Music has always held a niche but special place in the gaming world, with gamers from the mid-2000s enamoured by the legendary Rock Band and Guitar Hero franchises, which popularised the music-based genre with their unique hybrid format, making use of external peripherals to simulate playing an actual instrument in the game.
While these franchises have since faded into obscurity, the rhythm game genre has thrived as more developers are finding unique ways to incorporate the concept beyond just pressing buttons to the beat that appears on screen. Games like Tango Gameworks’ Hi-Fi Rush blend the action and rhythm genres, requiring players to time their movements and attacks to the beat of its soundtrack, with a similar concept also used in No Straight Roads, a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Malaysian independent studio Metronomik.
The musical action game also served as the debut title of the studio, which was founded by ex-Final Fantasy XV and Street Fighter V developers in 2017, and is based in Kuala Lumpur. With the studio having a strong focus on music-driven games that fuse music, culture and gameplay, it’s no surprise that its upcoming release, Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale, preserves much of the same essence, now in the form of a charming, family-friendly, food-centric puzzle adventure.
Geek Culture was able to get an early taste test of a preview build of the game during publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment’s pre-Tokyo Game Show event in September, and while the demo only showed off a brief look at what the upcoming title had to offer, it was nonetheless an enjoyable and refreshing take on the rhythm game genre and one that fans and newcomers alike should keep on their radar.
Set in the whimsical world of Selera, one that’s inspired by the diverse cultures (and cuisines) of Southeast Asia, Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale follows the adventures of the titular Kaya, the child of Worldbuilders Mama and Baba, deity-like beings responsible for shaping the food-themed world using different flavours. Once every hundred years, the flavours in the world will start to diminish, and so a Worldbuilder needs to perform a renewal ritual by journeying across the world to rejuvenate the four flavours – salty, sour, bitter and sweet – a task Kaya needs to complete to become a Worldbuilder like her parents.
Our roughly 40-minute-long preview demo comprised the game’s tutorial and a portion of its first mission, serving as an appetiser to the game’s rhythm-based systems. Much like No Straight Roads or Hi-Fi Rush, many of Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale’s main systems operate to the beat of its soundtrack, which is more relaxing and folk-music-esque compared to the rock-and-roll tracks of its counterparts.
Armed with her trusty spoon, Kaya must venture out into the world to face enemies and platforming puzzles alike, with the latter being the main focus this time around. That’s not to say that the game is a completely chill puzzle platformer, as Kaya will need to deal with pesky creatures like wolves or even angry chickens, although the combat system seen here is slightly more basic compared to the studio’s previous title, with players engaging in melee combat where each attack – both Kaya’s and her foes’- operates to the tempo of the music track. Of course, this system could very well become more complex as the game progresses, but we were unable to discern so in our limited playtime.
Platforming has a completely different flavour profile, however, as the game introduces a unique twist on the rhythm-based platforming genre thanks to Ondeh. Named after the traditional Southeast Asian sweet confection made of chewy glutinous rice flour dough wrapped around grated coconut with a gula melaka liquid core, Ondeh is the lifeblood of Selera and is presented in-game as pools of glutinous liquid spread throughout the world.
Using her spoon, Kaya is able to harness the powers of Ondeh, and in the case of our demo, allows pools of Ondeh to resonate with the sounds made by whatever object is placed in them to change the layout of the environment, such as bleating sheep.
Yes, while No Straight Roads had guitar chords and drum beats, Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale has the “baas” of sheep. As Kaya progresses throughout the level, she will encounter multiple sheep bleating to different beats, as well as blocked or incomplete paths forward. By carrying the sheep and placing them into pools of Ondeh, the sound of their bleats will cause specific Ondeh blocks around the environment to rise or lower to the beat, allowing Kaya to form paths to advance.
Of course, there’s an element of puzzle-solving here, as some areas present multiple sheep and Ondeh pools, with each pool affecting specific parts of the environment. Players must then identify which sheep to carry and which pool to place it into while studying how the bleats affect the environment. For example, some areas consist of both elevated and ground-level areas, so placing a sheep in an Ondeh pool that raises a platform to the upper level might help to form a “bridge” to cross a gap, but also obstruct the pathway below in the process.
As a more family-friendly title, the puzzles in Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale weren’t exactly head-scratching, at least in its opening mission. The most puzzling area we encountered in the demo didn’t actually consist of sheep and Ondeh pools at all, and was an optional side area with a shadow puzzle where the solution seemed to lie in the understanding of Asian folklore, but alas, due to time constraints, we weren’t able to engage with the side encounter.
Still, having puzzles with relatively simple solutions means that the game becomes more of a relaxing adventure rather than one that requires players to rack their brains, and allows players to take in its charming stylised visuals. Of course, the game will no doubt ramp up in complexity as it progresses, and since Kaya will eventually be able to harness the powers of the four flavours, hopefully the game will go ham with its unique gameplay systems and puzzle-solving mechanics down the line.
The demo culminated with a boss encounter against a giant mother wolf, with the fight playing out in a way that fans of the rhythm-based action game genre would be familiar with. The mother wolf wasn’t just capable of attacking to the beat, she could also launch her wolf cubs from her back, which would fly in a straight path along the arena. In addition, the boss could also do a somersault and land on her back, meaning the order of cubs being launched will be inverted at any point, requiring players to react to the changing pattern. Again, this fight wasn’t too complicated or challenging, but rather the enjoyment came from witnessing just how goofy the giant animal looked and moved.
While the demo was brief, it did pack in a fair amount of unique gameplay systems in just one level, so it would be interesting to see just how many wacky situations players will find themselves in as the game progresses, or how it will ramp up the complexity of its core gameplay loop. And with the game’s initial announcement trailer already teasing interesting scenarios like wall riding, trap-filled dungeons, and more massive boss fights, Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale is shaping up to be a tantalising platforming adventure when it launches in 2027 for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Si Jia
