Recent reviews by Niwa

Hooked by the gameplay, stay for the drama

This game got that sweet spot of having unique and challenging gameplay on every part of the game, but not annoyingly hard. It got specific challenge on every stage, cool and different gimmick and minigame on each chapter, and all sorts of different type of customer to handle.
And on top of that, it got a very fun telenovela-esque drama for the story. Lots of funny and unexpected twists making it worth to experience every bit of interaction.

10/10 recommend

Kalo dijelasin secara singkat, the chef's shift itu kayak kombinasi unik antara Epistory, Diner Dash, dan Pizza Frenzy...
konsepnya simpel, pizzeria management dengan gameplay ala2 diner dash dan musik italia banget kayak pizza frenzy, tapi bukannya main klik-klik, malah diketik satu2 kayak main Epistory..

Konsepnya lumayan asik sih,
tapi jujur aku kagok di awal, karena dulu udah terbiasa mainnya diner dash yang ngeklik customer dulu buat ambil pesanan dulu ke customer,, tapi disini engga,, dan aku berkali2 salah disitu...

overall flownya mantep, difficultynya bisa diatur2 jadi kalo kesusahan bisa di kurangin dikit.. kata2 yang dipake juga ga terlalu njelimet

vibe visual gamenya juga bagus, simpel dan kayak game2 lama tapi tetep keliatan modern... penempatan2nya juga ga ribet, plus musiknya asik...

worth to try banget

played for 4 hrs straight

can't stop

10/10

-design & gameplay-
8/10

-story-
7.5/10

-visual-
9.5/10

-music & sound-
9/10

it's worth every penny.

Nostalgia of an era I've never been,
Memories of the past I've never experienced,
A story worth 7 years of waiting for.

A Space for The Unbound project dates back to 2015, around the same time She Who Once Was Lost was developed (probably was in the same Mojiken Camp thing. also why don't just call it Mojicamp). I already know about this game around 2016 and already play the previous prologue (it's just a short one, and this is the 2nd prologue)


At first, and so far I only know that this game is some kind of an amazing adventure story about two high school kids in their amazing journey, but then I play this prologue and DID NOT SEE THAT COMING.


A Space For The Unbound features a rural Indonesian neighborhood. It shows the most Indonesian version of houses and surroundings. Even the electricity poles look perfect.


The overall graphic has been tweaked, I noticed some changes in the background and the overall environment. They changed Nirmala's clothes which is nice (her previous one is yellow-white stripes one and a different hat). Atma also has a better appearance than the original one, now he gets a more natural look instead of that chubby looking one (also nice hair, well done). The running animation also looks nice too. They change the cloud to a more natural one, instead of the old one which I'm not fond of. I'm not a fan of pixel art games but this game just looks excellent.

Gameplay-wise it's cool and simple, just a simple WASD / Arrow keys for movement, Space for choosing options, and Shift for running. It's nice to see they use option wheel instead of a typical option list or something similar. It's a bit more natural.

Space Dive is one that impresses me most, it features some really good environment and effects. Those beautiful flowers and space background... just... wow...

It got pretty decent slow-paced calming music for the BGM, and I love it. It feels nice and natural and sounds perfect for the environment. Ittou-sama did a great job on this one.

Meanwhile for the story...
Well, because it's a prologue so I don't know whether it'll be a good one or not but so far the story is impressive. (go play it to know more, I don't want to spoil)
Also, IDK why but Atma reminds me of Touma from Toaru Majutsu no Index series.


Some notes from me...
- The 'Talk' icon hovering above other character's head overlapping the magic flower icon, sometimes completely. It doesn't look nice...
- I notice there is a Localization folder, so I assume there will be an option to change the language. I would love to see the game in Bahasa Indonesia and Ultra language.
- Please, PLEASE, make the background music as DLC. Especially the Keroncong one. IT'S SOOOOO NICE I COULD LISTEN TO IT FOR HOURS.
- Raya is everywhere... (not really)
- Pet more cats, we have to...
- Just like what that dude from steam page says, "Conversation Log"
- Yes, I notice Dolah's cameo. (a character from Ultra Space Battle Brawl)


Overall it's an awesome prologue, and I would love to see the rest of the story. I hope it would be an amazing journey. Can't wait for it to happen.


