A Space for the Unbound Review

Game: A Space for the Unbound
Genre: Action, Adventure, Indie, Puzzle
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam (Windows & macOS), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/ S)
Developer | Publisher: Mojiken Studio | Chorus Worldwide
Age Rating: US Teen | EU 16
Price: US $19.99 | UK £17.99 | EU €19,99
Release Date: January 19th, 2023

Review code used, with many thanks to Stride PR.

A Space for the Unbound is a beautiful pixel-art adventure game with slice-of-life and supernatural elements. It is set in 90’s rural Indonesia and tells the story of two high school sweethearts on their journey to overcoming anxiety, depression, and the obstacles they face in their relationships.

There are trigger warnings for depictions of anxiety, depression, and suicide in A Space for the Unbound, so if you are sensitive to any of those topics, this might not be the game for you.

Making the Most of Senior Year

The story starts off with the main character, Atma, discussing how to end a fairytale about the South Star Princess with a young girl named Nirmala. One day, Nirmala says she wishes to cross the river and she attempts to do so during a downpour. During the heavy rainstorm, Atma discovers her clinging to the edge of a makeshift raft at the river’s dock. He tries to save her and falls into the river’s depths…

Atma then wakes up and finds himself in his school’s classroom. Apparently, he had a very vivid dream. His girlfriend, Raya, suggests that they create a bucket list together, and they go on an adventure to complete the bucket list.

A Supernatural Adventure

The first thing the two teenagers decide to check off on their bucket list is watching a movie at the cinema. As Atma, you get to pick which movie to watch with Raya.

However, after the movie ends, strange things start happening. The cinema workers start going mad, and Atma finds that he has somehow acquired the ability to “spacedive” into people’s minds.

Through space diving, he can read the minds of others and discover their innermost thoughts. Atma discovers that Raya also has supernatural powers of her own. At first, it seems like Raya’s powers are harmless since she can do things like put money into Atma’s pocket and levitate objects. But when the townsfolk start acting strangely, and there are rumours of a comet coming down to end the world, it seems like something sinister is afoot.

Plenty of Mini Games and Puzzles

Along your journey, you will encounter plenty of mini-games and puzzles that need to be solved in order to progress the story. There aren’t any tutorials on how to play the mini-games, but they are relatively straightforward. When you have to fight your adversaries, you simply have to use the directional control pad to hit the arrows before the green bar runs out. I found some of the puzzles to be quite challenging, but there are hints given to solve each puzzle. Even with the hints, some of the puzzles took me a long time to figure out the solution, but it was very satisfying when I finally got the answer I needed.

Design, Visuals, and Music

The pixel art is graphically beautiful. The designs of the town and characters are very nice to look at, and the colours are vibrant. I really enjoy exploring each area of the town and finding something new each time. The characters are also very fleshed out and relatable. Even the school bully has a unique backstory of his own.

The soundtrack for the game suits the atmosphere of the story, and there is even an original vocal ending song.

Thoughts on the Game

The events unfolding in the story seemed confusing and didn’t seem to make any sense at first. There were many questions in my mind, such as: how did Raya get her superpowers? Why is Atma able to space dive? Why are the townsfolk going mad?

Everything gets explained and resolved at the end. The ending was also unexpected and so bittersweet it made me cry a little.

Conclusion

A Space for the Unbound is a wonderful slice-of-life adventure that is sure to tug at your heartstrings and make you nostalgic for your high school days. It made me smile and cry, and any game that has the power to do that deserves nothing more than a two-thumbs up.

Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up