It is no secret that indie video games and the groups behind them are having a giant second proper now, so the little man who casts a giant shadow has by no means been extra essential within the online game trade. The previous 12 months or two alone has introduced out so many memorable indie gems that gamers like me have an insatiable urge for food for extra wonderful adventures from the under-the-radar builders who wield essentially the most magic.
That enchantment naturally led me to Kejora, the debut IP from Indonesian developer Berangin Inventive. It is a captivating undertaking that is been years within the making, and after a number of delays (together with one doubtless attributable to Hole Knight: Silksong’s atomic degree launch), it is lastly getting off the bottom in early 2026. This fantastically drawn side-scrolling puzzle platformer drew me in not just for its Ghibli-inspired creative type, but additionally for its story that assures me that there is extra to this distant village than meets the attention.
After spending some high quality time following the twisty adventures of younger Kejora and his pals, I discovered myself really appreciating what the creators at Belangin Inventive have completed. That being stated, there are some points that might be additional polished, and I discovered myself wanting extra depth to the world of Kejora and all of the supernatural components that play out all through the story.
Kejora is a brief and candy journey that will not essentially enchantment to all indie followers, particularly these searching for extra revolutionary gameplay components, however it nonetheless undoubtedly radiates ambition and potential, proving that this studio has its particular magic.
The charming hand-drawn animation made me need to know extra.
There isn’t any arguing that one of many greatest components of Kejora that drew me in was the hand-drawn animation and intricately drawn backgrounds. This feat alone is worthy of enthusiastic reward, because the sheer quantity of expertise, time, and dedication it takes to actually handcraft a complete online game is extraordinary on each degree.
That is additionally what makes it so tough for me to critique that facet of the sport. As a result of general, that is the place Kejora actually shines. However I can not deny that I discovered myself selfishly wishing there was extra to the expertise.
Personalised animations of little Kejora and the individuals round him are excellent at meaningfully conveying each goal and emotional data that can not be obtained by voice dialogue. Nonetheless, the animation itself can generally really feel a little bit too brief or too static to really seize the solemnity of the sport’s heavier moments. I could not assist however want that sure scenes had been performed out extra completely. Or, contemplating the massive personalities of Kejora and her pals, I want there was extra selection in animation expressions.
Kejora is a brief and candy journey that will not essentially enchantment to all indie followers, particularly these searching for extra revolutionary gameplay components, however it undoubtedly nonetheless radiates ambition and potential…
Ultimately, the expertise will begin to really feel like a transferring image ebook. This works nicely in some methods, however not so nicely in others.
Sound can inform many tales (The place am I?)
One significantly essential storytelling aspect that appeared surprisingly lackluster in a gorgeous sport was the audible environment. Whereas lots of the sport’s settings are visually gorgeous, the sound results are sadly severely missing. There’s additionally the pitter-patter of Kejora’s footsteps, the quiet stomp of a shadow monster within the forest, or the transient scraping of objects as her pals use push and punch mechanisms.
However this minimal use of sound results is not sufficient while you’re experiencing quite a lot of distinctive and infrequently vibrant areas filled with aesthetic element, and the hand-drawn animation used is pretty restricted and there is not any voice appearing in any respect.
Sound is a particularly highly effective and versatile device that may assist deliver your gaming expertise full circle when sure high-end components (corresponding to paid voice appearing) are realistically out of attain or just not a part of your imaginative and prescient.
As an alternative, the village of Kejora and its surrounding forest feels as quiet because it sounds. There are not any chirping birds, no dashing water, no gusts of wind, no background chatter from neighbors. Because the story progresses to extra supernatural settings, they really feel even quieter, which inevitably takes away among the weight of the story’s most essential moments. The brief music tracks that play all through the sport are sometimes pressured to fill within the gaps, however it’s not sufficient.
Character mechanics nonetheless want sharpening
Share Kejora’s journey to avoid wasting the village together with her two finest pals, Jhaka and Guntur. Alongside the way in which, they’ll assist overcome bodily obstacles and supply varied technique of setting traps for the enemy. Nevertheless, somewhat than every character performing these actions on their very own, Kejora acts as a catalyst for all mechanics.
