LinuxPC (Microsoft Windows)Mac2021
Sarawak
Literary mystery game set in Oxford and Borneo.
Trailers
1Screenshots
686
Positive
12 Steam reviews
Review History
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | — | — | Y |
Literary mystery game set in Oxford and Borneo.
Positive
12 Steam reviews
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | — | — | Y |
I played A Case of Distrust, and this is somehow similar. Mild catching story (a dime novel), mild interaction and elegant, minimal graphic. I can be a player also without this game, it adds nothing to my collection. Why did I buy it? If we had a neutral review, this would be my vote at a first approach. Another question: if we have developed, through decades of programming, adventures that were, several years ago, simple text adventures and nowadays, wonderful pnc games, what is the goal of such a title like Sarawak? Is this supposed to be a new genre? OK, I can agree but that is not my type. Is it an experiment? OK, good approach, thumb up. It is a pnc adventure? Thumb down. Well, after this explanation, I'll vote it as a kind of interactive literature, so thumb up. Please comment if you agree.
Less choice-based and more of a linear story with interactive illustrations, like an elevated pop-up book
[I]Sarawak[/I] is an interactive e-short story that is simply enjoyable to read/play. The story is captivating and eloquently written, the puzzles are organic and varied, and the art is minimalistic and stylish. It’s a piece of e-literature/game that deserves attention from readers and adventure gamers alike.
As a short story, [I]Sarawak[/I] is easy to pick up to read, and hard to put down. I found myself quickly invested in the protagonist’s quest to unravel a mystery that brings her from Oxford, England to Kuching in Sarawak, Malaysia. The accompanying artwork – with its strong lines, bold colours, and atmospheric shadows – gives this modern tale a classy, romantic feel. I could totally see [I]Sarawak[/I] as a graphic novel if it weren’t in this format.
You will need to interact with some illustrations to progress with the story, forming the foundation of the game’s puzzles. As with many adventure games, [I]Sarawak[/I]’s rationale for having a collection of puzzles for you to solve is pretty contrived. Yet, it’s refreshing and commendable that the puzzles make sense within the story and are not difficult to solve. Because of that, the light gameplay never affected the brisk pacing of the story.
My biggest problem with [I]Sarawak[/I] is that it’s short. I finished it in under 3 hours even with revisiting a few chapters to unlock achievements and explore other in-game decisions. The latter sadly has little impact on plot development or outcome, making [I]Sarawak[/I] a rather linear experience overall. The story is engaging thankfully, so however brief it may be it’s still entertaining at the very least.
Still, there were spots where the writers could have further developed and evolved character relationships, and have given readers/players the chance to discover – rather than be told – information. Even the epilogue, which I deemed fleeting, would have benefitted from having an extra paragraph or two to resolve emotions. Maybe this was due to limited development resources and/or challenges in integrating meaningful puzzles into the story, but they were truly missed opportunities that could have made [I]Sarawak[/I] even better.
Nevertheless, [I]Sarawak[/I]’s brevity is by no means a deal breaker; it’s simply a shame that it didn’t tell more story. The writing is so great and the puzzles are so well-designed that I just wanted more. Despite my criticism of its length, I really enjoyed [I]Sarawak[/I] and highly recommend it to readers/gamers who want something quick to read/play for a few hours.
Great game for a cozy afternoon. You could probably finish it in under 2 hours (I spent a lot of time idling and achievement hunting). I enjoyed the story and thought the ending did it justice. My only complaint is the lack of bgm throughout the game. There's only a few instances where you get actual music, but not where it mattered.
This was pretty cute. I liked the style of the game, the art, the dialogue choices, and I enjoyed the options available to me. I would say that there are a few tiny things I don't like about it, but those aren't enough to impact my review of a game. Small nitpicky things that shouldn't stop someone from giving this a look! I will make a note for streamers--this game does not allow you to stream in windowed mode. Use that knowledge and set up your stream accordingly! <3
I love almost everything about this game, but it seems to me that they're charging full price for something that isn't finished. The story just kind of stops. It's more like a proof of concept than a game.
As a Sarawakian living in Sarawak, I can't really recommend this game. Although the story starts off interesting, I feel like the second half of the story (the portion when you're in Sarawak) is quite weak. Perhaps I might be too strict on this game, but it takes a lot of liberties regarding Sarawak that it comes off as quite unbelievable (though the first half of game also did have its fictional moments).
