What an adorably morbid title.
“Later Alligator” was released in 2019 on Steam & Itch.io, and on the Nintendo Switch this year.
Pillow Fight Games, which was founded in 2015, developed “Later Alligator.” They’ve made several narrative games, like Ghost of Miami.
Smallbu Animation did the animation, directing, writing, and designing of “Later Alligator.” They also did Ghost of Miami’s animated opening. They also animated the Baman Piderman YouTube series, which has millions of views.
Note: I got the game for free as a Christmas gift on Steam, which may impact my opinion.
A Low-Saturated Introduction
When the game starts, it begins with this amazingly animated opening cutscene. This animation quality is consistent with the entire game.
We, the protagonist, talk to Pat who wants us to investigate “the event” that he overheard from his family. He’s anxious that his family is going to kill him on his birthday since he believes he’s horrible with secrets. It’s up to the protagonist to figure out “the event” and save him.
...Is what I would say, if I didn’t figure out what was going on in the first five minutes. I won’t spoil it, but it’s obvious what “the event” is. It’s in-character for Pat to assume "the event" will mean his death, but the entire mystery relying on that makes it weak.
Despite this, I did really enjoy the ending. My guess was right, but the execution makes the ending wonderful.
Family Business
However, the mystery isn’t the story’s focus, it’s the writing and well-designed characters.
The game is very well-written as each character is unique and has entertaining dialogue. While I didn’t laugh at most of the jokes, they just aren’t my thing, the jokes that worked got me good.
My favourite joke is when you go to Pat’s website to get a password for him. This is a real website and kills me in the best way possible. Seriously, look up: http://alligator.fun/
A lot of the characters are also likable with their quirks. From the anxious yet adorable Pat, The Knife who's a walking “Yakuza” reference, and more. They’re a fun cast of characters.
What also helps the characters personalities shine is their designs and their animations that show their personality in-action. The monochrome city helps show the colourful personalities of the characters through their designs and animations.
Nothing wins my heart more easily then colour. Although, one criticism is that there are few dynamics because most characters only talk to the mute protagonist. If you see a character by themselves, they'll never interact with anyone else. It doesn’t stop the characters from being good, but it stops them from being truly special.
Now, back to “the event,” you need Pat’s family to tell you what it's about, the fun way.
Most family members have a minigame, most of which are unique and gives the game a lot of variety. Puzzles, management, pinball, memory games, exorcism, and more. Beating a minigame adds at least one family member badge, which there are 31 of in total.
The minigames range in quality. It's hard to go over all the minigames, but to summarize, they all suffer from awkward difficulty. Some are far too hard, others too easy, some are perfectly balanced, and others are easy for comedic effect. The last two I don't mind since they're fun or hilarious.
The first two I mind a lot and make up the majority of the minigames. Sometimes the tough difficulty is caused by the clunky mechanics of some of the minigames, like the claw machine. It takes time to get used to the claw machine, but it's also time you can't spare.
The player has a set number of things they can do given they must always go back to Pat at a specific time. Doing minigames and taking public transit takes time. Each retry of a minigame means more time being eaten up.
The player can always check the time with their han- clawly watch.
This adds good incentive to not fail and to be mindful of your actions. It makes the tough minigames more rewarding to get through. However, this also makes the clunky minigames or minigames that don't allow a second try more frustrating. You can sometimes lose time because of something that wasn't even your fault.
What does help make the dull minigames more bearable is the soundtrack. There are multiple jazzy minigame tracks. All of the non-minigame music is just as amazing like Alligator Memorial Park or the Fun District, areas the player goes to investigate. It’s an amazing soundtrack that makes the city feel more alive.
Groundhog Day
The game is quite replayable. There are achievements for the minigames, puzzle pieces, and so on. Only two playthroughs are minimally required to get all the family badges.
Puzzle pieces are found by clicking on certain things in areas or completing minigames (ex. The slider puzzle minigame without using the auto solve function). Getting most of the puzzle pieces nets access to a new area and a family badge, the rest are for completionist’s sake though.
They’re a nice addition, although I went most of my first playthrough being unaware of them. The hint about them came too late, which is weird since it's the only helpful hint.
One problem with the replayability is that dialogue can’t be skipped, so long dialogue sections must be spammed through instead of, for example, holding down a button to skip them. I can only hear Pat's turmoil so many times.
The biggest problem with "Later Alligator" is that it took me around four hours to complete it, but costs $20.49CDN. While I got the game for free and the production quality is high, there isn't a lot to do in this game to warrant the price.
Conclusion (C+)
“Later Alligator” is an enjoyable game with phenomenal presentation, fun characters, and lots of variety. Unfortunately, the dynamics are non-existent, the mystery is obvious, and the gameplay is all over the place in terms of quality with most minigames being low quality.
It’s clear the game is style over substance, and while that style is genuinely amazing, it’s hard to call it a good game. However, it’s a good experience, and one I recommend but only when it’s on sale, as the default asking price is too high.
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