loved it! the aesthetics are great (i am A SUCKER for pixel art), the soundtrack helps with the immersion, the cast is lovable and charming (esp anna lee<3, ara and leez), the plot is really interesting and the BBEG reveal was actually both bittersweet and unexpected. kj's character, while not my top favorite, really resonated with me as a nonbinary person, i really did feel seen, thank you :)
great game! would be happy to translate it to my first language so i can reccomend it to even more people, tho i have no idea how to code :")
So awesome game!!! I really enjoyed it and its explorations of what the aftermath of magical girl life is like, it is not something I see so often explored... For anyone scrolling through the comments, I can't say this won't be a spoiler-free comment, sorry!!
I really love the cast of characters in this game. They have great designs and I was invested in their different struggles as they went through life after being a magical girl. It left me wanting to replay the game more to see all the different routes with everybody and learn more about them... The art of the characters in this game is really stunning. I wasn't expecting the villain to also end up representing a different answer to the question of how life goes after such an impactful and unique position ends. From the start to the finish it all felt like it went full circle to the struggles of it from very different perspectives... so awesome... so ... good and awesome writing...
The music was great and the background work is so well done!!!!!! It pulled me in in such a way I could just visualize the story in my head as if it was some sort of movie. My favorite (both the soundtrack and the background art ww) has to be Glamour Pop... Dunno how to describe it but its so good...
Now this is a sillier comment but the reveal of Anna Lee being the cause for the magic disappearing was intense!!! I was so stunned!!! Like, you could see it from foreshadowing placed here and there, but seeing it getting confirmed even more and more by different things was so cool... It all came together..!!!! When the possibility first came into my mind, i thought it'd be funny if the pretty businesswoman who doesn't seem to have anything to do with the incident was indeed the villain... So when the TV shows of disbanded magical girl teams came in I was like... "yo.... wouldn't it be funny if she was a magical girl lol"... And then I saw the name Avocado Anna, didn't process it for a second and laughed about the silly name, and then was absolutely dumbfounded at the fact it really was true... Such an intense reveal... Even if I had guessed it on a whim it really shocked me, it was so good...
i remember going on and on about this game to a friend once 😅 then realized only then i had yet to leave a rating, so!
literally gonna go crazy over this game!! me when stories begin with and center around the aftermath of the most impactful moment/s of the cast's lives........ not to mention the gorgeous and thoughtful art, designs, music, and character writing! the layers on layers on layers, the themes, all so goood <33333 thank you so much for this stellar game!
Would anyone possibly have any system requirements? My only computer option is an old netbook, but some VN engines are surprisingly resource heavy or only 64 bit systems.
I loved the retro feel and y2k aesthetic of this game. I always associate magical girls with the 90s, so it's an awesome backdrop to a phenomenal story. The artists, programmers, writers, composers and all those who worked on or otherwise touched this story deserve their flowers.
I think this was a story that needed to be told, especially for all those who used magical girl stories as an escape and are now living as adults in an uncaring world where it literally feels like the world is about to end any second. We're constantly told stories about great heroes and how they used teamwork to defeat evil, but rarely do we get a peak at what happens after the violence ends. Each character is a wonderful and nuanced look at how people try to live their life after spending their childhood entrenched in (oftentimes, deadly) combat. While they may have overlapping feelings (some miss the purpose of a magical girl life and others see it as nothing more than traumatic), each character's perspective is unique. Don't even get me started about the romance aspect, I spent the entire game giggling and kicking my feet. Wonderful game, 5/5 stars.
What an amazing game, thank you for making it! The music was fantastic, the sprite work and animations incredible, and the writing was superb. I love these characters, and I'll be thinking about them for a while. Looking forward to your next game! Signed up for the newsletter.
Fun characters, cute and pretty sprites, awesome music and a compelling story that hits home to what it felt like when i was in my early 20s. Quality trans and nonbinary representation AND we get to learn the backstory of the hot villainess! Played with some friends and we had so much fun, beyond highly recommend
what an absolute blast! I got this game off the queer games bundle and thoroughly enjoyed the story, the routes, and getting to explore the misery of going through my early twenties again. definitely recommend!
So happy I finally got to play ya'lls game! I absolutely ADORED it !The music, the style and story had so much charm, it made me feel so cozy and smile so much.
