Yumeutsutsu Re:After (Nintendo Switch) Review

Imagining each possible story as all individual alternate universes is the best way to approach this title. Each story is a reasonable length, and while the overall ending of the stories is predetermined, it is fascinating to see how Ai would be doing if she got into partnerships with the characters from Yumeutsutsu Re:Master. It is interesting to see what direction each character's career goes into, with surprises along the way that make the outcomes in each story hard to predict. Ai's friends for the most part retain their memorable personalities from the first game, making it a pleasurable read and providing information about what the future holds for them. Even without knowing the backstory, newcomers will be entertained by Ai's drama-filled life which is rarely dull.

Due to the length of the stories and the lack of options to be taken within each character arc, it feels a shame that there isn't a further main story to Yumeutsutsu Re:After to help make it more worthy of its price. It does feel predominantly like a fan-centred game rather than one in its own right. That is not to say the plots aren't well written or acted, they are a delight to read. It isn't one big story, rather a collection of smaller ones playing the 'What if?' scenario. It could have been added to the first game, making a bumper deluxe edition of the game for fans to enjoy, but there is enough content for fans of Yumeutsutsu Re:Master and new ones to enjoy. Perhaps it even incentivises new players to play the first game to see how Ai met each of her friends and how she gets on with them.

The price point of Yumeutsutsu Re:After is definitely something that some gamers may take into consideration when deciding whether to purchase the game. Given the gorgeous visuals and the top-class voice acting, it is understandable why it is a relatively expensive: it takes talent to create artwork and to voice characters as well as a lot of time and effort. However, some may be reluctant to buy it outside of a sale if they are unfamiliar with the prequel, since the this title is essentially a collection of happily-ever-afters for characters the player is presumed to know and care about.

If the first game has not played previously, there seems to be little incentive to pay the full game price, especially as there are so few options that don't change much within each character arc. There are still images to collect using the playthrough, but it feels that only die-hard fans will want to replay the stories multiple times to get all the collectables, which is a shame because each of the stories are highly enjoyable on their own. It may be possible to enjoy Yumeutsutsu Re:After without playing the first visual novel game, Yumeutsutsu Re:Master, but it is advisable to play the games in order to fully understand the character stories.