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Until Then – Review

Every so often, a visual novel comes along that quietly disarms you, not with explosive set pieces or fast-paced action, but with honest storytelling, emotional depth, and a deep sense of place. When that same title also manages to blur the lines between being a visual novel and a video game, it results in an experience that feels cinematic. Yes, we’re getting out the superlative words for this one, but the visual novel we’re talking about, Until Then, truly is something special. Story Set in the Philippines in 2014, Until Then follows high school student Mark Borja and his friends. The story starts off with the school year nearing its end and the students looking forward to the upcoming prom. Their life is one where the biggest concerns involve things like crushes on classmates or getting a passing grade on the next class presentation. Even so, things are brewing in the adult world in the background, as indicated by social media posts and news broadcasts. Until Then is a deliberate slow burn, especially early on. The worries, dreams, and longings of the cast will undoubtedly resonate with readers belonging to the same generation as the characters depicted here. There is more to Until Then’s story than the coming-of-age narrative initially suggests. People are randomly disappearing. Mark is experiencing a sense of déjà-vu on a regular basis, the cause of which is tied to supernatural events that are gradually revealed over the course of the 15-ish hour story. We won’t spoil anything, as Until Then is best experienced going in blind, but rest assured, the writing is fantastic and all but guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings. Graphics The pixel art visuals of Until Then easily rank among the best we’ve ever seen. Not only do the character designs and environments look great, but the game’s non-traditional approach to framing and composition gives Until Then the air of a graphic novel. A special mention should go to the game’s expert use of color to emphasize emotions, as well as the beautiful lighting effects. As you’d expect from a game like this, the visual performance isn’t very taxing either, and it runs buttery smooth. Sound It’s not just Until Then’s graphics that impress, as the game’s sound design is phenomenal too. The soft, laid-back soundtrack matches the emotional tone of the story. The ambient sound effects are a highlight, imbuing each scene with life and further strengthening the feeling of immersion. Within the context of the game, the soundscape is fantastic, and we highly recommend listening to this one with headphones to truly let it soak in. Outside of the game, the music isn’t very memorable, but this corresponds with the fleeting nature of the tunes, so it is fitting nonetheless. Gameplay At its core, Until Then may be a visual novel, but it does its darndest best to hide that it is one. Most of your time is spent reading, but the way information is conveyed is unconventional. Dialogue doesn’t just come in the form of conversations between characters, but also via group chats and text messages on your phone, for example. This makes for an experience that feels a lot more interactive than just tapping ‘A’ to continue. It also helps that you’re in direct control of Mark, walking around and directly interacting with the environment. Until Then admittedly offers a very linear experience, with choices seemingly not mattering a whole lot, but it still manages to convey the illusion of freedom by the way it presents itself. Additionally, Until Then accurately recreates the mid-2010s social media experience, mimicking Facebook in particular. You’ll be able to ‘like’ posts in your feed and comment on them. It’s even possible to click through to other websites, including that of the local news outlet, where you can read different articles in full. The attention to detail is remarkable and makes for a very immersive read-through. Things are further broken up by minigames, like playing the piano or trying to grab floating fish balls with a wooden skewer. Eagle-eyed readers familiar with Until Then will probably have noticed that we’ve only included screenshots from the game’s first chapter here. When we do this for a visual novel, that’s usually a deliberate choice, in the interest of avoiding major spoilers. In the case of Until Then, it’s unfortunately a different reason. We started playing Until Then on Switch 2 and quickly discovered that the game outright crashes at a certain point early on. It wasn’t the only issue we’ve encountered in the Switch 2 port either, with the ‘back’ button on the social media feature glitching out and essentially softlocking us. However, the game continuously crashing meant we couldn’t progress past a certain point, rendering Until Then unplayable on the platform. Thanks to Nintendo’s Virtual Game Card feature, we were able to “lend” the game to an original Switch, and continue playing. If you’re limited to just the Switch 2, however, it’s best to wait for a patch for this one. Conclusion Switch 2 issues aside, we highly recommend giving Until Then a chance. It delivers one of the most poignant, emotionally resonant stories that we’ve had the pleasure of reading in years. The gorgeous visuals and immersive soundscape elevate the impact of the narrative. The melancholic feeling imbued by the period-accurate recreation of mid 2010s internet is the icing on the cake. This is a visual novel that will even appeal to people who don’t consider themselves fans of the genre.