Until Then presents as a simple enough game: a mix of side-scrolling and visual novel brought together to immerse the player in a world not unlike their own. What begins as a run-of-the-mill high school drama, however, quickly shifts into a narrative that offers questions just enticing enough to make you want answers.

The Gameplay

As the demo opens to a static menu screen displaying the main character, Mark Borja, asleep in his room. The screen stares at you, daring you to click start. When you do, a grating beep is all you can hear. Click it again, just another beep. Again, and again, and again, until finally the scene changes, highlighting Mark’s alarm clock blaring at the pace you’re clicking the start button. From that moment on, it feels less like you’re in control of Mark, and more like you’re an external force shaping events as they come.

It’s difficult to explain just how much that opening scene managed to draw me into the world. Every design choice is present to throw you into this world. Even the minigames, showcasing events as mundane as buying a subway ticket, inserting a USB drive into a computer, or piercing fishballs in a pool of cooking oil, serve to only draw you deeper and deeper into the lives of these characters.

The World

Until Then brings you to a fictional version of the Philippines. It serves to draw you in with gorgeous pixel-art backdrops, intriguing character designs, and interior scenes littered with unique decorations. While there are only twelve scenes available in the demo, I have no doubt they’ve created countless scenes that are just as beautiful for the full release.

There is so much to discover in this world, but not if you stay on the rails. If you want to dig deeper into the mystery of this world, you’ll need to do it the hard way: with social media.

At times, Mark will check his phone, and present you with a social media timeline. From there, you can visit the profiles of your classmates to learn more about them. Read breaking news articles to get a sense of the political climate and dig into the related articles to discover what other characters are talking about when they refer to ‘The Ruling’ or ‘The Judgement’. Don’t worry, no spoilers here, but I highly suggest you dig around in the demo as much as you can.

The Story

The demo version of Until Then covers a few notable events spread out over three or four days in-game. In the opening minutes you wake up and choose what to interact with in your room. You go to school and get lectured by your group mates for not doing the work. Then, fix your mistake! Cram the slideshow in ten minutes and try to make it in time for class. Finally, do your best to stand up and recite your report out loud.

Like any outstanding visual novel, Until Then provides you with numerous choices that affect how Mark sees the world around him and how he is seen in turn. There is an obvious, mysterious through-plot that begins to show itself near the end of our time with the demo. The small bits of everyday life will certainly change or be presented differently to everyone, depending on their choices. It’s the beauty of those small changes that make games like Until Then so exciting.

The End

Finishing the demo left be with both a warm, fuzzy feeling, and an aching for more. I spent just enough time to invest myself in these characters, so I was disappointed when that time was up. If it wasn’t already on my wishlist, you can bet it is now.

What I can say definitively is that Until Then does what every great story does and paints a picture of a world you want to know more about. It crafts characters that are deeply complex and intriguing while maintaining their basis in reality. Everyone’s known a Mark, or a Cath, or a Fia, at some point in their lives. The developers use that association to get you to really care about and feel for these characters.

If you’re itching for a cinematic mystery story to immerse yourself in, I cannot recommend the demo for Until Then enough.

Until Then is developed by Polychroma Games and published by Maximum Entertainment. The full game is available on Steam and PS5 for $19.99, and the demo will be available here until the end of May 2025, for LudoNarraCon.