I first learned about Until Then from a Southeast Asian developer I met at PAX East. We’d been talking about the game he worked on, A Space for the Unbound, and I brought up that I was Filipino. I’d enjoyed the cultural setting of that Indonesian adventure game, even if it wasn’t something I could completely understand as an outsider. I yearned for a similar experience where I could call out the references I knew as a Filipino-American. So he told me about Until Then.
Until Then, a narrative-rich, cinematic game based on Metro Manila, filled that need with a setting I often visited in my youth. Polychroma Games based it on the developers’ experiences growing up in the Philippines, and additional inspirations like Night in the Woods and Your Lie in April. I never got to sit at long wooden tables in a high school classroom, don uniforms with neckties or long skirts, and participate in other uniquely Filipino experiences as a tourist. Despite that, I appreciated Until Then for bringing back old memories and even teaching me more about Filipino culture in a way I didn’t expect.
Until Then leads players through interactive environments that teach them about the setting and throws engaging minigames in between. Some parts encourage me to poke at pop-up icons in front of interactive objects. Other moments are just meant for reading. However, the scenes are never still; I click through the dialogue as the animated scenes progress. In that sense, Until Then overlaps with multiple genres from visual novels to adventure games.
Mark Borja, an unmotivated but intelligent high school student, lives the kind of life that even overseas players can relate to. He crams for tests and projects, yaps about the local rumor mill with his best friends, and dreams of competing in a prestigious piano competition. It’s just that these typical experiences take place in a country much different than the one I grew up in. It also stands out from shining cities like Tokyo and fantasy worlds like The Lands Between, more typical of mainstream games.
I’m not the same as someone who grew up in the Philippines. My parents and cousins lived through its unique ups and downs in a way I’ve never had to deal with. While I toured with the financial freedom of an overseas visitor, they lived through the less glamorous aspects of the country. Even the central air that I enjoyed in the U.S. wasn’t something that they had the luxury of having as a child.
Until Then takes place in 2014, so it mirrors the Philippines I visited when I was a high schooler on a summer trip to my parents’ home country. I, like Mark, regularly scrolled through Facebook to check on my friends while I was away. The platform isn’t as popular anymore in the U.S., but there are a few things that will never get old, like street vendors throughout Metro Manila selling snacks. (My family is particularly fond of taho, sweet tofu.)
You might notice these small details in Until Then, like fans in the corners of the classrooms. Bits of Tagalog (the Philippine language) pop up across the different signs, sometimes mixed with English. Catholic icons like crosses and crucified figures of Jesus hang on the walls of settings from family homes to schools. When Mark wakes up early to go to school, the crowing roosters in the darkness before daybreak unearth old memories of lying awake because of jet lag and playing my Nintendo DS until I could hear their cries.
But Until Then isn’t about being Filipino. While maneuvering its Philippine-inspired setting, I mostly paid attention to the wholesome high school story unfolding before me and the details behind its supernatural twist. Being Filipino definitely helped me connect to the setting in a way that made me appreciate where the story came from. However, it was more so the heart that still stands out in my mind.
I’d recommend it for anyone looking for a rich cultural setting with a universally relatable, emotionally intimate story. Even if you don’t have the same cultural memories, maybe you’ll catch a few references from your Filipino friends.
Until Then is available on PC and PlayStation 5.