Games and Gaming from Southeast Asia
As part of devcom 2020, the official developer conference of Gamescom, the Indonesian development studio Anantarupa presented its MOBA Lokapala to a wider audience. Lokapala combines classic MOBA gameplay with the cultural and mythological influences of Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Players can throw themselves into the 5vs5 battles with characters based on heroes from a wide range of Southeast Asian myths.
Rocky Rampage: Wreck ’em Up is an arcade game for mobile devices (Android and iOS) in which we try to launch our “hero” Mr. Boulder boulder through a level at the most dizzying speed possible. He doesn’t run himself, but is rather catapulted through the air like a wrecking ball. He constantly loses speed and ultimately just comes to a stop like a rock. However, the goal is to get particularly far, or to defeat the final boss of each level by bumping into it.
Nightstream is in its core an endless runner game, as players take control of a runner who is surfing the stream on hoverboards (shouldn’t they be called hovers instead?). Various levels represent the stream’s tube-like architecture in which the runners must avoid traps, collect orbs and power-ups as well as fight enemies. The game is super-fast, so quick reflexes are necessary to reach the end of each level. Fair reset points and the ability to ride the tube in 180 degrees are helpful to that task.
Gambir Studio recently completed the development of their mobile horror game in collaboration with Indonesian cosplayer Lola Zieta. Are you curious about the quality of this unlikely cooperation? Check out the following review!
Simulacra: Pipe Dreams is another found-phone-game and a successor to Simulacra as well as Sara Is Missing from Kaigan Games. All games have in common that they simulate a phone in your phone. This idea, which can also be found in several other mobile games like A Normal Lost Phone, helps to get more involved into the game – the immersion rises. So, also this spin-off of Simulacra feels and behaves like a phone of a nameless person or like “your” phone.
There are a few moments most people never forget in their lives. The first day in a new school is possibly one of them – for the best or the […]
Cat Quest could easily be mistaken as a standard casual game at first. Its game mechanics are simple, and the story isn’t very deep. Yet, it achieves to bridge the gap between casual and hardcore RPGs in a very satisfying way through challenging fights, a motivating leveling system and charming characters. Drawing inspiration from older Zelda titles and the aforementioned Skyrim, it delivers an entertaining little adventure that will keep you busy for a few hours and make you laugh a lot along the way.
Mayari accomplishes on mobile what others are unable to do on more advanced platforms: traveling to a mystical world by means of imagination. It lets the player delve into the mythological world of the Philippines by using simple mechanics, beautifully handcrafted panoramas and a tantalizing soundtrack. Mayari is far more than just a game, it’s a unique visualization of ancient myths translated into modern media. It stands exemplary for a culturally inspired game.
Infinity Warriors, developed by Thai studio Sandbox Global, is a brawler game for mobile devices with one-touch controls and heavy focus on grinding.
Jailbreak The Game is a beat ’em up game for Android and iOS made in Cambodia.
Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen is back with another super hard mobile game for Android and iOS: Ninja Spinki Challenges!!
Sara is Missing is a visual novel with horror and detective elements for Android devices.
Luna’s review of Tiny Guardians – tower defense made in Malaysia for Steam, Android and iOS.
Sok & Sao is a mobile game from Cambodia.
We take a closer look at Asva The Monkey from Cambodia and Cambodian Games Development in general.
