《Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale》上手体验 | 一场愉悦的节奏冒险

Among the many games I got to try out during the Tokyo Game Show 2026 week, Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale was one of the biggest highlights. This was quite a surprise, as I didn’t even know much about the game before I got a chance to try out a demo of it.

If you’re like me and missed its initial reveal, Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale is an upcoming game by Metronomik, the Malaysian indie game studio that’s best known for creating No Straight Roads. The studio’s previous game got a lot of attention and praise when it was released in 2021, though admittedly, while I did think about playing it, I have yet to properly give it a go.

Similar to No Straight Roads, Ondeh Ondeh features an emphasis on rhythm mechanics, but its focus is not on combat. Sure, you’ll face various enemies in this game, but the gameplay is more geared towards puzzle-solving.

Before I get into the game’s mechanics, let’s first talk about the game’s premise, which I got a good idea of as the demo had us experience the game’s opening levels. In this game, players take on the role of Kaya, a “worldbuilder” who must go on her first big journey across a colorful world.

In her quest, Kaya must move to the beat in order to solve puzzles. Aside from hearing the beat, you can also see it represented by a bar at the bottom of the screen. Basically, puzzles are rhythm-based. For instance, you might need to set up various boxes as platforms, though some of them may only be activated in time with beats, meaning you must jump with a certain rhythm.

When it comes to the puzzles I was faced with, I found them to be quite simple, which made sense given that I only played the game’s prologue and opening chapter. Based on the trailer for the game, Ondeh Ondeh will likely introduce more head-scratching puzzles. I hope it does, as there’s a lot of potential in this part of the game.

Aside from solving environmental puzzles, you’ll also have to fight enemies. You can give them a whack with your with your spoon, but you must make sure to dodge and attack in time with the beat, as their attacks are also synced with the music. In this regard, there’s a strong musicality to the combat, though I did find it took some time to get used to. I wouldn’t say it’s clunky, but it didn’t flow as smoothly as I would’ve liked, not to mention that enemy patterns were a bit simplistic.

The same can be said for the boss fight that I encountered, as it relied mostly on dodging at the right beat. While it was still quite engaging, the boss fight did also feel a bit too simple. In this regard, the combat was perhaps the weakest aspect of the game. But again, this might be because I only played the initial parts of Ondeh Ondeh, so there may be some more mechanics that will be introduced to give the combat more complexity. Plus, I can see the appeal of making this more of a traversal and puzzle-solving game, as that makes it a more chill experience.

That’s not to say that there’s no excitement here. Even though I lacked sleep during TGS week, I was very much engaged and awake for Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale, and that was thanks in large part to just how beautiful the game’s world is. Combining this with the nice music, you get a game that’s full of charm. In fact, I was so enamored by the game’s visuals and music that I was a bit disappointed when our hands-on time came to an end.

What also helped get me into the game a lot is its characters. Kaya is such an adorable protagonist, and she’s joined by some equally fun characters. It’s also nice to hear that Kaya has a clear Malaysian accent, which is quite refreshing given that you don’t hear it often in games.

One thing that I’d like to point out is that, as the title implies – Ondeh Ondeh being a dessert that’s popular in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Singapore – the game features quite a bit of references to the cultures and foodstuffs of those countries. This makes sense as the game’s studio is based in Kuala Lumpur. As the game is said to be “inspired by the diverse cultures of Southeast Asia,” it’ll be interesting to see if the developers added other SEA cultures from countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. This would be appreciated, but even if the references are mainly from the countries (and cultures) in and around Malaysia, this should still be a treat for gamers in SEA.

Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale – Initial Impressions

After my time with the game, I can say that I’m definitely looking forward to playing more of Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale, as the game’s beautiful world and catchy tracks have utterly charmed me. While the combat could be a bit better, the rhythmic puzzle-solving gameplay is already fun in its own right. Hopefully, the game’s puzzles are more complex in the later stages to keep things interesting.

Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. But for now, there’s no word yet on a specific release date or launch window.

The post Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale Hands-on | A Delightful Rhythmic Adventure appeared first on UnGeek.