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2023 video game 2023 video game
A Space for the Unbound
Developer(s)Mojiken Studio
Publisher(s)Toge Productions
Director(s)Dimas Novan Delfiano
Producer(s)Eka Pramudita M.
Designer(s)
  • Eka Pramudita M.
  • Elwin Lysander
Programmer(s)Ahmad Fadlillah
Artist(s)
  • Dimas Novan D.
  • Roland Melvin Z.
  • Wildan Rahmat R.
Writer(s)
  • Brigitta Rena
  • Galuh Elsa A.N.
Composer(s)
  • Masdito "ittou" Bachtiar
  • Christabel Annora
  • Bambang Iswanto
Platform(s)
ReleaseJanuary 19, 2023
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

A Space for the Unbound is a slice of life adventure indie game developed by Mojiken Studio and published by Toge Productions. It was released on January 19, 2023, for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. The game follows Atma, who lives in Indonesia in the late 1990s in rural Indonesia, as he begins to cross off a bucket list with his girlfriend Raya, and they explore their magical abilities and deal with a supernatural power that threatens their existence.

The game designer's focus was capturing what it felt to grow up in Indonesia in the 1990s and wanted to preserve his memories as an Indonesian through the game. Reception to the game from critics was positive, with reviews focusing on the game's solid sense of place and heartfelt story.

Gameplay

Critics remarked positively on the game's distinctive pixel artstyle.

The player controls Atma, a high school student in Indonesia, who is getting close to graduation with his girlfriend Raya. Through the powers of a red book that Atma finds, he gains the ability to "space dive" into people's minds and help fix their problems through puzzles that the player completes. These changes can affect the person's point of view and help them deal with trauma that they face. His girlfriend Raya, through the same book, gains "X-Men-esque powers" including levitation and changing the nature of reality. They face the issues that come from their new powers and investigate the supernatural forces that threaten their existence.

The player is able to interact with people, objects, and cats throughout the game. The game features a number of smaller minigames that help ground the game in its place and time, like practicing football and dodging falling objects with button inputs, but most of the game is at a slower pace and involves exploring and talking with people through point and click gameplay. The game also features a number of cats, which the player can pet and name.

Development

Dimas Novan D., the game director from the development studio Mojiken for A Space for the Unbound, began development on the title in 2015 with a team of just two to three people while the studio simultaneously developed multiple other indie games. Dimas completed an initial prototype of the story in 2015, which served as a core for what would be developed. Dimas found the first few years of development incredibly difficult, as he struggled to build a substantial game from the beginnings of the prototype. In 2019, Dimas noted that he had found the "right formula for the game" and Mojiken released a demo that "was released to positive reception" in 2020. Around 2020, everyone at the studio (numbering about 12-14 people) were able to shift focus to working on the game.

Dimas since a young age wanted to create a game set in an Indonesian high school, and was inspired by the concept of an "Anime pilgrimage," where people travel to compare real-life locations against their anime-depicted counterparts. He wanted to highlight his personal experience of growing up in 1990s Indonesia, and wanted players to feel the same passage of time that he had experienced. Dimas was inspired by multiple Japanese concepts during development, including "Mono no aware," or the "pathos of things," which Dimas described "as an appreciation for or awareness of impermanence and the passage of time." He noted that "every generation has its own memories and is our memories and we want to preserve that before we completely forget about it." Dimas said that it was his goal that he can preserve his memories as an Indonesian in the game. The game was heavily inspired by the works of Japanese filmmaker Makoto Shinkai.

The game heavily features anxiety and depression in the story, and Dimas and the rest of the development team consulted professionals for their input to help with telling it appropriately. The space diving mechanic was created to help explore these themes in more detail.

Reception

A Space for the Unbound received positive reviews, with an 85% from review aggregate website Metacritic. Rock Paper Shotgun's Rachel Watts said that the game "takes a supernatural teen drama gives it real heart," and called its release "a wonderful start to 2023." RPGFan's Audra Bowling felt that the game succeeded in blending both despair and anxiety with themes of hope and healing, and that it could help players see their lives from a new perspective. Nintendo Life's Lowell Bell felt that the game's length was padded out by unnecessary challenges, but still recommend it in a positive review for its touching story.

References

  1. ^ Bowling, Audra (2023-01-24). "A Space for the Unbound Review". RPGFan. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  2. ^ Watts, Rachel (2023-01-18). "A Space For The Unbound review: a supernatural teen romance with a wonderful sense of time and place". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  3. ^ Bell, Lowell (2023-01-18). "Review: A Space For The Unbound - A Beautifully Rendered, Breathtaking Adventure Game". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  4. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (2023-01-28). "A Space for the Unbound Took Me on an Emotional, Nostalgic Anime Pilgrimage". IGN. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  5. ^ Castle, Katharine (2022-04-08). "Coming of age: How A Space For The Unbound is paying tribute to childhood, nostalgia and Indonesian culture". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2023-02-01.

External links

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