Sumatra: Fate of Yandi Review

Take the long road home through the Sumatran Jungle in Cloak and Dagger’s newest adventure

Category: Reviews
Written by: Cindy Kyser on May 14, 2019
Developed by: Cloak and Dagger Games
Published by: Cloak and Dagger Games
Release Date: May 14, 2019
Genre: Narrative Point-and-Click
Platform: Windows

I’ve been following Cloak and Dagger Games since I played their Legend of Hand in 2017 and Football Game in 2018. I enjoyed both games and have been looking forward to their newest project.

Based in the U.K., Cloak and Dagger Games is a team of 3 gaming enthusiasts with “day jobs.” Their ability to create interesting point-and-click adventures on a “part-time” basis is impressive, to say the least! On May 14th, Sumatra: Fate of Yandi became available for purchase on Steam and itch.io.

This point-and-click, pixelated adventure follows two Indonesian loggers named Yandi and Bandan who get caught in a landslide while working in the Sumatran jungle. Separated by the accident, Yandi finds himself alone and without supplies. He must use his wits to survive and find his friend. Yandi does not lose heart. He is driven by his need to return to his wife, Adiratna. His love for her and his reflections about choices made are shown throughout the game as flashback memories.

The jungle is filled with surprises and Yandi’s story unfolds to an unexpected conclusion. He is rescued by native villagers, discovers a research facility, reunites with his friend, uncovers a nefarious logging deal, and survives multiple brushes with death. I will not divulge additional information about the story because I do not want to spoil it for players.

Sumatra: Fate of Yandi was written and programmed by Shaun Aitcheson, with music and artwork by John Inch. Laurie Mh, the third member of the Cloak and Dagger trio, keeps the team on their toes with dialog review and testing. Chris Jones is responsible for the game’s engine.

I am not normally drawn to pixelated adventures. But, when I play one that is well-crafted, I am once again amazed at the level of detail that can be communicated with this graphic style! The characters in Sumatra: Fate of Yandi do not have facial features. As a result, body language and posture are used to indicate emotions and reactions. Cloak and Dagger has done a wonderful job of creating characters with depth using pixels. If you look closely, you will be delighted by some of the details in the scenery. A woman uses a mortar and pestle to grind an ointment, a child cries visible tears, and it is obvious what is going on when a character marks a tree the way men do!

The game tells a good story with all the basic themes…love, friendship, betrayal, loyalty, and perseverance. Yandi is a man who does the right thing for the right reasons and you can’t help but cheer him on. There is a lot of dialog to click through but it is worth paying attention to every line. In addition to gathering clues, you will learn a bit about the Sumatran jungle and its denizens. All dialog is presented as on-screen text, without voiceovers. For me, this is optimal as I would rather read and enjoy the sound track than listen to that much conversation.

Sumatra: Fate of Yandi is a “find and use” inventory-based game that makes sense. Inventory and the menu are accessed by moving your cursor to the top of the screen and items are dragged and dropped, as needed. Objects are used according to their natural purpose and are labeled to avoid pixel-hunting. Patient exploration, coupled with logical thinking, should get you through the game without running for a walkthrough. My first trek through the jungle took about 3 hours. Oh, and before I forget…the game has an explicit save feature with multiple slots (woohoo!).

One of the things I enjoyed most about Sumatra: Fate of Yandi is that it is obvious that the folks at Cloak and Dagger did some research on Indonesia. Yandi’s favorite expression is ‘Kampret!’ which is a mild Indonesian explicative. His wedding memories reflect a traditional ceremony for the region and there is a mini-game that is an Indonesian variation of Rock-Paper-Scissors called Semut-Orang-Gajah (Ant-Person-Elephant).

Although Yandi’s story is fiction, the Orang Rimba tribe is very real. When Yandi arrives in their village, he is forced to communicate through a translator because he does not know their language. He learns of their concerns about surviving in a changing world. In a small way, Sumatra: Fate of Yandi reminds us of the terrible consequences of rain forest logging on the environment and on the indigenous people.

If you are a fan of classic point-and-click adventures and are up for an interesting story with a character you can care about, then I recommend Sumatra: Fate of Yandi. It takes us back to the days when adventuring was a bit simpler and proves that high resolution graphics are not a requirement for a good game.

Grade A-

+ Intriguing story with an unlikely hero + Music and sound effects are perfectly timed and the absence of voiceovers is a plus + Find-and-Use puzzles are logical and make sense within the game’s context + Provides some interesting details about Sumatra – Adventurers who would rather puzzle than read may want to look elsewhere

Trailer:

OS: Windows 7
Processor: 500 MHz
Memory: 128 MB RAM
Graphics: DirectX compatible card
Storage: 250 MB available space
Sound Card: DirectX compatible sound card
Additional Notes: Video: DirectX & Directdraw