some ambitious party plans, it’s not hard to draw parallels to Afterparty. 

If you want in on the Afterparty, you won’t have to wait much longer. Night Schools sophomore release drops on October 29 to PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Subscribe to the Shacknews and GamerHubTV YouTube channels for more exclusive gameplay interviews.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_