Go try it yourself, and don't forget to wishlist.

- Adyth -

>>>SPOILER ALERT, kinda<<<


A heartwarming fairytale
8.5/10


Finally.
It's been 3 years since my first encounter with She project and i always wait for this miracle to happen. And god do i love this game.

This might be the longest review i've ever written

Thanks to Mojiken Studio and Miss Brigitta Rena for creating such amazing fairytale
And thanks to Toge Productions for the publishing this awesome project.


A bit of a history.
So about 3 years ago in mid 2016 is when i first acknowledge about Itch.io. In one of recommendation section i saw one of Mojiken Studio's game, A Space for The Unbound (if i recall yes, that's the game i saw) and played it. I start browsing their library and one of their project caught my eyes, She Who Once Was Lost.
It's a simple crossing-road game with beautiful scene and story by Brigitta Rena, although it's just a Pre-Alpha of Project She. At that point i fell in love with the project and always waiting for it to rise. At first i know that the project won't be finished anytime soon because well there aren't many hype, and of course it'll took time as it's a full hand-drawn game. But i'm starting to hype since i discover She and The Light Bearer FB Page and DAMN THE HYPE IS REAL. I feel soooo much joy and excitement just of that, and knowing they team up with Toge Production to publish the game, i know it'll be awesome. And it did.



-About the game-

She and The Light Bearer is a simple story-driven visual-novel point-and-click puzzle game, which actually feels like a storybook. In She and The Light Bearer, you play as Firefly, who is a Light Bearer (duh..), wandering through forest to seek Mother. In your journey you face few obstacle, meet new friends and stuff to uncover your duty as The Light Bearer. It's not a hard game and pretty sure you can finish it in 2-3 hrs of gameplay. Tho it's a simple game, the visual art and background music is what makes this game amazing.
.
As usual i'm going to review base on 4 pillar of game development, Gameplay, Story, Graphic, and Music. Even though i love this project so much, i'll stay honest to review the game as is. And i'm also comparing it base on She Who Once Was Lost because there are so much things i love and hate about how they change the project.
And i'll try my best not to spoil the story.



-Gameplay-

It needs freedom
6/10

The gameplay is 180 degree turn from the original She project. The previous one is not a storytelling game but a crossing-road game. Of course this one is better, it got interactive way of telling how firefly going through the forest to find mother instead of avoiding weird creatures passing between tree trunks to light up objects.

I know gameplay is not the main dish of the game. It's just a simple interactive visual novel with puzzle and find-the-object kind of gameplay. But still, i think they could do more to make the game more exciting. Like, maybe instead of getting an indicator of where to click in the find-the-object sequence, they simply let player click wherever without any indicator but with some movement of the places we can click. It'll be more interesting and much more challenging. Or maybe not giving any clue of where the poles are. Or not having more dialogue options. I'm not saying the one we have now is bad, it's a cool one honestly, but i think we could get more.



-Story-

Go Deeper please.
8/10

Playing the previous game kinda ruin the surprise of knowing about what our objectives are in this game, isn't it?

The main focus is clear here, they tell us about how we should protect nature and how there's hope in every one of us. Also pretty sure the sole game's reason of existence is because miss Brigitta Rena really, REALLY loves nature. I love how they keep the four core value of the project and the representation of those core just like the previous one, but i think they forgot what backs those core values. Yes i remember when you died in the previous game there's this kind of sentence : "Know your enemy" and the creature's value on the side of that, like 'Ignorance' (sorry i only remember that one). Too bad they didn't put those simple things in the game. I mean, yeah i know i'm looking for mother but isn't it'll be more awesome if they explain about our obstacles. They give and told us about what we should have and understand, but why they told us about what we shouln't have?

