BORDEAUX, France – September 7, 2026 – Independent French studio Nova-box, the acclaimed creators behind Independent Games Festival (IGF) narrative finalists Seers Isle and Across the Grooves, announced today that their upcoming interactive graphic novel, After the Wane, will officially launch on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, for PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam and GOG.
To celebrate the announcement, Nova-box has revealed a brand-new release date trailer showcasing the game's distinctive aesthetic, blending hand-painted watercolors with authentic contemporary dance choreography.
Watch the official release date trailer: https://youtu.be/LiRLnHgW7-s
In After the Wane, contemporary Paris becomes a battleground between artistic ambition, grief, and the occult. Playing as Lena, a passionate dancer chasing the legacy of an absent mother, players arrive in the capital only to be pulled into a bitter dispute dividing the city’s dance scene: Fernand’s open community centre on one side and Deborah’s secretive, demanding stage on the other. Surviving the emotional turmoil of young adulthood means choosing where your loyalties lie, whether dedicating your craft to the collective, climbing the ranks of the elite, or exploring forbidden esoteric secrets. Yet your greatest challenge isn't physical: an uninvited, cynical voice echoes constantly in your mind, watching, judging, and questioning every decision you make.
A labor of love and pure human craft
After the Wane stands out through its dedication to traditional human craftsmanship. The game features over 2,000 individually hand-drawn animation frames created using traditional rotoscopy, brought to life through close collaborations with professional choreographers and dance companies. This striking visual identity is complemented by hundreds of watercolor backgrounds by Art Director Nicolas Fouqué and an adaptive original score composed by music collective Illustrason that dynamically shifts with the player's choices.
"With After the Wane, we wanted to explore dance not simply as a performing art, but as an intimate magical ritual and a question of physical embodiment," explains Geoffroy Vincens, writer and co-founder at Nova-box. "It serves as the thematic successor to the journeys we started in Along the Edge and Across the Grooves, placing a young woman at a pivotal turning point in her life. Lena's story is fundamentally about anamnesis, the process of remembering one's true nature, while navigating the raw sweat of auditions, urban folklore, and the eerie, intrusive voice that refuses to leave her head."
Initial reviews following the demo's release:
"The title is once again superbly illustrated by Nicolas Fouqué in a watercolor and brushed style, delivering particularly poetic sequences. Entrechats, lifts, and pliés: the rotoscopy process magnifies all the grace of classical ballet as well as darker, esoteric moments. A true witches' ballet." — Canard PC
"The full release is definitely one to look for, especially if you enjoy interactive novels." — Thumb Culture
"Fans of interactive graphic novels will definitely want to give this a look, regardless of their familiarity with ballet." — Loot Level Chill
"Between these promising sequences, this intriguing cliffhanger, and this fascinating artistic signature... I am quite optimistic for After the Wane." — The Pixel Post
"The dance scenes are sublime, animated, and reveal far more than meets the eye." — Veuillez par la présente
Platform details & Nintendo Switch edition
After the Wane will debut worldwide on November 10, 2026, for PC, Mac, and Linux/SteamOS on Steam and GOG. A dedicated Nintendo Switch version will follow in early 2027, allowing the development team to deliver a meticulously polished, tailored console experience optimized specifically for handheld play.
Players eager to discover the mystery can experience a free 45-minute standalone demo available now on Steam (97% positive reviews on the demo) and GOG.
Key Features:
- Choose your destiny: align with an elitist dance company, mingle with everyone and help young dancers in the local community center, or stay independent while cultivating your interest in the occult.
- Dance animations: experience several dance scenes throughout the story, all animated by hand in rotoscoping with real dancers.
- A hand-crafted adventure: With each playthrough, discover a novel-sized adventure and a slice of the hundreds of hand-drawn images created for the game.
- Immersive and finely crafted soundtrack: The orchestral music, specially composed and recorded for the game, adapts and shifts according to your choices and the mood of each scene.
- High replayability: Discover the outcome of your decisions through multiple story paths and endings.
Key Links:
- Steam store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2742720/After_the_Wane
- GOG store page: https://www.gog.com/game/after_the_wane
- Official release date trailer: https://youtu.be/LiRLnHgW7-s
- Official press kit: https://afterthewane.nova-box.com/press/
- Official website: https://afterthewane.nova-box.com
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/nova-box.com
About Nova-box
Founded in Bordeaux, France, in October 2007, Nova-box is a veteran independent game studio dedicated to crafting mature, visually arresting interactive graphic novels. Following their early work in UX design and algorithmic systems, the studio has focused on original narrative IP since 2013, starting with Echoes (remade in 2024 for PC and Nintendo Switch) and a celebrated suite of critically acclaimed titles, including Along the Edge (2016), IGF "Excellence in Narrative" finalists Seers Isle (2018) and Across the Grooves (2020).