After the Wane is an interactive visual novel developed and published by indie company Nova-Box (Along the Edge, Seers Tale). It tells the story of Lena, a ballerina graduate keen to make in the city (strongly implied to be Paris). Like many young adults looking to break into the arts, Lena struggles to break into the industry and begins finding herself. Guided by a mysterious voice only she can hear, Lena forges her path as a dancer and life in general. But perhaps it isn’t Lena choosing the path as bizarre events start to occur and her absentee mother’s past a dancer may play a part too.
The demo ends part way through act 1 with the conclusion of the audition but I’m excited to see where Lena’s story goes next. After the Wane has no release date but hopefully in 2026 on PC and Switch. My playthrough of the demo is based on the Steam version.
Narrative
The demo of After the Wane covers the prologue and some of act 1 yet already gives an engaging and mysterious narrative. We understand Lena is new to Paris with few connections and dwindling resources. Then with the numerous story and dialogue choices, you decide which roads are taken in Lena’s story. From following the mysterious voice drawing you off the beaten path or navigating the well-meaning but slightly judgmental landlady. The choices you make feel significant too even while not seeing or understanding the effects yet. The game hints as something surreal or supernatural going on as well which has me intrigued to play more.
On paper, After the Wane is the story of a young ballet dancer seeking to break into the industry in Paris. The 40 minute demo alone however delivers much more. I’ll admit I have very little knowledge of ballet and most of that is from TV/film like Suspiria and Black Swan. However, one of my first impressions of After the Wane is how well it explains the dances. Not only do the rotoscoped sequences depict them very well but the narrative text explains the story and emotion they convey. Initially it was a bit off-putting when animated sequences abruptly paused. Stopping suddenly did lessen how fluid some scenes felt and left me taken out the scenes a bit. But after realising how text complemented these scenes I appreciated it much more going forward.
Graphics & Audio
While there is an interesting story unfolding, After the Wane’s strong suit is in its visual and audio design. The art style is fantastic and while I’ve never been, it painted an excellent picture of Paris. Using hand-drawn images helped add substance to the characters as well such as seeing their facial expressions shift after dialogue choices. Plus using techniques accurately showing rays of sunlight, panels like in graphics novels and more were all excellent in bringing the game to life.
Much like ballet itself, the soundtrack and audio effects of After the Wane go hand in hand, doing so very well here. With no voice acting, the soundtrack almost takes its place in conveying the emotions of the characters, matching the mood of each scene. The score also does very well in sharing changes during dance sequences with it ramping up or slowing down, much like real-life ballet. Then effects like rain adding to the ambience.
Summary
Nova-Box clearly put a lot of care into After the Wane, I’m glad I got the chance to play it. It’s safety to say I’m hooked as it delivers an engaging story and the possibly supernatural events unfolding. Shown through a fantastically detailed series of hand-drawn images and immersive soundtrack. The demo ending on a bit of a cliffhanger grabbed my attention and eager to play more. And with the many branching choices, I already anticipate After the Wane has plenty of replayability. The full release is definitely one to look for, especially if you enjoy interactive novels.
I hope you liked my first thoughts of game and I look forward to hearing yours now and after the full release. I also reviewed The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante, another interactive visual novel I highly recommend. Thanks for reading.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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