Games and Gaming from Southeast Asia
Just in time for Halloween, Beaztek Studio has announced its horror game The Scourge (Tai Ương) with an atmospheric trailer. The game is based on a mythological urban legend from Vietnam and a mysterious bus accident, where four girls disappeared without a trace in the year 2000.
Celestian Tales: Realms Beyond is a role-playing game made by Indonesian developer Ekuator Games. As the second game in the Celestian Tales series after Celestian Tales: Old North and its prequel DLC, Howl of The Ravager, Realms Beyond storyline takes place 9 years after the Old North.
Greyhat – A Digital Detective Adventure has two important messages for all of you out there: use strong passwords to protect your personal data and – for God’s sake – don’t write your passwords down somewhere! Hackers are just waiting for this opportunity to steal your data and make your life miserable. In Greyhat, the first title by Malaysian studio Limited Games, we slip into the role of such a data thief and experience a story full of intrigue, crimes, and mysterious events.
With their first game, the developers from Xelo Games want to take us into a mystical world full of ancient gods and monsters. Escape from Naraka, initially known as Leyak, takes us into a temple inspired by the Hindu cultures of Bali, from which we must seek a way out. From the first-person perspective, we jump over nasty traps, climb to dizzying heights, and sneak past nasty enemies as unseen as possible.
The Last Transmission: Home (TLTH) is a prototype puzzle game where you pilot a rocket through space on your way home to Earth. Developed by Ultimapwn from the Philippines for Global Game Jam 2019, TLTH is a part of their itch.io games library, also comprising of other experimental titles such as Minimum Security Prison and Welcome, Galactic Fix and Jeepney Frenzy.
Sometimes it’s only short moments that have a big impact: When The Past Is Around is just a short game, but rarely has the experience been so impressive and emotional. This point ‘n click adventure by Mojiken Studio from Indonesia tells a story about love, loss, pain, and moving on, which doesn’t get lost in depression but also manages to remember and celebrate the beautiful things in life.
We particularly liked two aspects about Short Creepy Tales: 7PM: The setting and the visual design. In addition, 7PM is an exciting, albeit very short, horror adventure that shows the potential that lies dormant in games with unused scenarios and creative design decisions outside the mainstream.
In Stagehands! we take on the tasks of a backstage crew in the film or theater business. Our job is to prepare the stage for the production. This works best with teamwork and so Stagehands! Will be a co-op game for 2 to 4 players in local and online mode. Together we create backdrops, put the scenes in the right light, and move stage elements to their correct place – always with a wicked timer ticking down!
Waking up and leaving the house is just the beginning of the nightmare the player goes through in A Day Without Me, the debut of Gamecom Team. You get out of bed and must find out about your existence in an empty, chaotic neighborhood. Following a vibrating noise through the doors of your house and after finally switching it off, you’ll find yourself in front of a demonic ritual circle. The other doors are locked, protected by devils’ faces on the door plate. What the heck is going on…?
Especially in recent years, the German video expo Gamescom has developed into an important meeting point for game developers from all over the world to present their works to a larger audience. Southeast Asia was also strongly represented last year. Now, the trade fair had to switch to a purely digital concept due to the pandemic. Unlike in the past, the developers were now able to at least save the high travel costs – but does that mean in return that more games from Southeast Asia could be seen and played? We must admit: Compared to last year, there were fewer surprises this time, but a lot of new things from games which were already announced. In this article we will discuss these games and the possible reasons for the cautious participation in general.
In a world where electronic sounds dominate the music business, our task is to bring rock back to its former glory. Action adventure No Straight Roads by Malaysian studio Metronomik received a lot of praise and expectations for one of the most important games from Southeast Asia are huge. In this review, we will clarify whether the game lives up to these expectations and can claim the rock ‘n roll throne once an for all.
The buns are ready! After some development time and a successful Kickstarter call Bake ‘n Switch was finally released for the PC on Steam. Can the cute co-op scuffle from Malaysia meet the high expectations?
Renowned Filipino game studio Ranida Games (makers of Bayani) announced that PBA Basketball Slam: Arcade Edition will be released on Steam Early Access in August 2020. The Arcade Edition is the PC version of the popular mobile game Basketball Slam 2020, which features the teams and players of Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
Did you think this was one of those games that would be stuck forever in the Early Access nimbus and then be silently released at some point? Well, you were dead wrong! Instead, developer Toge Productions and publisher Modern Wolf have followed a stringent plan and now officially released their game Necronator: Dead Wrong after only 5 months of Early Access. Is this version any good now and is the project really finished? Let’s find out!
Imagine living in a world where people who have sex without loving each other go up in flames. What will happen to our relationships? The narrative adventure Fires At Midnight gets to the bottom of this question and sends us through a thrilling fever dream in the life of a young couple against the backdrop of the turn of the millennium in Malaysia.
Due to this year’s pandemic, many gaming events had to be canceled or replaced by online presentations. Therefore, probably more game developers than ever decided to contribute playable versions of their PC games to The Steam Game Festival – Summer Edition 2020. In addition to live streams and Q&As with the developers, the hands-on experience is the main focus of this event. Fortunately, there are also many titles from Southeast Asia, for example from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam. So that you don’t lose track of all those games, we have this list of 15+1 game demos from Southeast Asia that you can try out from home and for free between June 16, 2020 (10 AM PDT) and June 22, 2020 (10 AM PDT).
