Content Warnings for A Space for the Unbound as provided by Mojiken Studio: abuse, depression, suicide, trauma, animal death, flashing lights
Tackling coming of age and the YA register in a way that games frequently struggle to meet, Space for the Unbound is a 2D adventure game taking flavors from life sims, JRPGs, and Shenmue-style "fuck around and talk to people" puzzle routing. 90s Indonesia depicted in lush pixel art gives a nostalgic sense of place to this Mamoru Hosoda-y fantasy-realism piece. While sometimes a bit verbose or hung up on challenge based sideshows, A Space for the Unbound nails a sense of scale and gravity in its handling of teens on the fringe of their own life where something like the Life is Strange franchise constantly seems to struggle with.
This game conducts itself without a huge dependence on melodrama to synthesize character beats with its fantasy elements. While it can be heavy-handed in writing or slightly off with timing or duration, the vital scenes and lock-and-key puzzle moments are meticulous and conservative. The palette and approach to line and weight in the animation give so much life to every second and the frequency at which the team at Mojiken knows when to let that speak is enlightening. I think some of the ways in which abuse are depicted and resolved is a little too simple, but the game doesn't claim at any point to be interested in making larger claims about the subjects. This is an incredibly charming game that delivers on everything it promise in its most gorgeous stills.
Tackling coming of age and the YA register in a way that games frequently struggle to meet, Space for the Unbound is a 2D adventure game taking flavors from life sims, JRPGs, and Shenmue-style "fuck around and talk to people" puzzle routing. 90s Indonesia depicted in lush pixel art gives a nostalgic sense of place to this Mamoru Hosoda-y fantasy-realism piece. While sometimes a bit verbose or hung up on challenge based sideshows, A Space for the Unbound nails a sense of scale and gravity in its handling of teens on the fringe of their own life where something like the Life is Strange franchise constantly seems to struggle with.
This game conducts itself without a huge dependence on melodrama to synthesize character beats with its fantasy elements. While it can be heavy-handed in writing or slightly off with timing or duration, the vital scenes and lock-and-key puzzle moments are meticulous and conservative. The palette and approach to line and weight in the animation give so much life to every second and the frequency at which the team at Mojiken knows when to let that speak is enlightening. I think some of the ways in which abuse are depicted and resolved is a little too simple, but the game doesn't claim at any point to be interested in making larger claims about the subjects. This is an incredibly charming game that delivers on everything it promise in its most gorgeous stills.