But still, the story in this game is awesome. the poem is great, the conversation feels natural and cheerful (most of the time). And i like how things get more serious without losing the humble feeling of the game. I also like how the more i play the game, the more i relate to firefly. And i love how everything is okay in half of the storyline and suddenly everything is messed up. But in the end everything is resolved and there's this joyful feeling when you complete the game.



-Graphic-

Holy sht that is wonderful.
10/10

The art is the reason why this game is so unique. I'm pretty sure almost all of the asset are hand drawn and that is the reason why i buy this game in the first place.
I love how they represent everything so complex yet feel so simple and natural. I love how the cute the characters are and how they stands out but still blends with the environtment. I love how everything is in motion, telling us even a simple humble forest have a dynamic life in it without us knowing. I love how they use different color palette to make everything having different emotions in them, and how everything feels and is what it should be. I love how they put some big trees on the side to cover the view to make it looks like we're in the narrow part of the forest. I love all those cute humble characters and how they behave and mostly i like how everything is in harmony. It always feels heartwarming to see.
There's this kind of comfort, this feeling of relax and made us feels like home in first few chapter but then we felt so much sorrow in the corrupted part. There is this kind of joy everytime the character act and reacts which always made me giggle a bit. There's this feeling of understanding about how and why they made this game after completing the game. And i could guarantee you guys, $10 is nothing compared to this masterpiece. it simply deserve more.

Also i love how they keep the bulb. lol


-Music-

Perfect resonance of nature
10/10

This is one of the unique things in the game. The music in this game is simply amazing. It's smooth and relaxing yet uplifting. The sound effects of nature simply made it deeper and complex. It feels like everytime i hear the music i feel a humble breeze and relax. and in some part it feels cleansing and holy. I know this time it's not as slow and relaxing as the previous game's Rikala Semana, but that is of course with reason, and i think it's a good move. I saw the video about how they create the music few months ago and damn those are amazing way to create music. The music is so complex and natural, so satisfying to the point where i stop playing just to listen the music for a while with full volume on speaker. Even i can't describe how every unique instrument in every instance of the bgm is well made to make us drunk in harmony, sunk in melody, and enjoy it dearly. It feels like nature. It feels like home.

----------

There's so much feeling i can't describe about this game, but it's okay, i'll leave it as is so you guys could enjoy it like i did. There're some bugs and stuffs that kinda disturbing but it's still okay i guess (i'm not in the mood to explain bugs this time). It's not the best game out there, but it'll still be the one i always adore and honor. It's a long waiting. But every second of the wait worth it. I'm pretty sure there'll be no other game exceed this one. At least, no other game will find it's place in my heart like this one does.
It's a harmony and a melody. And i'm glad i finally complete it.

Thanks for creating such masterpiece.

I always like this art style,,

unlike the heartwarming She And Who Once Was Lost[mojiken.itch.io], mr. raven touch my heart in a magnificent way

thanks for the feels and for the art,
(at first i thought it was crow wizard, lol)

(or i say, Doki Doki Lit As ♥♥♥♥ Club!)
(i actually have played a few hours but because my steam is off that time it doesn't counted as playing,,)

"We don't deserve this... This game is too good to be true"
11/10

and no. I am NOT joking.
This is currently, and by far, the best fourth-wall-breaking game i've ever experienced.

This game is a slap to all game developers,,
it's just some simple tricks, yet not many developers doing it to make a game exciting
usually a game didn't interact with us as 'us' outside the game,,
but some devs knows how to,
like what nintendo did with Animal Crossing series,

They simply make use of our inadvertence to attack us,
interact with us outside the game,

This gameplay is a long gone, forgotten heaven to game enthusiast,
although it's basically hell in terms of storyline..
they use cute girls,,
cause of course, VN enthusiast LOVE cute girls,,
and then bam, nightmare.

i give solid 11/10 to all aspect of this game
(Gameplay, Art, Music, and Story)

