A game to pet and name cats. I think other things happen too.
A Space for the Unbound is one of those games that seems to have shown over and over again over the years, in various indie presentations and at least one indie world. Each time, I found myself very intrigued by just about everything it seemed to offer: its art style, its premise, its characters, and at least a few tears. The promise of an emotional narrative that could squeeze out. Unfortunately, no matter how much I wanted to, dates didn’t seem to come along with these shows, and a clash with the publisher late last year left the game untouched. This was made even more unfortunate when it seemed like we had delayed the deadline. But now those storm clouds have finally passed and space for Unbound has finally been released.
In A Space for the Unbound, players take the helm of a teenage boy named Atma. Atma lives in a small town in Indonesia and starts playing games with a young girl named Nirmala. Nirmala writes incredibly creative stories full of fantasy and emotion. Atma is happy to spur that creativity and help Nirmala feel confident in her work. However, after a tragic accident sweeps Atoma into a river current, he wakes up dreamily at his high school classroom desk. Eventually, Atoma becomes suspicious that things aren’t what they seem and uses “Space Dive” to get into someone’s mind. Using your new ability to enter the world, you must uncover the truth about the various mysteries occurring in the town. Was his experience with Nirmala all a dream? Is Raya really who she says? These and other questions are intriguing and the answers are not as predictable as one might think. The story is therefore the main reason for trekking throughout A Space for the Unbound.
Gameplay-wise, A Space for the Unbound is a pretty standard adventure game. One of the main drawbacks of the game is that later on it starts to feel a little too many fetch quests for its own good, but you can pick up objects and solve puzzles to advance the plot. Worst feeling like unnecessary padding. This is mainly the problem, the game itself is too long, taking about 9-10 hours when the story feels like it lasts 5-6 hours. The added length doesn’t ruin the game at all, but it kind of drags the whole experience near the end, especially since there were multiple moments when I was pretty sure the credits were about to roll . Game time remaining. Still, the towns in which the game is set and the people who live there are fun to explore and interact with, and many of them have their own full stories and characters, even if they aren’t central to the game. has his arc plot. There were a few typos here and there in the script, but generally the writing is interesting and well-written.
Overall, A Space for the Unbound is a must-see for anyone who enjoys getting an emotional experience out of gaming. The puzzles are generally easy to understand, and the game does a good job of making sure each space dive throughout the story feels in a different and meaningful way than the last, getting stale as gameplay progresses. It can take a little longer than it should to reach the various emotional rewards, but those moments are well done and generally well worth it. , backed by expressive and colorful pixel art depicting a cast of memorable characters throughout the game world, and the excellent soundtrack that accompanies the whole thing doesn’t hurt either. But it does so without always being respectful and making the story look like a crutch to rely on. If you want an adventure game to bring tears from your pitiful eyes, A Space for the Unbound is his first great choice for 2023.
