Indie developer Orchid of Redemption is preparing to tug on heartstrings—and twist your brain—with After Light Fades, a deeply emotional narrative puzzle game that releases June 20 on PC via Steam. The sokoban-inspired game combines elemental puzzles with a metaphor-rich story of grief, memory, and letting go.
To celebrate the announcement, the studio dropped a new release date trailer showcasing the game’s dreamlike puzzle environments and core mechanic: mastering and then relinquishing unique puzzle-solving abilities tied to memories of lost love.
Solve, Grieve, Let Go
In After Light Fades, you play Alice, a woman mourning the loss of her partner Aura after a house fire. Her path through grief is explored via seven magical puzzle worlds—each shaped by a memory-laden artifact and its corresponding mechanic. From magnetism and vines to fire propagation and cloning, players will push, pull, and puzzle their way through each world… and eventually, give up the very tools they’ve mastered.
“Each mechanic is a metaphor for a part of the grieving process,” said game director Al Thumm. “You build familiarity, you come to depend on it, and then you’re asked to let it go. That’s where the emotional resonance lies.”
A Puzzle Game That Feels Like a Goodbye
Though inspired by classic sokoban box-pushing, After Light Fades is anything but traditional. The game features rich environmental interactions, layered logic systems, and surprising mechanical synergy:
- Elemental Interactions: Use mirrors, transmutation, teleports, fire, and more in dynamic and unexpected ways.
- Emotionally Themed Worlds: Each puzzle realm embodies a stage of grief, shaping both aesthetics and mechanics.
- Mechanics with Meaning: The core gameplay is about growth through loss—every mastered mechanic must eventually be sacrificed.
Level Editor and Steam Workshop Support
Once you’ve completed Alice’s journey, After Light Fades invites you to tell your own story with its full-featured level editor. The game launches with Steam Workshop support, letting players create and share custom puzzle experiences using the same tools as the main game.
Release Date and Pricing
After Light Fades launches June 20, 2025, on PC via Steam for $14.99, with a 10% launch week discount. Wishlist it now to stay updated, and try the demo if available.
About Orchid of Redemption
Based in Adelaide, Australia, Orchid of Redemption is a small indie studio with a focus on emotionally meaningful games told through minimal yet impactful design. Their debut game Joon Shining, won multiple awards, and After Light Fades continues their mission of crafting “minimum lovable products” that linger long after the screen fades to black.
After Light Fades is available June 20 on Steam.
