NEXT LIFE (a.k.a. REPROBATES)

What world exists beyond life?

What secrets does a desolate island hold?

Adam Raichl is instantly killed in a horrific accident when his SUV suddenly collides with an oncoming truck. But, did he in fact die? Astonished to awaken in the presence of others, Adam realizes that they are all stranded on a large desolate island.

Why does everyone talk about historical events as if they just happened yesterday?

 

Why are mysterious messages hidden all over the island waiting to be discovered?

Why does everyone fall asleep when the bell tower rings three times?

What Adam first thought was a dream turns into a dark, disturbing reality and a thrilling mystery that he must untangle if he ever wants to unlock the secrets of Next Life.

• This island holds many secrets.
• Discover and explore mysterious locations.
• A captivating mystery that will astonish you.
• Solve unique and challenging puzzles.

~ from the back of the box

Contemplations about life and death isn't an uncommon subject in video games. Hell, some of the best games of all time have literally taken you to some version of hell. Next Life, a 2007 point-and-click adventure from the Czech team behind The Broken Mirror, does this too with a Lost-inspired mystery box weaved in for good measure. It's a game that lives or dies on its premise, so how well does it do it?

Well, when it comes to its premise, its one of the most absorbing games I've played in some time, sparking favourable comparisons to J.J. Abrams' seminal TV show and classic games like Sanitarium or Silent Hill 2. It does faulter in its execution to an extent that it may put some people off, but let's begin with the good stuff; the story.

Camera angles for each location change each day. Both of these are taken outside of Adam's cabin.

No matter the day, make sure you pick up a load of rocks (left) and sticks (right). You will need them.

You play as Adam Raichl, a Bohemian fellow who woke up on a strange island after his car collided with a truck. He's not the only one either, as a bunch of other folk from around the world are here too though they all have the uncanny ability to speak fluent English (kudos to the localisation team for at least trying to keep the accents accurate for each character). The first person we meet is Hermann, a grumpy German who awkwardly talks about the Nixon trial airing on the radio before his car skidded off a bridge and into a river. Other characters include a mute Japanese woman named Yokoki , a depressed old lady named Danica from Sarajevo and a Scottish shipman named Edwin who seemingly has an aversion to shirts. They all hint at their own back story forming relationships with others on the island.

At the end of each day, the bell at the top of the mysterious tower at the centre of the island rings three times and every one will instantly fall asleep, only to wake the next day inside their own assigned cabins with all items taken from them. That means you and your inventory too! It is said that from the second night, you will begin to have freakish and vivid dreams and when you awake one or more of your group will disappear and be replaced with a whole new character. While the script and voice acting can leave a lot to be desired, each personality is unique and well realised. There are no cookie cutter characters here.

Adam has a hunger bar on the top right. Swig water or munch on cookies to replenish it though

you may not need to if you're a swift player (left). Hole "E" to highlight all of the exits (right).

The game itself is split into two halves; your time on the island and your time in the dreams. While often beautiful to look at, the island sections are the most tedious, often requiring you to simply talk to everyone to trigger a new scene elsewhere. Puzzle are inventory based, and will likely involve the use of sticks and rocks witch will always be found pretty much everywhere in abundance. Sometimes, your objective requires you to go traipse the entire island multiple times to solve, making it a little tedious at time when fast-travel isn't a thing. For example, Boris the lecherous Russian oilman had the only dry tinder on a rainy day (useful for starting fires), but he wants some tobacco leaves first. These are found on a cliff edge at the highest point of the island which you've already been to, but couldn't interact with 'cos he hadn't told you yet. So, up you go only to realise you can't reach them safely. Looks like its back down the hill to find some rope (or stockings - don't ask), then back up to collect the tobacco leaved, back down to give them to Boris, then back up to set fire to things. It's rather exhausting in all honesty, and it isn't helped by Adam's lackadaisical walking speed. Even double-clicking to run or skip to the next screen isn't particularly swift.

Most of the game is set on this island, but you won't be seeing the same screens all the time. Every day, the camera angles change to keep things interesting. In what is perhaps a deliberate design choice, it also disorientates you every time you wake up. It may take you a few moments to understand where you are in relation to a previous viewpoint of the same location, and it's exacerbated by the small and unusually placed exit hotspots. Hold the "E" key on the keyboard will highlight all available exits on a screen, and I came to rely on this feature quite a bit. Where you thought you might be heading based on a previous day's visit may not be the same. Regardless, the bulk of the vastly intriguing supernatural mystery is revealed in these sections, and they are done so in such a way to make these negatives moot, at least in my eyes.

The dream sequences err on horror, and offer the most interesting and varied mechanics in the game (left).

An example of a mini-game; use the arrow keys to highlight the green circles and avoid hazards (right).

But not everything takes place on this island. Adam's dreams are also playable and take up half of the game's run time. These are often weird, twisted and sometimes horrific in a way that reminded me of Silent Hill's otherworld. Realistic locations such as a construction site or road side have an uncanny feel to them. From a gameplay standpoint, they also have the most interesting mechanics too. The construction scaffolding on top of a bottomless void is like a convoluted maze before turning into a mini escape room. A car crash on the side of the road kicks off a sequence where you have to save a multitude of accident-prone folk before they die, their diminishing life signs represented at the top of the screen. The dirty and dilapidated morgue has another islander enter your dream to assist/obstruct you. They each include mini-games too, though the one that requires precise timing frustrated me no end. At least you can repeat the puzzle multiple times if you fail.

Next Life is a game that grows on you. The opening dialogue is clunky and poorly programmed and coupled with the slow pace of the opening moments can leave a poor first impression. Stick with it, and the mystery will pull you in as it ramps and the game gets more confident in its design the further you get. The reviews I found online weren't particularly kind, taking umbrage over the generally slow pace; something I'd expect from the notoriously adventure-game-averse GameSpot but not from a page dedicated to the genre like Adventure Gamers. Once the intrigue of the plot grabbed me, I found I had a lot of patience for the game's supposed pitfalls and I found I thoroughly enjoyed it. An underrated gem.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber runs natively on Windows. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 1.66 Gb.  Install Size: 1.69 Gb.  Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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Next Life is © Future Games s.r.o.
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me

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