Just finished my first playthrough. This is SUCH a great concept and so well executed. The writing was adorable and the pixel art really gives it the 90's charm.
Mhm ? Can’t donate money ? I had your game in my list of “should donate something”, it mostly would be peanuts to make me feel good, but if ever you have some donation system, I’m in ;)
this game made my cry happily i love anna lee so much and the whole cast, the game is so good and i love replaying it - seriously , i hope one day this game gets very popular because of how detailed and amazing it is , like who wouldnt wanna date an idol. an architect, a hot rockstar , your mean (but hot) boss CEO , a boxer and your work wife?? liike imagine that?? and u have a cute cat like ur living the life
this game is absolutely amazing, i really love and resonate with Jackie as a transfem person. I also REALLY like how theres an option to be passive or not (kinda i count it) ive dealt with issues with abuse in many areas and i just like how its done this game is so amazing
The pace of development has changed, as we originally made it as part of a game jam and were on a stricter deadline. However, don't worry - Life After Magic hasn't been forgotten by us! I don't think we can give any specific promises for release dates at this time, but we'll make an announcement when we have one.
Thank you for commenting, and your patience regarding the game!
im not sure if i already commented but i played this a month ago and IT WAS SO GOOOOOD the aesthetic and feel is amazing and has been stuck in my head. are jackie and KJ's routes up yet?
hello!! i love this game so much already, i'm so excited to go through all the routes! i'd love to join the discord, but the links are expired! can someone help me with that? thank you!! :)
Absolutely loved this game. Themes and characters are fantastic - even the villain was interesting! Seriously, this was such an interesting, thought-out look at what life after being a magic girl could be like. Also, huge thumbs up for all the queer rep.
Is it possible to get different endings for girls or are those fixed? If there are different endings, I’d love a walkthrough because I definitely want to play them all! :D
Thank you so much for playing and for writing this, we’re so glad you loved it!! It is possible to get different endings– right now we have multiple endings for three of the characters (ARA, Miranda, and Leez), both romantic and friendship, PLUS an adorable secret bonus ending… and KJ & Jackie’s routes are in the works!
We’re working on a walkthrough too for anyone who wants to make sure they see all of them >:3
I finished this yesterday but I forgot to leave my comment! Let me start saying that I love magical girl storylines, specially if they're sapphic, so of course I really enjoyed this visual novel.
The art style was stunning, the music was nice and I was very invested in the story as well. I wasn't having a great day but playing this help me get distracted a few hours.
JK was my favorite character of them all and I appreciate the fact that they're non-binary like me, I think that's pretty cool since I don't see many non-binary representation in visual novels or in media in general. It's a shame their route isn't available just yet, but I'll come back when its released!
This warms my heart! I'm so glad this game was able to an uplifting part of a not-so-great day for you. That's exactly why we make these games!
We'll definitely keep you updated on KJ's route. They're a beloved part of our cast, and we're so excited for their extended route to be available. <3
We update our public Discord for build changes + patch updates, so if you're interested, feel free to hop in if you haven't already: https://discord.gg/KKmUvYMW
i adore this game with my whole heart. I think this concept and project comes from very authenticate and genuine spaces of the experience of growing up on magical girl shows. It’s a beautiful art piece and a cry of where to go next because none of our media growing up of our main protagonist girls ever fought a villain as sickening as growing up.
The art direction is both tailored but suited to the exact time period it’s set in but also the shoujo and cute characters that people who grew up with games at the time. I say this while also believing that it works still incredibly in current contemporary pieces, I don’t think it dates the project or makes it too niche. I think the art direction is made with intention and the overall approach is extremely contemporary.
The characters are beautiful women and enbys. There’s a perfect balance of both direct and spoken representation with KJ’s transition of being non-binary and the cast being sapphic on some level. But also a lot of give for the player to self insert head cannons for characters. When I played, I had perceived Miranda to be neurodivergent, mostly that they were on the spectrum. There’s plenty of times where I had head cannoned Leez to also be asexual / on the grayscale. These examples are important for stories about characters of representation because it’s also important to write characters to both state their representation but allow players/viewers to relate to in ways they can. Also as a fellow writer who cares about representation, sometimes it’s also better to focus on fine tuning how characters present themselves without having to doing a checklist of keywords they have to say.
spoilers below
I think having the villain to end up being also a retired magical girl also adds another level of dilemma of the narrative already. an example of where it could have all gone wrong, but also how can you reach out to someone who’s so far gone. Questioning the ethics of being a hero and when can helping someone can even be achievable.