The gameplay simply amazing, fourth-wall-breaking ♥♥♥♥♥, forcing us to check the game folder whether there's a new file containing message or not, or checking if there's a missing file or anything suspicious

The art is,, well, although disturbing and not suitable for children, but the use of effects and animation for that kind of disturbing things are just great

Storyline is awesome (and a bit unusuall) because the devil speaks with us as a person, not an in-game character,

and honestly it has a really good music, and well-programmed distortion

Maybe i'm not really good at playing it because i'm not really into a visual novel,,
and i'm not fan or anything,

but as a developer, and a game observer and enthusiast,
I am impressed


this game is probably going to be one of those Indie Game Hall of Fame along with Undertale, Stardew Valley, and Touhou Series..

Doki Doki Literature Club! (or i say, Doki Doki Lit as ♥♥♥♥ Club!) simply slaps all game developers,
that we don't need too much content, or too much microtransaction, or too much exciting new things,,
we can just, interact with player as they are,,
it's not about Story, or graphics, or gameplay,,
it's about user experience

we need more of these kind of interaction
we need more developer like Team Salvato (and Dan Salvato personally),
we need more Monika

Just Monika

"It needs more, but it's awesome enough"
8.5/10

A game where a typo could kill you


remember that old software to learn how to type?
what's its name? TypingMaster? or something?
now imagine that software is a game,,
with magic
where a typo could kill you..

yes, Fishing Cactus have resurrected a typing game genre, with a decent graphic and gameplay mechanic.
Epistory is a typing game where you have to type words to kill enemies,,
it has magic too,,
different type of magic has different effect,
like, fire could burn the target so you don't need to type the 2nd word
you'll get more type of magic as the story goes
enemy varies on how many letters it has per word,,
so far i have encountered a 7-8 letter per word enemies, but i'm pretty sure there're more

this is a really good game to practice your typing speed
even though it's a bit hard for non-native english speaker



"The one i need, the one i want"
10/10

like i said, it's a really good typing game,,,
not only it can help you how to type fast,
but it support other keyboard layout too,,
usually we only use the QWERTY layout, but in this game, it supports AZERTY, QWERTZ, DROVAK, COLEMAK, BEPO, WORKMAN, NEO2, JCUKEN, and QGMI.WY
i'm pretty sure it's the only one with that many keyboard layout support among all other steam game,,

it also has a language support,,
you can change the gameplay and menu language some other language like Deutch and Japanese,
for japanese, it shows both kanji and romaji for the gameplay, but only kanji & kana for the storyline,,
same for chinese language

aside of typing and stuff, it has a really well-done gameplay
you can use magic type as the story goes,, but for starter you could only get a neutral attack,
magic typing creates a specific effect, like i said before,,
fire burns, so you don't have to type the second word,,
ice stuns, so the enemy will stay there for a while,,
you have to type the magic first before it can be used,,
some enemies are magic-specific,,
if you attack with different kind of magic after the first hit, the previous effect stays,
so try to combine as much magic type as you can

it also has perks,
like intensity, sprint (so you can escape faster), knockback, etc.



"It's simple yet amazing"
9/10

it's an origami world,,
yes, origami, i said,
or, something like that..

basically just a game with low-poly assets,
but ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥'s beautiful
it has some neat animations and effects,
asset placement is not repetitive and kinda looks cool,
and it's colorful,,
well, papery colorful,,



"i just need a japanese voice and it's perfect"
8/10

too bad they only have an english voice for the story,,
even tho it support other language for menu and gameplay,,
but aside of that, sfx and bgm is pretty good,,



"honestly need a better one"
7/10

the story goes like this..
there's a girl,
who lost her memory,
don't know where she is, and who she is,
she's riding a giant wolf (?),,
on an origami world
as she walks across the road, she starts to uncover reality,


well, kinda decent,
but i feel loneliness,
it's a narrative, but i think the story goes too fast,,

but still, good enough



i haven't finished it yet,,
i'm still in the 3rd chapter and i think there're few more chapter till the ending,,
bought it on sale,,
totally worth it..

-Adyth