Overview:
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 6/10 [highly skill dependent] [Achievement Difficulty Rating]
- Offline: 46 [1000]
- Online: 0
- Approximate amount of time to 1000: 50-60 hours [Estimated Time to 100%]
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1 [NG+ is not an additional playthrough; see roadmap]
- Missable achievements: None [endings don't end your playthrough, and you can freely switch back and forth between NG+ and normal playthrough]
- Does difficulty affect achievements: No difficulty option
- Unobtainable/glitched achievements: Omneity (25G) seems to be glitched in a good way - despite the achievement saying you need to reach level 99, as well as two other requirements, it unlocks without reaching level 99

Introduction:
Welcome to Afterimage, a beautiful 2D action-focused Metroidvania where you take on the role of Renee, a human who awakens with no real memories, but is aided by her companion Ifree to try to stop an ongoing war between humans and goliaths. This game has similar aspects to Ori games, such as platforming and exploration, the visuals, and beautiful music. However, it also takes a few pages from Dark Souls in that, if you die, your XP drops and you'll need to return to pick it up; healing at a Confluence point also respawns all enemies; and there is a heavy emphasis on boss fights, and the need to "get good" at them by learning their patterns and figuring out when best to attack. There are also heavy RPG elements, since you can level up to level 99, there are many different weapons, armors, and accessories to find, a Talent tree to build into as you level up, and more. Lastly, this game's map is absolutely massive. If you think you've played large Metroidvanias before, this one takes the cake. That being said, the gameplay is superb and very tight. Before getting into the roadmap and guide, also be aware that achievement pacing is absolutely terrible in this game. By that, I mean you'll spend the first 30-40 hours getting maybe four or so achievements, and all of the rest are late/end-game achievements. Stick with it though, as this game is fantastic! Let's get started.

Marking Your Map:
The first thing to cover, and one that will save you a ton of time, is the concept of marking your map. Nothing gets marked on your map automatically in this game, aside from the save points. However, this game has a feature that lets you put icons on your map to mark locations of various things of interest, ranging from NPC locations, to chests you can't reach yet, to doors you can't open yet. While it may seem a little annoying at first, once you get it down, it's quick to do, and it'll save you lots of time during mopup later, since you'll already have your map marked up with stuff that you haven't accessed yet. There are a bunch of icons to choose from when marking your map. I tried to use ones that kept it pretty intuitive: I used the bat-like icon for any places that needed the triple jump or super jump to reach, I used the lock symbol for any red barriers I needed to get through, I used the key symbol for doors that were locked and needed a key to open, and I used the scroll icon to mark NPC/quest locations. Feel free to do it however you wish, but just make it easy to remember so you don't backtrack unnecessarily.

Story/Area Progression:
One thing this game does not do well (it doesn't do it at all) is tell you where to go next, whether it's story or side quests. It just points you in some vague general directions. There are also a bunch of areas that you can access without needing any special abilities, and even though you can access them, it doesn't mean you'll be capable of tackling the enemies there yet. The developers have stated they'll be adding in skull icons for enemies that are higher level, to help indicate when you've entered a region that you're not ready for yet, but for now, it's important to have a general understanding of what order to progress through the areas, so you don't get one-shot by an enemy that's way higher level than you.

Here is the general order of progression through the areas:
 

1. Rubiwood Desert (starting location)
2. Rainbow Plains (head out the east side of Rubiwood Desert)
3. Resting Town (head out the east side of Rainbow Plains)
4. Resting Path (south-southeast of Resting Town)
5. Field of Geo (east-northeast of Resting Town)
6. Emerald Falls (east of Field of Geo)
7. The Columns (south of Emerald Falls)
8. Town of the Exiled (exit out the southeast of The Columns). Note that you'll likely encounter sections of this map where your screen gets covered by a purple mist and you can't really see anything. The way to combat this is to return to Resting Town, talk to the merchant there, and buy the Eye of Truth ability. You then need to equip it in the Afterimage tab at any Confluence. This lets you see through the purple mist
9. After beating the main boss in Town of the Exiled, you'll get the Whistle. Head to the far east of Town of the Exiled, out the northern of the two eastern exits, into Ashen Canyon. The enemies will be way too high, so just keep dashing east all the way along the northern end of Ashen Canyon, across a giant bridge, and you'll come to the Manta Ray port. Here you can use the Whistle to ride on the Manta Ray and access a separate overworld. Collect pickups around the overworld area, then go to the island in the southwest. No enemies here. Climb and activate the lighthouse to open the rest of the overworld area, and activate the fast travel farther west. Head back on the Manta Ray and go to the shore in the far northeast to get to Whispering Forest)
10. Whispering Forest (see above for reaching)
11. Forest Foregone (can access the west end of this area from the Manta Ray landing on the shore on the far east, but the true way to access this area is to reach the robot in the center of Whispering Forest, then take the teleporter into Forest Foregone)
12. Silent Coast (head out the east of Forest Foregone)
13. Misty Waters/Field of Hydro (reach the southeast of Silent Coast to get to a ship. Ride it east. No enemies in Misty Waters or Field of Hydro)
14. Holy Grounds (this is the large central land in the middle of the Manta Ray overworld that you can land on; you may want to come back later to beat the boss on the far east, who's very tough)
15. Albedo Tower (head up and out the northeast corner of Emerald Falls)
16. Sky Palace (head up to the top of Albedo Tower, beat the boss, and take the teleporter up)
17. Heart of Veins (exit out the west end of Sky Palace; no enemies in this area, just a boss fight)
18. Ashen Canyon (exit out the east end of Town of the Exiled)
19. Goliathfall (head up and out the northeast end of Rainbow Plains)
20. Scorchwhere (exit out the far west end of Goliathfall)
21. Field of Pyro (exit out the southwest corner of Ashen Canyon; this is where some story endings are available)
22. Sunken Depths (extra area on the southern tip of Holy Grounds; this is where more story endings are available)

