Reminiscing Indonesia of the 90s with this video game

This form of entertainment might even surpass local movies in showcasing Indonesia.

Last week I replayed a demo of the upcoming “A Space for the Unbound” on PC. It’s an indie game, developed by Mojiken and published by Toge Productions. Both are Indonesian companies. But what I’m more keen is that the game itself sets in the 90s of Indonesia.

You got to see the public high school setting, as depicted by the characters’ white and grey school uniforms; a mention of keroncong music genre, an Indonesian musical style that has origin from the Portuguese; and the not-so illustrious mention of a scammer trying to sell magic gemstone for the price of IDR 1 million (which was a LOT for the 90s).

The game doesn’t shy away from portraying the not-so illustrious reality of life.

For a 90s kid like me, this is all nostalgic. But what I’m happy the most is that as someone who has experienced that part of Indonesia, it’s thrilling to see that local scenes goes international.

A typical name of a corner shop, even with the old spelling.

It’s something we’re finally able to share with the international gaming community. This is how Indonesia looks like, from the eye of a high schooler in the 90s, as close as it can be to the real thing.

Check out the gameplay of “A Space for the Unbound”.

The game is set to be released sometime in 2022 (UPDATE: 19th January 2023), and can be found on Steam.