Sarawak

< - - - The Introduction - - - > Dou you like a good Book? A Book, where you can dive into an exciting World and Story? A good Book where YOU can influence by your answering in Dialogs? A good Book with some interesting Puzzles to solve? So welcome to SARAWAK. < - - - The Story so far - - - > A university Professor was found dead in Front of your Hotel. The Police already arrested someone in Suspicion tob e the Murder, but you can feel there is more then it seems at first Look. So you begin your Investigations to find the truth, only to find out you stumble into something bigger then a murder Case that goes from England to Borneo. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2376692320 < - - - The Gameplay - - - > All you need is to click and scroll. SARAWAK is a Mix of Visual Novel, Puzzles and old School Adventure Style. You can easily click and scroll your way through the Story, making from time to time decissions or solving puzzles. < - - - The Impressions - - - > SARAWAK has an unique Graphice Style. The Graphics feel wonderfull old school. Cowleyfornia Studios LLP did an amazing Job with the Graphics and its connection to the Gameplay. It feels special, it is special. The Game has a very good and exciting Storywriting. The More you read, the more you go deeper and deeper into an intrigue, mystery Story. A Story that didn´t let you stop reading, because you want to know, just want to know how it goes on. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2376692876 What i really like, is, that SARAWAK has just a few Sounds. Mostly you play the Game in Silence, that is good, because you can concentrate on reading and solving Puzzles. The few Sounds you hear are fitting in well and sometimes you get Music in Key Positions like Events, also fitting in very well. < - - - Famous last Words - - - > Playing SARAWAK is a little bit like reading an Agatha Christie Book. It catches the Atmosphere really wonderfull and feels also like a charming Bow to a Legend. I have had a great Time with SARAWAK and if you want a chilling but exciting Gaming Experience with a unique Graphicstyle, then this is for you. Thanks to the Developer for this really exciting Gaming Experience and im looking very forward to the next Game „We´ll always have Paris“. Thats what Humphrey Bogart once said to Ingrid Bergmann in CASABLANCA. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2376693174 Thank you for reading. [h1][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/26335619-Adult-World-Gamers/] If you like this Review and want to read more like this then Follow our AWG Curator! You`re always welcome. [/url][/h1]

[url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/32482033/]Crim's Humble Opinion Curator[/url] [h1]Engaging & Interactive[/h1] Sarawak is a pretty decent title if you are looking for a casual novella like experience with some flair attached. Players will dive into a murder mystery story as you try to prove your mother's innocence in a tragic event involving a professor at Oxford. The visuals are sleek and stylized and go along well with the reading. Occasionally you will have to interact with objects on the screen to progress the story which is one of the most notable features. It's sort of like flipping through a pop-up book, but you have to discover the secrets of the page before you can read on. The story is really well written and engages the reader with enough mystery, suspense, and choice to keep engagement up. [h1]The Minor Gripes[/h1] It's kind of odd but the gripes I had, I can see the appeal on both sides of the pros/cons board. The game uses a very limited set of audio noises and music. It is interesting when the music or sound cue becomes part of the story. You must interact with something to make that noise happen or stop. However it is strange to have such a limited focus on it. On one hand this works pretty well for a non-distracting read. On the other hand, I feel like it would have strengthened the narrative and immersion much more music and environmental noise. The other thing The difficulty of puzzles is another thing I have mixed opinions on. They aren't that difficult which is great for someone wanting to have a nice relaxing read, but at the same time, I feel these could have been a bit harder. The only other minor gripe I had with this title is that it feels like there could be more interactable items in scenes where you look around. When sleuthing for clues and there's only one or two things you can click on it kind of takes a bit of the charm out of hunting for clues. [code] [h1](っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ pros ♥[/h1] +Engaging and mysterious story +Sleek and Stylized art style [h1](っ>▬<)っ x cons x[/h1] -Puzzles could be more difficult -Sound & music plays a very minimal role -I wish there were more interactable items. [/code] All in all this a good read. Depending on your reading speed, this should take you between an hour or two to fully read. There are some dialogue choices sprinkled throughout if you wish to replay and see alternate dialogue. The ticket price is a bit high for the amount of gameplay, but it is still a well tied together story with a great art style. I'd say keep an eye on it for a discounted price if you enjoy reading a good mystery. 𝕀𝕗 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝔼𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕋𝕣𝕪 https://store.steampowered.com/app/374900/Agatha_Christie__The_ABC_Murders/

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.

[b]sarawak[/b] is a real-life location in malaysia and also where about half of this text-based adventure or piece of interactive fiction takes place. it's not your 'go north, take key, open door' kinda deal though, but mostly about dialog choices and decisions that most often don't make much of a difference. what sets it apart from most other games is some audio here and there and [b]puzzles within the lovely illustrations[/b]. there aren't many, they aren't too difficult, but if you get stuck, [b]hints are available[/b] to keep the flow going, even if not for long, as [b]it won't even take 2 hours to complete[/b]. such brevity is the only reason [b]no mid-chapter saving[/b] can just about get a pass. you're playing as mia, spending time in england with mom, who's in some sort of trouble with the police regarding a dead oxford professor. trying to help her leads mia to some surprising information about the stiff and a trail of clues to various locations and even bigger revelations. not gonna spoil anything, it's not a long or an especially interesting story, but it doesn't overstay its welcome. as for the gameplay, [b]there's very little interaction and even that's not done well enough.[/b] it's really annoying that you have to click the arrow far in the bottom right corner or use the mouse to [b]scroll down manually after selecting a dialog option[/b], which should be the trigger to move the text along. holding left mouse works for scrolling (as does the mouse wheel with customizable speed), but shouldn't be necessary after every single choice. playtime is one thing, I didn't mind that I could finish it in one sitting, but even after a few patches it lacks basic functionality like separate volume settings (there's a single slider) and [b]there is still no windowed mode[/b]. it used to cost 8.19 eur, now it's 4.99, much more reasonable, and it's a relaxing game, but I still can't whole-heartedly recommend it. it's okay but nothing unmissable and [b]the demo got removed at some point[/b] as well.

