Dearest Fahmi,
Words couldn't describe how devastated I am. How can we lose such an amazing, kind, talented person so early and so sudden? It's been 2+ years since we've last met, no thanks to Covid, and now your presence will be greatly missed as physical game events return. I'm having difficulty overcoming the shock, then I remembered this gift of a game. I took a long pause on it and finally returned to playing it today as I felt it's the only way to grief properly -- thematically apt for this sad day. May the Chef cook you all your favourite meals, may you pet all the cute ghost cats and have a safe journey on the train <3 Rest in peace, friend.

You never know how much you needed to hear them until you hear them.
And I wasn't expecting to hear them here.
Thank you.

You can pet the kitty

What Comes After is a short and touching side-scrolling visual novel which succeeds in sending an impactful message through only a few words. It’s a reminder that the lives of each and every one of us matters, be that of a human, of an animal or of a plant. It gives a soft nudge towards understanding that we can make life better by being kind, compassionate and considerate towards each other, and that changing the world starts by changing yourself, by bettering yourself.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2283780132
You play as Vivi - a girl that ends up by mistake on a train heading towards the afterlife, despite her not being dead. During her trip, Vivi encounters the ghosts of various human beings, animals and plants that she talks with in order to pass the time, listening to their sometimes happy, other times saddening stories. Each of these confessions contains a nugget of wisdom - an inspirational quote, a reminder of the things we should live our lives by but which we often forget. These contrast heavily with the conversations she can eavesdrop on from the same train before she gets teleported into the afterlife dimension, which focus mainly on daily nuisances like shopping lists, what movies to watch, what music to listen to, dialogues between friends or arguments between lovers. The stories of the ghosts are profound, heartening and contemplative of past lives, making you self-reflect about your own existence and what kind of regrets you will have after you’re gone.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2283780215
Some of these life lessons might / will hit you hard in the feels, and maybe even give you a push towards appreciating the life you have now, be that good or bad, and the people around you - before it’s too late. What Comes After is not a game, it’s a piece of art. It’s a poem we should learn by heart and daily recite.

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Thank you Mohammad Fahmi for such a beautiful game. I hope your own train ride was just as you thought.

What Comes After is a very short story or maybe collection of stories of different people and other beings.

Although the game is very short it has a lot to say and makes you think about your life and life choices, are you happy?
Mainly the game is about death and raises a question - what if i die today? Since everyone is different that means someone will be sad about that, someone who has been sick and in pain for a long time might be happy finally being free of pain, someone maybe killed himself. Various people die from various reasons and after death in the train carrying their souls to afterlife these people think about life, what they did good or wrong, what they'd do differently if they had another chance, why they deserved death or that they left something important behind. So it makes you think about things like, are you happy with your life? If you knew you'd die tomorrow would you have any unfinished business or regrets? Would you change your life? It tackles mourning, depression, hate, loneliness, etc.

You'll also encounter animals. Which makes you think about them while they're still alive. Are we treating them well? Why people make some animals suffer for their own entertainment, so some animals are happy being dead. It tackles social issues and animal abuse.

That's not all. There are plants also and game talks about them too. Not all plants deserve to be cut down and thrown away, our planet must stay green and we should protect trees, they're life.

Graphics are simple 2D arts with some basic animations. But the artstyle is very cute and charming.
This is potato friendly game.
Surprisingly ultrawide works fine out of the box.

There's no any voice acting, only text bubbles over people's heads. But there's not much reading too. Honestly i don't think this game needs voice acting.
There's some good music playing at times, very chill jazzy tunes which i loved.

I strongly suggest playing through this little gem. It will take 1-1,5 hours to complete if you talk with everyone and listen to their stories. It's a bit philosophical but nothing to deep, everything is rather plainly explained. Very simple yet heartwarming and heartbreaking story.
Also an easy 100% for achievement hunters.

Oh one last thing. If you're a cat lover, just play it.

