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[Ryan J. Bury]

Well, it's been a while now since the first release, and the game has received a lot of improvements and updates thanks to all the helpful feedback and suggestions I've received since then, so I feel like now might just about be the right time to post the game here and present my most recent endeavour for the solicitation of further thoughts from the friendly people of these wide blue lands!

Screenshots and download links are below if you'd like to get straight to it, but for those who are interested, a little background:

The first game in the series, Afterlife: Rickard's Quest, was released in 2004, with some very kind reviews and even a Top Dog rating from The Underdogs. I released the sequel, Afterlife 2: Rickard's Journey, in 2009 as a means to continue the story for those who'd completed the first game, and as such it was never intended for a very wide audience; but I received some nice feedback from those people who played it nevertheless, and it was also very kindly included in Steve Cook's Underrated Indie Games video series a couple of years ago.

Afterlife 3: Legends of Rickard Bronson is nominally the third game in the series, but actually very much more a prequel (a sort of Afterlife Zero if you will), so it should work as a first instalment just as well as a third. It's based on a heavily upgraded version of the engine from the first game, but in the form of a roguelike, the goal being to reap as much treasure as possible from its depths before being inevitably wiped out and entering your name for posterity in the annals of history; and it comes complete with fully procedurally generated levels and quests, and quite a lengthy roster of items, weapons, skills and upgrades to help out along the way.




What kind of feedback might I be seeking? Well, I'd very much like to continue building on the game, adding new things and improving current features, so with that in mind, any constructive thoughts or suggestions for improvement or ideas for new things that could be added would be great.

I'd also be quite interested to hear thoughts from anyone who's played the other two games about the series as a whole, and what might be most interesting to explore in terms of the story or gameplay in future installments.

I should probably note though:

This is a roguelike platformer with emphasis on both sides of that recipe, and as such, it's certainly not for everyone. Being a roguelike, it's probably a little too detailed (and possibly too brutal!) for most action-platformer fans; and being a platformer inspired by the games of the 90s, it's probably far too skill-based and fast-paced for a lot of roguelike fans (...yes, I've done my best to alienate as wide an audience as possible!)

It's also very definitely not a "casual" game. If you want something you can get the hang of within five minutes of play without exploring, experimenting with items and strategies, building your skills and unlocking new secrets over many plays, this game is probably not for you.

All that having been said, please do give it a play, and have fun - and good luck!

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