Among such franchises that have been graced with output from Malaysian talents are Final Fantasy, Command & Conquer, Uncharted, GRID, and many more. However, that doesn’t mean our developers work are limited to just being contributors to big studios as they also produce their own titles with some of them were actually being showcased during this weekend’s Level Up Play 2019 in Kuala Lumpur. First off, we have Re: Legend from Magnus Games Studios based in Bangsar South. The game itself is a JRPG, and it revolves around the main character who wakes up on Vokka Island with no memory. The game is playable offline in single-player mode, and you can get your friends to play in the four-player multiplayer mode.
Currently, the game is already in Early Access on Steam and comes at a price of RM49. According to Magnus Games, Re:Legend shall be seeing its release within nine to 12 months. Additionally, Magnus Games has made plans to release it on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 (PS4) and Nintendo Switch. Moving on, we got to try out GigaBash, a four-player local couch battle arena by Passion Republic Games based in Puchong. Currently, the studio told us that the games are still in the early production stage, with only four characters and two stages at the moment.
However, the game developers are planning for more than 12 stages and up to 10 characters for its full release. To sweeten the deal, plans for online multiplayer is on its way. The demo version was played on a PS4 system and we might see a PC version coming up as well. Up next, there is a fusion of a first-person shooter (FPS) and real-time strategy (RTS) called Eximius: Seize the Frontline which is made by Ammobox Studios that is based in Sunway Geo. Played in a team of five, with one person being the commander with access to the RTS gameplay. The remaining four players would be played in the FPS gameplay.
To put it into the picture, imagine to play Command & Conquer: Red Alert mixed with Battlefield. Currently, the game is in early access on Steam with online multiplayer with a full release expected in November 2020. Also, there are also tournaments planned in the future for Eximius: Seize the Frontline. There is also another original game called Bake ‘n Switch, a four-player mayhem local couch game from the folks at Streamline Games. You may team up with your friends for a co-op mode, or you may go for the PvP mode where you compete to see who can bake the most.
Made using the Unreal Engine, the game naturally comes with support for controllers. At this moment, Bake ‘n Switch has no pricing yet even though it is already in Early Access at Steam. Another game that has also made an appearance at Level Up Play 2019 is Simulacra 2, a psychological horror game by Kaigan Games. The story revolves around the main character who is tasked to unravel the story behind the untimely death of an influencer.
The folks behind the game credited Unity Engine for allowing them to bring Simulcra 2 to multiple platforms. To be available on Steam, App Store, and Google Play from 12 December onwards, the developers did told us that the game is best played on mobile. Lastly, we have No Straight Roads, directed by Final Fantasy XV’s Lead Game Designer, Wan Hazmer which has established its own studio called Metronomik that is based in Bangsar South. The game is an action-adventure which revolves within electronic and dance music.
During the Q&A session, Wan Hazmer revealed that the game is actually developed by fresh local graduates. Initially, the game was planned to be an action racing game but was amended during the development process. Currently, the game is set to release in early 2020 and will be available on PS4 and Epic Games Store on PC. The game is now available for pre-order on Epic Games Store for US$18.99 (~RM78.49).
In general, what we have experience at Level Up Play 2019 is just a small taste of what Malaysian game developers have to offer which is already quite impressive. If you never paid attention to local game developers, now it is a great time to begin looking forward for their releases.
