An amazing narrative in a unique setting, held back slightly by the gameplay.
A Space for the Unbound is a game about growing up, through the eyes of our main character, Atma. We see him and his interactions with the other people in this little town in Indonesia, who are dealing with their own troubles. We all have some worry deep down; this game tells the story of these worries. Characters get a lot of development, making them feel more human, as they have relatable good and bad traits, and the music helped drive emotions. Small side-quests also helped build the context of Atma's relationships with other characters.
My only gripe throughout this whole journey was the gameplay. There was a lot of fetch quests, and although I loved exploring the town, it was tiring to walk 5 minutes to one end of the town to pick up one thing only to walk back 5 minutes to progress the story. Various collectables are missable too; once you miss it in one chapter, it won't show up in the next. I missed out on a small bonus scene post-credits and a couple achievements because of this, and I'm not willing to spend another 9-ish hours to redo that.
I think this game is a must-play for anyone interested in a coming-of-age story. While the gameplay can be weak at times, the narrative makes up for that by a lot. A lot of passion can be seen into this project, with the pixel art, songs, and the nods to Indonesian culture.
A Space for the Unbound is a game about growing up, through the eyes of our main character, Atma. We see him and his interactions with the other people in this little town in Indonesia, who are dealing with their own troubles. We all have some worry deep down; this game tells the story of these worries. Characters get a lot of development, making them feel more human, as they have relatable good and bad traits, and the music helped drive emotions. Small side-quests also helped build the context of Atma's relationships with other characters.
My only gripe throughout this whole journey was the gameplay. There was a lot of fetch quests, and although I loved exploring the town, it was tiring to walk 5 minutes to one end of the town to pick up one thing only to walk back 5 minutes to progress the story. Various collectables are missable too; once you miss it in one chapter, it won't show up in the next. I missed out on a small bonus scene post-credits and a couple achievements because of this, and I'm not willing to spend another 9-ish hours to redo that.
I think this game is a must-play for anyone interested in a coming-of-age story. While the gameplay can be weak at times, the narrative makes up for that by a lot. A lot of passion can be seen into this project, with the pixel art, songs, and the nods to Indonesian culture.
Obrigado por tudo Atma❤️
If only this had less...gameplay, or at least better gameplay. It doesn't even try to hide the fact that most of it is running back and forth doing random stuff for people.
Because yeah, the story and how it's told is fantastic. Games that can manage to move me in ways that this has are very few. Absolutely beautiful message/themes that hit hard now, and would have been possibly life-changing if I was 15 years younger.
I've rated it pretty low (struggling between a 3 or 3.5) because I can't quite forgive the slog that is the actual gameplay, but if I was rating the story itself it'd be much higher.
And I feel like I should also point out the pixel artwork because it's just phenomenal.
Because yeah, the story and how it's told is fantastic. Games that can manage to move me in ways that this has are very few. Absolutely beautiful message/themes that hit hard now, and would have been possibly life-changing if I was 15 years younger.
I've rated it pretty low (struggling between a 3 or 3.5) because I can't quite forgive the slog that is the actual gameplay, but if I was rating the story itself it'd be much higher.
And I feel like I should also point out the pixel artwork because it's just phenomenal.
Preciosa aventura narrativa de la que hay que saber nada para disfrutarla como se merece.
Con una jugabilidad muy sencilla pero con unos personajes que te llegan a los más profundo (No hay ni un NPC sin vida propia), A Space for the Unbound se convierte en uno de los mejores juegos que he podido disfrutar esta mitad de año.
Nota final: 9,5
Con una jugabilidad muy sencilla pero con unos personajes que te llegan a los más profundo (No hay ni un NPC sin vida propia), A Space for the Unbound se convierte en uno de los mejores juegos que he podido disfrutar esta mitad de año.
Nota final: 9,5