And maybe this is a cheesy final thought, but if asked to have any critique, it’s that I want more. I love the world they reside in and I think the characters are extremely well crafted. But I say that with an asterisk because I don’t believe it should be doubled in workload, I think the gameplay is a comfortable length, but maybe more exploration of the villainess and her story at the end? Or more Main Character(MC) delving into what they’ll do with their own job afterwords and their goals/dreams. (But to be fair I had a neutral/bad ending so there’s a huge chance I just didn’t unlock it LMFAO)
Over all, I think this game is made with lots and lots of love with the team and I had the absolute most fun being able to delve into their world and falling in love with these gays.
Thank you, Team Starlight, to help me coming to terms and finding comfort of knowing that there are others who experienced this hard truth growing up.
Thank you so much for writing all this and for all your support Ami T^T So happy that you loved it and that it landed the way we were hoping!!
We’re definitely going to be making tweaks to the ending unlocks to make sure you’re rewarded for your thoughtfulness in each character’s route– I hope you’ll love them too once we patch them in! Plenty more content coming >:3
I wish I could print out this review and frame it! <3 Thank you so much for everything you've done to help review the game in this early stage!!! Your insights have helped us TREMENDOUSLY this weekend.
We'll do our best to keep updating the contents to make sure it's video-essay worthy!
dibs on being the first comment, because I just cannot hype this game enough.
I did a whole comment thread on twitter about this, but I'll reiterate it here - as someone who grew up with and loves the magical girl genre, "Life After Magic" really pushes against the edges of it. In a lot of ways magical girl stories glorify youth to the extent that we never see our characters grow up, we never see what happens after the final battle is over. There's no epilogue to magical girl stories because, for magical girls, there is no life after the magic...
Or at least that's what other magical girl series want you to think.
"Life After Magic" really does a lot in such a short time - it's about a seven hour commitment - and by the end I was invested in every character, even the ones I wasn't big on when I started (sorry I rolled my eyes at every other word you said, ARA). Their struggles and relationship with magic - a childhood aspect of their identities - felt relatable and genuine. Who hasn't looked back on their past selves with love and frustration? Who hasn't wondered how much they've actually grown up?
Also, it's just hilarious, and every sapphic on the planet needs to play at least once.
Thanks to the entire team for this game. I can't wait to play more when Jackie and KJ's routes are released <3
MARY!!! Thank you so, so much for your insightful comment and the test build playthrough you did!
We're super proud of the work we did on this game - but getting to hear from players like you really reaffirms that. I'm so touched that you enjoyed all of the characters, and we'll definitely do our best to get Jackie and KJ out for ya! >:D
We appreciate your time playing through the game, your commentary, and support!
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My crush for the game has turned into undying love! Pixal Art, music, and great story makes it a great game.
loved it! the aesthetics are great (i am A SUCKER for pixel art), the soundtrack helps with the immersion, the cast is lovable and charming (esp anna lee<3, ara and leez), the plot is really interesting and the BBEG reveal was actually both bittersweet and unexpected. kj's character, while not my top favorite, really resonated with me as a nonbinary person, i really did feel seen, thank you :)
great game! would be happy to translate it to my first language so i can reccomend it to even more people, tho i have no idea how to code :")
5/5! thank you!!!
wwasnt planning on playing anything else tonight but the concept just hooked me in!!!!
So awesome game!!! I really enjoyed it and its explorations of what the aftermath of magical girl life is like, it is not something I see so often explored... For anyone scrolling through the comments, I can't say this won't be a spoiler-free comment, sorry!!
I really love the cast of characters in this game. They have great designs and I was invested in their different struggles as they went through life after being a magical girl. It left me wanting to replay the game more to see all the different routes with everybody and learn more about them... The art of the characters in this game is really stunning. I wasn't expecting the villain to also end up representing a different answer to the question of how life goes after such an impactful and unique position ends. From the start to the finish it all felt like it went full circle to the struggles of it from very different perspectives... so awesome... so ... good and awesome writing...
