Later, Alligator — A Daytrip-slash-Mystery in Alligator New York City
Who doesn’t love a good mystery? The jotting of clues, information coming to light, suspects. Who doesn’t love alligators? The snoots, the clampy jaws, scales. And who doesn’t love adorable animation? Exaggerated design, silly movement, and god their faces are so adorable. Later, Alligator, developed by Smallbü and Pillowfight, is a masterpiece that combines all three of these very lovely elements into an unforgettable interactive experience. It’s not quite a game, not quite a cartoon, but if you like any of the three aspects mentioned above in any combination, Later, Alligator is your jam.
Players venture into Alligator New York City and are quickly sidetracked by Pat the Alligator begging for their help: look into Pat’s family, figure out what’s going on to Pat that evening, and keep Pat safe. Throughout the experience, players will explore the city’s various neighborhoods, meet Pat’s extended family, and assist them with myriad problems in exchange for information, all under a strict time limit.
Later, Alligator’s standout element is its visual style, all illustrated through Smallbü’s hand-drawn animation style. The animation and visual style defines every character at first glance, and even with thirty unique alligators in Pat’s family, it’s easy to tell them all apart. Characters are constantly on the move, a la older cartoons to keep the animation dynamic: alligators are constantly waving their arms around, panicking, flexing, or juggling their guitar. It keeps the entire world alive and provides a sense of true life as players explore Alligator New York City. Plus, as much of a sucker as I am for voice acting, the lack therein allows the animation to shine more brightly; animators could concentrate fully on the animation, not on timing or lip (snout?) syncing.
Between sublime examples of adorable animation, there’s a sense of Later, Alligator’s gameplay loop: find a member of Pat’s family, talk with them, gain what information you can, complete a challenge or minigame as a favor, get more information, rinse and repeat. The games feel reminiscent of something out of Mario Party’s minigames, or WarioWare’s longer boss-style microgames: they are one-note and mechanically simple, but bursting with charm, aesthetic, and humor. Whether it’s outfoxing Slick Mickey, unscrambling Tin Lizzy’s social media pics, or helping The Knife prep for an upcoming date, players will be challenged largely in the variety of games they have to contend with, not the mechanical challenges therein.*
Later, Alligator, further accentuating its ideal gameplay loop, has its length distilled down to make players excited for more, and encourage their return. It is nigh impossible to see and do everything before the end of a single playthrough, but players are encouraged to start again, to build on their progress so far. It is, in a strange way, all the best parts of (as previously mentioned) WarioWare’s gameplay, Humongous Entertainment’s interactable environments, and LucasArts’s snappy, hilarious dialogue. All of it combines into a gameworld that is not only small enough to feel fully explorable, unlike larger and more daunting maps (looking at you, Skyrim), but inviting enough to incentivize uncovering all of its secrets, too. Just when you think you’ve done everything, there’s just a couple more things you find out you can do…
If there’s one thing that cartoons and animation always seem to have in spades, it’s amazing music. Later, Alligator delivers here as the perfect cherry on top of the entire experience. Composer 2 Mello branches out from their usual hip-hop and electronic music to blast players with what can only be described as a dizzying array of genres, all smashed into a single soundtrack. And yet, against logic, consistency, and genre, they all fit perfectly. From the Unsavory Part of Town to Alligator Memorial Park, from discerning art forgeries to wandering through a blackout, every location, activity, and interaction is scored beautifully, whether in the style of jazz, blues, noir, slapstick, visual novel, electronica, or kazoo. I do consider kazoo a style. The array of stylings doesn’t work on paper, but in practice, it’s the perfect way to wrap up the entire experience.
Later, Alligator is, in so many words, silly. It’s the story about a nervous alligator, terrified of what his family has in store for him, and all of what makes that family tick. It’s a world where they named a major metropolitan hub Alligator New York City. An experience that is so many things at once, and yet never overwhelming. It’s a lovely escape for those who love to explore and interact with a lovingly-crafted world, without fear of choice paralysis or an entire world to explore. It’s just a day in the Big Alligator. Alligapple? That’s beside the point. Get on the trolley, you don’t want to miss this adventure.
All images captured in-game.
*if the flies and hornets are giving you a hard time by your third and fourth playthrough, just use Alt+F4 to exit the game before it saves your failure! ❤ Go achieve enlightenment with ease!
