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Slice-of-life turned romantic fantasy against a 90’s Indonesian backdrop | A Space for the Unbound

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A Space for the Unbound is the story of a boy and a girl — both with supernatural powers — in a slice-of-life turned fantasy romance adventure against a 90’s Indonesian backdrop. A nice change of setting from the usual Japanese-themed similar works of art, like the popular Makoto Shinkai Anime movies Your Name and Weathering with You, all embodied in video game format.

The game is very heavy on the narrative side and is centered on the couple Atma and Raya’s magical journey of discovery, loss, and hope. Mystery upon mystery is presented to the player right from the start that spurs curiosity, leaving the player wanting more answers that slowly unravel as you push through the gameplay to experience the story.

Across the beautiful Indonesian town, you will meet and help various characters with their own backstories and struggles. The look and feel of Indonesian culture is amazingly captured in this rendition and the pixel art style along with the melodramatic atmosphere soundtrack are equally as amazing.

The beautiful pixel art is intricately animated and the sound artfully designed, both with strong attention to detail. Even things as simple as the character stopping from a running motion has gravitas to it. The grass swaying in the distance, the pedestrians, the traffic, all doing their own living, breathing, in the background. They made the world as alive as they can get with the art style.

The video game format of A Space for the Unbound as a container for the amazing narrative works for the most part. It plays like a point-and-click game but with modern movement controls. Move using the arrow keys or analog sticks and interacting by pressing a button. You are free to explore the different areas of the town in a side scrolling setup, and can head in either of the four cardinal directions to switch areas.

The core gameplay progression is anchored by the environmental and situational puzzles, by completing a specific order of actions to progress. For example, needing a tool or an object so that you can climb an obstacle to proceed.

There are other interesting mechanics as well as high tension situations to enliven the gameplay from time to time, like a sneaking scene, a QTE fighting segment, or the use of the Atma’s magic book to dive into someone’s inner mind.

Without a fast travel system, the back and forth could get a bit exhausting, especially for some of the longer set pieces. That’s basically my only gripe with A Space for the Unbound. Even my woes with the puzzle solving ultimately boils down to the amount of back and forth-ing needed to get some items and solve the puzzles.

I kind of wish they had a story mode only option for those who want to just relax and experience the storytelling, without the nuisances of having to play a game. I hope somebody adapts it into an anime so that non-gamers can also experience the story.

A Space for the Unbound is a memorable experience with its unique setting, emotional story, and beautiful art style. Truly a must have for anyone who likes good storytelling, slice-of-life elements, and won’t mind a pixel art style. A great indie-game to start the year with.

Posted on 01/21/20231.9K Views