This is a maintenance release which fixes a few issues with Sarawak that came up with players since launch, and adds some further polish to the game.

• - Added more background music and sound effects
• - Added parallax to images
• - Added volume control to main menu screen
• - Added scroll speed option
• - Added all options from main screen to the in-game menu
• - Added exit to desktop option to in-game menu
• - Reworked hints to improve clarity
• - Removed unnecessary animations in Chapter 2 crossword
• - Minor image updates
• - Title music is always enabled when returning to main menu

Linux users, please note that there has been an update to the Steam Linux Runtime since Sarawak's launch. If you have opted into the Steam Linux Runtime this seems to have an issue that can cause Sarawak to fail to launch. It affects a number of other games, so it is likely to be resolved before long. In the meantime, please do not opt in to the Steam Linux Runtime. We are now working on a mobile version of Sarawak for iOS and Android devices. With that update we are planning to expand Sarawak towards the end of the story, and we will bring that to Steam and Itch as a free update.

[ 2021-03-21 18:11:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Sarawak is a literary mystery game set in Oxford and Borneo.

A university professor is found dead on the steps outside your hotel. The police arrest someone very close to you for his murder. The dead professor has left behind him a web of secrets that you alone can unravel.

Sarawak is a narrative adventure game that takes you from the dreaming spires of Oxford to the jungles of Borneo as you make interactive choices and solve puzzles in a story that blurs the boundaries between narrative games and conventional literature.

For fans of narrative adventure games or old-fashioned mystery novels
Sarawak will appeal to players who enjoyed the likes of 80 Days, A Case of Distrust, Lucas Arts adventure games or Agatha Christie novels. Sarawak is best described as a narrative adventure, and gameplay is split between interactive text choices and image-based puzzles.

Choose your words wisely
Through dialogue choices, you interact with a whimsical cast of characters who help or hinder your progress. The more you unravel, the more conflicted you become as you start to question who's lying and who's telling the truth.

Solve image-based puzzles
Discover Sarawak's beautiful and interactive illustrations as you open locks and doors, discover secret rooms, hack into police equipment, pore through newspaper archives, and light up a jungle research station.