Indonesian Doom-Like Shooter ‘Mala Petaka’ Makes Its Way to Steam

There was a time in gaming history when first-person shooters were known as Doom clones, and while the industry as a whole has evolved the genre to be more than that, once in a while a good first-person shooter really does capture the magic of the very first Doom game.

This is where specialised engines or open-source ports based on the original Doom come in, with tools like GZDoom allowing game developers from all over the world to create their own authentic Doom-like first-person shooters.

One of the most unique of these Doom homages comes in the form of Mala Petaka, a bright and vibrant first-person shooter made by Indonesian solo developer Sanditio Bayu. The game was initially released as a demo on itch.io.

Sanditio Bayu is a pixel artist who utilised the full extent of his abilities to create Mala Petaka’s 16-bit style cyberpunk world. While the original Doom was a pixel-based game, Mala Petaka looks more like something out of the Game Boy Advance era of games.

Like its predecessor, players are free to choose from a variety of weapons in Mala Petaka. Players can use their fists, a pistol, a shotgun, a machine gun, a grenade launcher, and a plasma rifle in their adventure, with all weapons having an alternate fire option.

In its own blend of pixelated mayhem, players will encounter hordes of aliens and robotic drones across their adventure. Players also have access to power-ups that allow them to freeze time, with more to come in the game’s full release.

What makes the game unique is its non-linear level progression, as players are able to choose which levels to conquer first. Mala Petaka will offer six difficulty modes for players to choose from - Baby, Easy, Medium, Hard and Malapetaka, which is essentially an Instakill Mode.

Adding to the technicolour madness of Mala Petaka is an 8-bit chiptune sound effects library and soundtrack by Indonesian chiptunes artists like Remedmatika, Shakaboyd, and Son of a Bit.

Wishlist Mala Petaka on Steam and keep track of its upcoming release date. Don’t forget to try out the demo for yourself!