Technically, Sunken Depths is a lower level than Field of Pyro (and maybe Scorchwhere too), but trust me that this is the better progression. Sunken Depths is just boss fights to end the game, and you're better off being overleveled for them, so it's better to get more XP from enemies in Scorchwhere and Field of Pyro first.

General Tips:
 

• You can dodge-cancel anything in this game. This means that, if you're performing any action that isn't finished yet, such as a slow attack, a weapon skill attack, healing, etc., and you're about to get attacked, you can dodge to cancel your action and still get out of the way. 
• All enemies and bosses are a set level, meaning it's possible to overlevel yourself. You shouldn't need to go out of your way to do this, but if you incorporate exploration and backtracking to explore into your progression, it makes for a higher level that you'll be, and more likely to be able to take on whatever you encounter. That being said, it also means that if you find yourself overwhelmed or underpowered, don't hesitate to leave and come back later when you're a higher level.
• I don't think the game did a good job of explaining this, since I didn't grasp it until much later in the game, but under your health and mana bars are glyphs that you'll obtain as collectibles. You can use these with  to heal at any time (as long as you're standing on the ground), and they get recharged at Confluences. This effectively eliminates the need for healing potions once you have more, but be aware of that, and don't waste money on healing potions unnecessarily
• Leveling up in this game doesn't directly increase your stats. When you level up, you don't automatically get more attack, defense, HP, etc. Stats are only increased via the Talent tree, so bear that in mind. If you are leveling up but aren't using Talent points, you aren't really getting any stronger.
• I recommend deciding pretty early on how you want to build and min/max your Talent tree. There are more than enough Talent points in the game to fill the tree (I had 17 left over after filling in the tree), but early on you'll want to make the most of your Talent point usage to help you continually progress through newer, harder areas. New Talent skills unlock every five levels, so you don't want to spend Talent point unnecessarily. For example, when you reach a new multiple of five with your level, say level 25, you'll open up new Talents to spend points on. While you could increase main weapon attack, MP, and elemental damage with your Talent points, you're only going to see a slight improvement to your general strength to take on new enemies and bosses.
• Unless you're actively using everything, it's far more impactful to focus your Talent points on specific paths in the tree, especially early on. For example, it doesn't make much sense to spread your Talent points across all six weapon types. Find one whose range, speed, damage, and skills work for you, and only invest in those one or two weapons. For me, I used the Whip almost the entire game, aside from the first few hours where I was switching between them all, and I never used swords, blades, and greatswords. I also never used mana attacks, so I didn't invest any points in MP and the like. I instead would save my points up, and every time I reached a new tier, I would invest all my points in main weapon attack, normal attack damage, weapon skill damage, HP, and defense. This allowed me to constantly be strong enough to take on every new boss and region, as well as always doing enough damage to quickly take out enemies. I'm not saying one path is better than another, but focusing your efforts on a couple paths instead of spreading your points out amongst all of them will make you more focused and stronger
• Don't forget and don't be hesitant to enhance your weapons! Once you start finding the various "balms" in the game, those are for enhancing weapons. I didn't do it often because I was thinking I'd just eventually find stronger weapons, but then I finished the game with dozens of unused balms that I could've used to give myself a bit more attack strength along the way. You can enhance weapons at any time too
• Always optimize your accessories and afterimage abilities. For example, if you're cruising through an area and want to equip stuff that boosts XP or dew gain, go for it, but remember that those won't help you with tougher enemies or boss fights at all, so don't forget to swap accessories to something more practical for tougher fights. I always went full into main weapon attack, weapon skill damage, and final damage, but focus it on your build. Likewise for afterimage abilities, it's definitely convenient to keep Eye of Truth equipped so you don't run into a mist spot where you can't see, but it's useless against enemies and bosses. Likewise for Treasurescope of Se if you're looking for collectibles or gear. Make sure you switch over at the nearest Confluence to a boss fight to give yourself the highest likelihood of success. For me, I always used the one that significantly reduces damage from behind, the one that speeds up healing with glyphs and makes them uninterruptible, and a couple others to improve survivability

Beating the Game, Endings, and NG+ Mode
Before attempting the endings, I recommend being at least level 75, but preferably closer to level 80. I was personally at level 83 when I was ready to tackle the endings, and I didn't really do any grinding. Do some mop of other achievements to help boost your level a bit if you're concerned about your skill level and the ability to beat the final bosses.