Extra particularly, if Kejora wants a lift from Jaka to succeed in the next ledge, you should first place Kejora within the appropriate location for the increase, then press the button to deliver up the mini-menu. This lets you “swap” to Xhaka for a short while, primarily teleporting Kejora to Kejora’s location for an motion.
Even in the event you’re simply transferring round, it is a somewhat clunky teleport minigame that requires plenty of trial and error, somewhat than permitting you to completely swap into a personality and management their actions. At occasions, it may well take a number of tries to get considered one of your characters to really carry out a given motion, which might make progressing by an space really feel a bit tiring.
The sport additionally has stealth sections the place you must keep away from, amongst different issues, mysterious shadow monsters lurking in a single space or one other. Normally, this works nicely sufficient, however when using stealth mechanics in a two-dimensional side-scrolling setting, it is essential to offer gamers with dependable clues as to protected areas and a transparent hostility meter for the enemy being prevented.
Fortunately, these sections are stored easy sufficient that advanced clues aren’t essentially wanted, in order that they’re extra of a private be aware.
Nobody is aware of the place your video games will likely be saved
One other UI-related subject I discovered whereas taking part in was that I did not know precisely when and the place the sport would save. As of this writing, there are not any guide save choices or in-game save factors obtainable to gamers. It appears to work with a completely computerized save system, which is not essentially perfect, however that is high quality.
What’s actually complicated about this instance, nonetheless, is that there is not any autosave notification in any respect to let the participant know when progress is definitely being saved (on the finish or starting of every act of the story, and in some circumstances, apparently at checkpoints). Historically, video games will show an animated icon on startup that tells you ways the autosave system works and acts as a notification every time an autosave happens.
That is not the case on this sport, and even when one act of the story ends and the following begins, the autosave icon is not going to seem. Life will inevitably provide the potential to pause the sport, so there’ll all the time be nervousness about the place you’ll be able to pause the sport. I used to be nervous at first to really take a look at the place the save occurs.
Once more, this can be fastened in a future replace, however actually, such a easy UI oversight should not have occurred within the first place.
Supernatural and insufferable human darkness
Regardless of its shortcomings in gameplay, one other sturdy level of Kejora is its story. It begins with an nearly misleading and eccentric aspect, with Kejora dwelling fortunately in his village, surrounded by caring neighbors, pals, and his mom. Nevertheless, rifts quickly start to look when Kejora’s mom falls unwell with an unknown sickness and has to go to a close-by metropolis hospital for therapy the following day.
Because the day passes and the village approaches midnight, a mysterious clock rewinds time to the morning of the day gone by, which you’ve got simply skilled. The day progresses a lot the identical approach, with Kejora and the opposite villagers none the wiser, however leaving the participant with a sure degree of hysteria. This occasion suspects a supernatural curse that has taken the village and trapped it in an infinite time loop for a very long time.
Regardless of its shortcomings in gameplay, one other sturdy level of Kejora is its story.
As Kejora and his pals search to unravel this curse and its origins, their journey leads them to otherworldly areas and surprisingly darkish thematic manifestations that add additional depth to the story as a complete. This darkness comes not solely from a cursed conspiracy, however from the darkish affect of the worst points of humanity. In that regard, I could not assist however really feel that the studio’s Ghibli inspiration was mirrored not solely within the sport’s animation, but additionally in its storytelling components.
Kejora is a extremely partaking and bold indie platformer journey that has all the mandatory narrative bones for a visually interesting expertise. Story-wise, it largely hits the mark. Nevertheless, shortcomings corresponding to clunky gameplay, lackluster sound design, and noticeable UI blips muddy the expertise to some extent, and extra time may have been spent on these points. Nonetheless, in the event you’re a fan of hand-drawn animation in video games, particularly Ghibli movies, I hope you give it the possibility it deserves.