Mystery narrative adventure + good art/music + interactive = You are quickly pulled into the story and taken by surprise. From there, you just want to keep reading to see what happens next. [h1]Follow our curator for similar games[/h1] https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35180752-3-point-play/

[h1][i]An investigative story rich game where you get to travel in order to prove the innocence of your mother who ended up getting involved in a serious accident.[/i][/h1] [h1]Game's premise:[/h1] [b][i]You play as Mia, a young lady who is waiting for her mother’s return outside an hotel. Suddenly a detective approaches you mentioning a case involving a man’s death that is currently getting investigated. The reason you get questioned is that your mother happens to be the last person to have talked to the victim and appears to be the suspect of the case. As you realize to not have managed to clear up the misunderstanding you decide to investigate the details yourself in order to get your mother out of the trouble. A lot of clues seem to be left on purpose to let you discover the truth. Who left those clues and why was your mother in contact with the victim? What actually happened at the time? You will find yourself going on a journey to inspect the man’s past…[/i][/b] [h1]Featurings:[/h1] Sarawak is an indie text-based game presenting a variety of choices to take. The Visual Novel-like playthrough is divided in chapters and the full gameplay duration is of ~2h. This game is very relaxing as I personally felt like reading a book given the simple, yet interesting design characterised by a great amount of text on the screen accompanied by clean illustrations to help you immerse in the story. Occasionally, you will get the opportunity to interact with images instead of taking choices in order to proceed with the story, you also will be finding some painless puzzles that will make the experience more entertaining. [h1]Overall:[/h1] This game is recommended to mystery enthusiasts as well as to public not minding taking a break from everything in order to relax with a casual read. Not recommended if you are looking for anime styled design and cute elements. [code]To find out and discover interesting VNs, indie games and more navigate through my Curator Page! 🩷 [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44707415-Gyepi-Types/][b]Gyepi Types[/b][/url] 🩷[/code]

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.

[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.

It’s a short, light, and enjoyable IF adventure with few simple puzzles and an illusion of choice. I started as Mia whose breakfast was suddenly interrupted by a police visit inquiring her about a murder that happened the night before. Mia is completely unaware as to what’s going on, but after she hears that a loved one is suspected and being held in prison, she sets out to uncover what exactly happened. Knowing little and following a trail of peculiar clues, Mia embarks on a journey that takes her from quaint streets of Oxford all the way to Borneo in hopes to get to the bottom of things, but uncovering the truth isn’t always so simple, so she might just have to deal with more than she bargained for. Being an interactive fiction in a nutshell, “Sarawak” is heavily built on narration. It is a story that packs a whole lot of stuff in a couple of hours of playtime, so be it not for a light, pleasant tone – it would have been too much. Here, however, it’s presented in a relaxing, even cheerful manner that never gets too serious despite the circumstances, so it works well with an event-heavy story. Mia easily passes all the obstacles and charms or pushes her way into every situation, so I never had trouble making any moves. It’s written in a way of “cozy mystery” where heroine is agreeable and friendly, so the overall narration is light-hearted and fast-paced, which fits “Sarawak” to a T, as the same can be said about other components of the game. The puzzles in this game seem to serve a sole purpose of being breaks in the narration and making the player feel involved. None of them present any challenge (put the letter back together, simple fuse box manipulation, turn a few gears etc.) and feel right at home with a relaxing vibe of the whole game. The choices are a mere illusion, as Mia might get a few extra lines of dialogue or change an order in which she does something in the same location, but they all ultimately lead to the same place, so it’s impossible to make a wrong one. Again, in any other narrative-driven adventure it might seem like a big downfall, but in a such a light, easy game as “Sarawak” it simply seems to be a part of the process. I just let myself be directed by the writing and go with the flow, as this isn’t the game where you make difficult choices on your own but rather watch the story play out the way someone created it. The graphics are stylish and have a retro feel to it. Game’s visuals reminded me of colorful fashion sketch catalogues and a mix of vintage cut-outs that leave a simple but memorable impression. The use of color is fantastic and gives “Sarawak” a complete and unique look. There are a few unfussy animations, and the story progresses forward with a use of scroll feature that elegantly zoom in/out the entire screen to display the artistry involved. There is no voice-over, and the music and sound effects are very minimal. Whenever the music is present, it’s a pleasant track dependent on the situation (from jazz to Spanish guitar strumming), but I couldn’t help but wish for more. I suppose, in the game where the player spends most of the time reading – it was a strategic move, but I’d prefer longer tracks or, perhaps, more sounds effects. As it stands right now, the game felt too silent and I kept finding myself scrolling up to the bits of text that trigger music to enjoy it for a bit longer. “Sarawak” is a delightful, relaxing mystery with an affable heroine that lasts a few hours. It is impossible to lose here - the narrative choices are for entertainment only. So are the puzzles that will present no challenge. If you’re looking for something that will truly work your brain, or to influence outcome of the game by making calculated decisions – this isn’t the game for you. However, it’ll be a great fit for those who will treat it like a fluffy mystery book – as the story will progress the way it was written, so the player doesn’t affect it but rather watches it unfold while comfortably scrolling through stylish screens to see Mia’s journey to its unexpected end.