Pros

• Good story
  
• Cute artstyle
  
• Food for thought
  
• Good soundtrack
  
• Cats

Cons

• Maybe it could've been slightly longer

Follow my curator page for more

　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　／ ¯¯｀フ
　　　　　　　　　,　'' ｀ ｀ / 　 　 　 !　 　*pats lovingly*
.　　　　　　　 , ' 　　　　 レ　 _,　 -' ミ
　　　　　　　 ; 　 　 　 　 　`ミ __,xノﾞ､
　　　 　　 　 i　 　　　ﾐ　　　; ,､､､、　ヽ ¸
　　　 　　,.-‐! 　 　 　 ﾐ　　i　　　　｀ヽ.._,,))
　　 　　//´｀｀､　　　　 ミ　ヽ　　　　　(¯`v´¯)
.　　　　| l　　 　｀ ｰｰ -‐''ゝ､,,)).　 　　 　 `·.¸.·´
　　　 　ヽ.ー─'´)　　　　　　　　　 　 　　

I only played for about 18 minutes before I had to stop. This looks like a very thought-out game. However, when I get games, I like to go in blind (aside from reading the little info about it on the top right of the store page). I now see there is mention of it further down the page, but if you're like me and tend to impulse buy on as little info/spoilers as possible, then be warned.

That wasn't my only issue, though. The way the ghosts talk is very preechie, like 'how dare you not want to be alive.' This, to me, feels like the creators have never experienced depression before or the need for the pain to stop. Yes, thee are others to depend on you, but that isn't always enough. All that causes is guilt and shame for thinking of leaving them.

In most cases, it isn't that an individual wants to die but that they feel as though there's no other choice. The negative thoughts, self-loathing etc. is a battle to work through, and while I am working on my mental health after 20+ years of struggling, I still have a long road ahead of me.

So, a warning to those who suffer from depression or who have had suicidal ideation in the past. You might want to pass on this one.

Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un.
SEA and the gaming industry as a whole have lost a shiny star with the passing of Mohammad Fahmi aka Fahmitsu.
I can’t thank the various studios/developers he has worked with enough for bringing to life these wonderful personal/touching/inspiring games for us to experience.
Even if his train has arrived and departed, the journey for making such games has not reached its destination. I hope Pikselnesia and other studios he has worked with continue to create impactful games in his memory.
May his work continue to touch others.

What Comes After is a hard game to play in the sense of the topics and message it touches on, but with this circumstance it got way harder. But such in life, through hardships can we only appreciate what life has to offer and the experiences that we go through.
Be kind to one other and everything will be better.

What Comes After is a sweet, short and wholesome experience about a depressed girl and her unexpected journey on a ghost train.

Trigger warnings: Mention of suicide.

Rushing to catch the last train home, Vivi falls asleep once she finds a seat. She wakes up to find herself on a different kind of train. One that is heading to What Comes After life. Still alive but in a place, she shouldn't be, she's given the unique opportunity to speak to, and perhaps help, the souls of the recently departed before she is returned home.

The gameplay is simple. You control Vivi in a side-scrolling game and speak to the passengers. You'll learn a little bit about their lives and their regrets. Some are at peace now, others, not so much.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2847571031
The train conductor implies that Vivi can either speak to the other travellers or return to her seat and wait until morning when she will be returned to the living world and can go home. She also implies that if the young girl speaks to the ghosts, she might learn something about herself and find help for her depressive mind.

Personally, I didn't find any hidden meaning or enlightenment in this game. What I did find was so much better: cute animal ghosts and some of them I could pet! I liked the differences between the humans and the other animals on board. The humans, obviously only spoke about their lives and struggles, while the animals were more wholesome. They spoke about their families or the cruelty they experienced. They spoke about real-life problems, not personal ones. They were kind to Vivi, despite how they had been treated by other humans. I found this section of the train to be my favourite, but then there was more.

Plants! Yes, plants. They had a section on the train too, and once again, they had their own personalities. Mainly they disliked humans. Disliked how they were treated and even killed before their time. Some of them refused to speak to the young girl because their prejudice was so strong. That is until we get to the old tree. She is kind and caring and speaks to Vivi as if she were a grandmother figure.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2847571199
Although there are no dialogue options in this game, there are two endings: one good, and one bad. Although it's more will you choose to open your eyes and really see those around you? Find a new purpose and help others unconditionally. Or will you turn a blind eye and go back to the life you have always lived?

All of this is accompanied by stunning visuals and delightful audio.

But would I recommend it? What Comes After is a sweet game that lasted just over an hour for me (I left it running longer in the background to unlock the points shop). As I said, I didn't find it an enlightening experience but I did enjoy it nonetheless. This is one of those times where I wish Steam had a neutral rating option. For me, I feel like it didn't offer much but I appreciated the unique experience and did enjoy my time playing it. If it's between a yes or a no, I'd likely go with yes.