The music was great and the background work is so well done!!!!!! It pulled me in in such a way I could just visualize the story in my head as if it was some sort of movie. My favorite (both the soundtrack and the background art ww) has to be Glamour Pop... Dunno how to describe it but its so good...
Now this is a sillier comment but the reveal of Anna Lee being the cause for the magic disappearing was intense!!! I was so stunned!!! Like, you could see it from foreshadowing placed here and there, but seeing it getting confirmed even more and more by different things was so cool... It all came together..!!!! When the possibility first came into my mind, i thought it'd be funny if the pretty businesswoman who doesn't seem to have anything to do with the incident was indeed the villain... So when the TV shows of disbanded magical girl teams came in I was like... "yo.... wouldn't it be funny if she was a magical girl lol"... And then I saw the name Avocado Anna, didn't process it for a second and laughed about the silly name, and then was absolutely dumbfounded at the fact it really was true... Such an intense reveal... Even if I had guessed it on a whim it really shocked me, it was so good...
So awesome game!!!!!! Thank you!!!
i remember going on and on about this game to a friend once 😅 then realized only then i had yet to leave a rating, so!
literally gonna go crazy over this game!! me when stories begin with and center around the aftermath of the most impactful moment/s of the cast's lives........ not to mention the gorgeous and thoughtful art, designs, music, and character writing! the layers on layers on layers, the themes, all so goood <33333 thank you so much for this stellar game!
I love this game SO MUCH!!! The story, the art, the overall aesthetic, the dialogues, everything is just amazing!! ♥
i haven't got to playing yet but im already inlove with everything
Is there a walkthrough for the Pink Ink achievement? I tried to get it but couldn't figure it out.
I haven't even started playing yet. I just got to the main menu and had to leave a comment to say how much I adore the menu theme.
I really liked this! Solaire sucks and I love him.
Would anyone possibly have any system requirements? My only computer option is an old netbook, but some VN engines are surprisingly resource heavy or only 64 bit systems.
I loved the retro feel and y2k aesthetic of this game. I always associate magical girls with the 90s, so it's an awesome backdrop to a phenomenal story. The artists, programmers, writers, composers and all those who worked on or otherwise touched this story deserve their flowers.
I think this was a story that needed to be told, especially for all those who used magical girl stories as an escape and are now living as adults in an uncaring world where it literally feels like the world is about to end any second. We're constantly told stories about great heroes and how they used teamwork to defeat evil, but rarely do we get a peak at what happens after the violence ends. Each character is a wonderful and nuanced look at how people try to live their life after spending their childhood entrenched in (oftentimes, deadly) combat. While they may have overlapping feelings (some miss the purpose of a magical girl life and others see it as nothing more than traumatic), each character's perspective is unique. Don't even get me started about the romance aspect, I spent the entire game giggling and kicking my feet. Wonderful game, 5/5 stars.
...we need a part 2
I LOVED THIS GAME SM<3<3<3 it was an absolute masterpiece!!!!!
love the game! will the mac build from here ever go on steam?
What an amazing game, thank you for making it! The music was fantastic, the sprite work and animations incredible, and the writing was superb. I love these characters, and I'll be thinking about them for a while. Looking forward to your next game! Signed up for the newsletter.
Do yall plan on making the game available for steam deck?
Fun characters, cute and pretty sprites, awesome music and a compelling story that hits home to what it felt like when i was in my early 20s. Quality trans and nonbinary representation AND we get to learn the backstory of the hot villainess! Played with some friends and we had so much fun, beyond highly recommend
what an absolute blast! I got this game off the queer games bundle and thoroughly enjoyed the story, the routes, and getting to explore the misery of going through my early twenties again. definitely recommend!
Any chance of a linux version? I'd like to play this on my steam deck.
So happy I finally got to play ya'lls game! I absolutely ADORED it !The music, the style and story had so much charm, it made me feel so cozy and smile so much.
Just finished my first playthrough. This is SUCH a great concept and so well executed. The writing was adorable and the pixel art really gives it the 90's charm.
Great job, y'all!