While Field of Pyro is technically a higher level than Sunken Depths, the three endings related to Ifree all take place there and, in my opinion, are far easier than Renee's endings. So, when you're ready to start unlocking endings, head to Field of Pyro and refer to Journey (25G) for how to quickly and relatively easily knock out all three of Ifree's endings, each of which has an achievement.

The next set of three endings are Renee's, and they all take place in Sunken Depths. Essential (25G) has much more information on how to unlock all three of her endings, as well as some tips on the boss fights. These can be two of the harder bosses in the game, especially if you're a lower level (at least 80 is ideal), so be prepared to put some work into these two boss fights. Once you've done at least one of Renee's endings, assuming you've already done Ifree's, you'll also unlock NG+ mode in addition to the ending achievements. Go ahead and wrap up all of Renee's endings before moving on though.

One other ending to mention before NG+ mode is a hidden easter egg ending that is only possible if you collect all eight Shenlong Glyphs. Once you've done that, and completed the quest with Se, you'll get access to this hidden ending. The Wall (10G) has much more detail on how to achieve this ending and its achievement.

With all seven endings done in the normal playthrough, it's time for NG+ mode. Unlike literally every other game, NG+ mode is this game is NOT a new playthrough of the same game. It's actually mode like side content/a bonus story. You will take on the role of '42' and play through ten individual chapters in this mode. The chapters are very short, either consisting of just dialogue, just a boss fight, or some simple traversal through areas you've already been. Its focus is on filling in gaps in the narrative from the main game. You'll unlock another story achievement in NG+ mode, and then Chapter Ten has two ways to beat it, resulting in two different endings and two different achievements. Refer to Waiting (10G) for information on how to obtain both endings. Note that these are significantly easier than the Renee endings.

With both NG+ endings done, you now have access to the True Ending of the game. This requires you to jump back into your normal playthrough, and there's a bunch of things to do to access the True Ending. Refer to World Flower (55G) for a walkthrough of how to reach the True Ending of the game, which will unlock a handful of other achievements along the way. Once that's beaten, which can be a challenge since it culminates in a series of three consecutive boss fights that you need to beat without dying, the hard part is done, and all that's left is mopup.

Miscellaneous Mop-up:
Dpending on how much exploring you did before, you may still have some NPC side quests to finish, and some collectibles to find (such as Divine Flowers/Leaves, Glyphs, Se Coins, weapons, armors, accessories, etc.). At this point, I think it's worth listing what you do and don't need, just to be clear, since there is a lot of stuff in the game.

What you DO need to do:
 

• Open all gear chests. These are the round gold ones with some blue on them
• Complete all NPC quests. Some are directly tied to achievements, some are needed to access some cuisines, and some are needed because the reward is a weapon, armor, or accessory. I'm not aware of any NPC side quests that aren't needed for one thing or another
• Beat all bosses
• Collect all Se Coins. These are needed to buy everything from Se's shop, which is necessary for the achievement for buying all shop items

What you DON'T need to do:
 

• Open every regular treasure chest. These are ones that given you such things as health and mana potions, resting potions, etc. Opening these isn't required for any achievements
• Break all of the dew containers. These are the blue containers you can smash to release dew, the currency in the game. However, even though these aren't directly linked to any achievements, you'll likely want to break as many as possible to help you afford all items from the shops for an achievement
• Interact with all of those light echoes around the various areas. They give you XP, which is nice, but other than that they aren't needed for anything
• Worry about filling in all the random drops from enemies. In your Beastiary, it shows what all enemies can drop, and leaves blanks if you haven't found some drops yet. That's not needed for any achievements
• Reach 'Completion: 100%' for the various map regions. Don't worry about that percent, really. It includes chests and dew containers that are optional, so don't concern yourself with it unless you're really passionate about being a completionist. No achievements are tied to that completion percent

Conclusion:
Afterimage is, in my opinion, an absolutely fantastic game. It has beautiful graphics, excellent music, very fun platforming and exploration, tight and satisfying combat, really good enemy and boss variety, and tons of content. As long as you don't mind the achievement pacing, this game is a must-play for any fans of the genre. There is quite a bit to do for the completion, but it's worth every minute. Hopefully you enjoyed this game as much as I did, and congrats on the completion!

Credits:
Absolutely massive credit and thanks to demajen for putting an insane amount of work into creating detailed maps of the entire game, compiling tons of information on collectibles, endings, and quests. They put more work into the maps and guides than most people will put into this game, so thank you for that. All of his efforts, maps, data files, etc., can be found HERE.

Huge thanks to Lightbearer over on Steam forums for assembling and posting tons of information related to the ten different endings. Based on my research, this was the first person to post significant information and explanations on how to achieve all endings. Also thanks to Lightbearer for, from what I could tell, being the first to compile and post information about NPC quests, as they were insanely vague in game, and the Steam posts helped tremendously. His original post on game endings is HERE and his post on NPC quest locations is HERE.