Independent Chinese games publisher and developer OKJOY made their debut at gamescom asia 2021 by showing off two of its most promising and highly anticipated titles, the pixelated 90s inspired narrative journey that is The Heroes Around Me and the frantic aerial shoot-em-up adventure, Moolli’s Dreamland.
The Heroes Around Me is set in the year 1996 in a rural southern Chinese village. The game tells a short story of a father trying his best to give his sick daughter the happiest childhood she could ever hope for while shouldering everyday life burdens.
Aside from what is going to be a very emotional story, players will also experience nostalgic everyday life and discover interwoven stories of other characters around the town.
The carefully crafted environments that perfectly capture the essence of living in 90s China are meant to provide an immersive experience for the players and bring them back to how life was like back then.
The development team looks to be hard at work to make sure that nothing short of perfection in the pixel art style that they are aiming for is achieved. The developers also seem to be pulling out all the stops in ensuring the music of the game is authentic as possible as every piece of music in the game is done live and blends seamlessly in every scene.
The game found a significant following after a flood of overwhelmingly positive responses with excellent reviews poured in after the renowned Chinese game platform, TapTap, rated the game with a staggering 9.9 rating.
The Heroes Around Me found further success when the game was shortlisted in both the ‘Best Narrative Game’ and ‘Best Mobile Game’ for the year 2021 in Indie Play.
The Heroes Around Me is set for a tentative Spring Festival 2022 release. Stay up to date with the game’s latest news and announcement on OK JOY’s website or the game’s Steam page.
Moolli’s Dreamland tells the story of three-year-old Moolli who is fascinated with horror movies and that results in cute everyday creatures turning nightmarish in her dreams so it’s up to Moolli to take up the challenge!
The game has been in Early Access in Steam and has so far garnered positive reviews by players who have decided to support the game and jump in early. The beautiful 2D hand-drawn art style presents a whimsical fantasy world that just highlights the nostalgically innocent but exciting gameplay sequences that promise to bring both immense cuteness and splendour.
This frantic aerial shoot-em-up can be enjoyed by players of all ages with tense but fair gameplay. If the fast-paced gameplay starts to feel challenging, players can utilize the 15 different types of ammunition to tackle the different enemy encounters or transform into the Super State mode where they can call backup in the form of two cute ferrets!
For those interested in supporting and trying out Moolli’s Dreamland head on over to the Steam page to join in the Early Access
All in all, two exciting games and a very strong showing from the indie studio OKJOY at gamescom asia this year. Stay tuned with us for more updates on these two titles. For more information on The Heroes Around Me and Moolli’s Dreamland, can visit the official OKJOY website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & Youtube channel.