Mhm ? Can’t donate money ? I had your game in my list of “should donate something”, it mostly would be peanuts to make me feel good, but if ever you have some donation system, I’m in ;)
this game made my cry happily i love anna lee so much and the whole cast, the game is so good and i love replaying it - seriously , i hope one day this game gets very popular because of how detailed and amazing it is , like who wouldnt wanna date an idol. an architect, a hot rockstar , your mean (but hot) boss CEO , a boxer and your work wife?? liike imagine that?? and u have a cute cat like ur living the life
LOVED the new routes and the DLC! :))))))
this game is absolutely amazing, i really love and resonate with Jackie as a transfem person. I also REALLY like how theres an option to be passive or not (kinda i count it) ive dealt with issues with abuse in many areas and i just like how its done this game is so amazing
AAAAAAAAAAAAA SO GOOD jajjjjajackie hwaerat emojies
This might be an extremely stupid question, but, does anyone in this story use he/him pronouns? I just wanted to ask.
Not a stupid question!! In this game the only characters who appear on screen and use he/him pronouns are Allister and Solaire.
I hope this game wasn't forgotten, I'm still very much locking forward to the Jackie & KJ routes
The pace of development has changed, as we originally made it as part of a game jam and were on a stricter deadline. However, don't worry - Life After Magic hasn't been forgotten by us! I don't think we can give any specific promises for release dates at this time, but we'll make an announcement when we have one.
Thank you for commenting, and your patience regarding the game!
im not sure if i already commented but i played this a month ago and IT WAS SO GOOOOOD the aesthetic and feel is amazing and has been stuck in my head. are jackie and KJ's routes up yet?
This IS GREAT OH MY GOD how could “they” (world) hide it from me ! Art, writing, wits… Gonna do all the routes :3
Also the whole design experience is flawless, it’s such-a-gem !
hello!! i love this game so much already, i'm so excited to go through all the routes! i'd love to join the discord, but the links are expired! can someone help me with that? thank you!! :)
thanks so much for playing! here's another link, hope to see you there! ^^ https://discord.gg/cANtujb2Km (it's 18+ btw!)
this is such a great game i love it so much
I loved this! The art, music and writing was so fun and I can tell so much love was put into this!
Thank you beachfuneral!! We definitely put a whole lot of love into this project, and I'm glad it came through <3
Absolutely loved this game. Themes and characters are fantastic - even the villain was interesting! Seriously, this was such an interesting, thought-out look at what life after being a magic girl could be like. Also, huge thumbs up for all the queer rep.
Is it possible to get different endings for girls or are those fixed? If there are different endings, I’d love a walkthrough because I definitely want to play them all! :D
My only complaint? That I would love more! :P
Thank you so much for playing and for writing this, we’re so glad you loved it!! It is possible to get different endings– right now we have multiple endings for three of the characters (ARA, Miranda, and Leez), both romantic and friendship, PLUS an adorable secret bonus ending… and KJ & Jackie’s routes are in the works!
We’re working on a walkthrough too for anyone who wants to make sure they see all of them >:3
Oooh I’ll just have to look forward to that walkthrough then! :D
Your game has so much heart. :)
Hi again! Just put up a walkthrough for the currently available routes <3 please take a look! https://eveenova.itch.io/life-after-magic/devlog/427983/v102-walkthrough
Off to play all the endings!!! :D
so excited for the extra routes! I love some queer magical girl content... and the pixel art is a bonus! <3
I finished this yesterday but I forgot to leave my comment! Let me start saying that I love magical girl storylines, specially if they're sapphic, so of course I really enjoyed this visual novel.
The art style was stunning, the music was nice and I was very invested in the story as well. I wasn't having a great day but playing this help me get distracted a few hours.
JK was my favorite character of them all and I appreciate the fact that they're non-binary like me, I think that's pretty cool since I don't see many non-binary representation in visual novels or in media in general. It's a shame their route isn't available just yet, but I'll come back when its released!
This warms my heart! I'm so glad this game was able to an uplifting part of a not-so-great day for you. That's exactly why we make these games!
We'll definitely keep you updated on KJ's route. They're a beloved part of our cast, and we're so excited for their extended route to be available. <3
We update our public Discord for build changes + patch updates, so if you're interested, feel free to hop in if you haven't already: https://discord.gg/KKmUvYMW
Thank you so much!
i adore this game with my whole heart. I think this concept and project comes from very authenticate and genuine spaces of the experience of growing up on magical girl shows. It’s a beautiful art piece and a cry of where to go next because none of our media growing up of our main protagonist girls ever fought a villain as sickening as growing up.