Almost all of the locations used in Sarawak aren't real, which I can understand as there can be a lot of issues that come with using real places. Its more of the tone/feel of the setting as well as the accuracy of certain laws the same touches upon- in real life, this character would've gotten the death penalty for his crimes while in the game, a measly few years in jail is treated like a big deal. Furthermore, the whole gecko sideplot was just odd- I find it highly unlikely the main character (MC) would've been able to smuggle a live animal through multiple immigration checkpoints all the way to Sarawak.
Although the game is called Sarawak, most of the situations take place in the capital, Kuching, which is understandable, and yet there were no cat motifs or graphics used. Sure, there was the Square Tower, the Astana and the State Assembly, but Kuching is "the city of cats" and there was no cat images to be seen. The game also makes it feel as if Sarawak is its own thing- it fails to mention that Sarawak is merely a state within Malaysia. You could honestly change the location to anywhere else, it wouldn't matter to the story at all. It really does feel like a stranger's view on Sarawak.
These aren't the only gripes I have about the game. The ending is very underwhelming, as everything is explained directly to the MC at the end of the story, and the credits immediately begin rolling after a big decision in the epilogue. I don't expect my choices in the game to matter considering the game reads like a novel but the epilogue was definitely disappointing.
The audio quality in the game is also quite bad when there was any audio at all. Although Sarawakian music was used in the main screen, the audio just blasts in your ear- chuck the file into any audio editing program and it would hit all the way to the max/red levels. Otherwise, most of the game is just silent, which can be a hit or miss. I personally think that it could've been improved with some more atmospheric sounds or music in more places.
Not everything in this game is bad though. I enjoyed the aesthetic of the game; it really makes you feel as if you're reading a novel such as the way you scroll down. I liked the mechanics of interacting with objects in the images to solve puzzles, reminiscent to hidden object style games. I just think perhaps this story is too grandiose and the style of writing could've shone better with a smaller-scale story.
Very straightforward game - there's already a story set to be told and your choices will, at most, only divert the narration a little so you go around the topic instead of getting straight to the point. The art is lovely and very much my taste - I unashamedly admit it was my biggest incentive to buy the game - and while you don't get a constant stream of BGM, there's still the occasional scene where music does play its part in setting the mood; quite realistic in that sense. I also enjoy the subtle cultural references and writing (NOTES!)
Having said all that, I find it comparatively short for its price - it can be completed in an hour, tops, even while completing achievements (CHEESE & APAM LOL). Gameplay is minimal and puzzles are simple; you can tell the focus is on the unsurprising but neatly-told plot. Not much replayability either.
In short, it's a decent attempt for what seems to be this publisher's debut game, so I'd recommend it - but only at a discount.
A short but sweet puzzle/mystery game that is set in England and Malaysia. It is a very short story but I found it entertaining. Dialogue was enjoyable as was the music. I do wish that there was more depth to the characters - it felt very rushed. Overall, for the price I am pleased.
Spoiler Warning!
Total Rating 6/10
The execution could have been better. It has gripping storyline but greatly underutilized; redundant character identity for example the MC occupation was not utilized for any specific scenes. Each of the puzzle are redundant and some are repetitive . They provide you with the illusion of choice with no apparent penalty for making the wrong choice in other words the storyline are linear. Love the music tho. Authentic Dayak Music 10/10
It's a nice game, but could be better. Art is nice, like the kind of minimal illustrations you might see in magazines, editorials, or graphic design stuff. The puzzles were simple, but nothing to write home about.
The game experience involves parallax scrolling, point-and-click, and hidden objects - elements that made it feel more like a game you'd play on your tablet or phone, not on PC. There are dialogue trees, but repeating chapters doesn't really yield new information. It's just an illusion of choice, the game clearly has a linear narrative that leads you to similar (if not the same) conclusions no matter which choices you make. I was a little frustrated with this.
I would have liked to have seen more divergent, creative consequences. For example, acting like a jerk to the pink-haired lady in the museum might result in her thwarting your efforts by throwing an extra puzzle at you. Something like that would have been interesting to see, but that didn't happen. No matter how you act towards the pink-haired lady, she helps you no matter what.
The other big complaint has to be the lack of music in this game. There is so little music in this game, I actually stopped to check my audio several times to see if it was actually working (and it was).
It's really strange to me that there couldn't be some thematic background music or ambient in most of the locations. Or when there's a really emotional point in the story (of which there are several, and ALL of them are SILENT). Music can really enhance the narration, and I think this is the game's biggest flaw. It is an emotional story, but the only thing you hear are the sounds of your mouse clicking.
If you’re looking for a story-driven mystery with plenty of intrigue and fun, give this one a go.