The art direction is both tailored but suited to the exact time period it’s set in but also the shoujo and cute characters that people who grew up with games at the time. I say this while also believing that it works still incredibly in current contemporary pieces, I don’t think it dates the project or makes it too niche. I think the art direction is made with intention and the overall approach is extremely contemporary.
The characters are beautiful women and enbys. There’s a perfect balance of both direct and spoken representation with KJ’s transition of being non-binary and the cast being sapphic on some level. But also a lot of give for the player to self insert head cannons for characters. When I played, I had perceived Miranda to be neurodivergent, mostly that they were on the spectrum. There’s plenty of times where I had head cannoned Leez to also be asexual / on the grayscale. These examples are important for stories about characters of representation because it’s also important to write characters to both state their representation but allow players/viewers to relate to in ways they can. Also as a fellow writer who cares about representation, sometimes it’s also better to focus on fine tuning how characters present themselves without having to doing a checklist of keywords they have to say.
spoilers below
I think having the villain to end up being also a retired magical girl also adds another level of dilemma of the narrative already. an example of where it could have all gone wrong, but also how can you reach out to someone who’s so far gone. Questioning the ethics of being a hero and when can helping someone can even be achievable.
And maybe this is a cheesy final thought, but if asked to have any critique, it’s that I want more. I love the world they reside in and I think the characters are extremely well crafted. But I say that with an asterisk because I don’t believe it should be doubled in workload, I think the gameplay is a comfortable length, but maybe more exploration of the villainess and her story at the end? Or more Main Character(MC) delving into what they’ll do with their own job afterwords and their goals/dreams. (But to be fair I had a neutral/bad ending so there’s a huge chance I just didn’t unlock it LMFAO)
Over all, I think this game is made with lots and lots of love with the team and I had the absolute most fun being able to delve into their world and falling in love with these gays.
Thank you, Team Starlight, to help me coming to terms and finding comfort of knowing that there are others who experienced this hard truth growing up.
Please do expect a video essay this 2022 LMFAO
Thank you so much for writing all this and for all your support Ami T^T So happy that you loved it and that it landed the way we were hoping!!
We’re definitely going to be making tweaks to the ending unlocks to make sure you’re rewarded for your thoughtfulness in each character’s route– I hope you’ll love them too once we patch them in! Plenty more content coming >:3
I wish I could print out this review and frame it! <3 Thank you so much for everything you've done to help review the game in this early stage!!! Your insights have helped us TREMENDOUSLY this weekend.
We'll do our best to keep updating the contents to make sure it's video-essay worthy!
dibs on being the first comment, because I just cannot hype this game enough.
I did a whole comment thread on twitter about this, but I'll reiterate it here - as someone who grew up with and loves the magical girl genre, "Life After Magic" really pushes against the edges of it. In a lot of ways magical girl stories glorify youth to the extent that we never see our characters grow up, we never see what happens after the final battle is over. There's no epilogue to magical girl stories because, for magical girls, there is no life after the magic...
Or at least that's what other magical girl series want you to think.
"Life After Magic" really does a lot in such a short time - it's about a seven hour commitment - and by the end I was invested in every character, even the ones I wasn't big on when I started (sorry I rolled my eyes at every other word you said, ARA). Their struggles and relationship with magic - a childhood aspect of their identities - felt relatable and genuine. Who hasn't looked back on their past selves with love and frustration? Who hasn't wondered how much they've actually grown up?
Also, it's just hilarious, and every sapphic on the planet needs to play at least once.
Thanks to the entire team for this game. I can't wait to play more when Jackie and KJ's routes are released <3
MARY!!! Thank you so, so much for your insightful comment and the test build playthrough you did!
We're super proud of the work we did on this game - but getting to hear from players like you really reaffirms that. I'm so touched that you enjoyed all of the characters, and we'll definitely do our best to get Jackie and KJ out for ya! >:D
We appreciate your time playing through the game, your commentary, and support!
This review really just makes me glow, it means so much to hear 🥺 thank you for playing our game and for the support you’ve given us!!