Back in 2021, Malaysian indie devs Metronomik announced their next project after No Straight Roads was called Ondeh Ondeh. News on the game has since gone a little quiet, as the devs since announced they’re working on No Straight Roads 2 last year.
But at the September 2026 Nintendo Direct, the long-in-development title with a title based on a traditional Malaysian kuih (and also popular in parts of Indonesia, the two countries share a lot of overlapping culture) has resurfaced.
It’s now called Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale, and it’s now published by Bandai Namco.
In Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale, players follow Kaya as she goes on a “heartwarming, coming-of-age journey centred on family, courage, and self-discovery” to be a Worldbuilder. In order to do so, she must gather the Giants across the world and perform the Renewal Ritual.
Unlike No Straight Roads, Ondeh Ondeh has puzzle solving as part of its main gameplay, where the world moves to the tempo of the music. But like No Straight Roads, and living up the developer’s name, music plays a central theme to the story.
On that note, the new trailer showcases the charm of a deliciously cooked world of Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale, to the tune of Malaysian folk song Rasa Sayang. This is specifically the Malaysian rendition (and not the Indonesian rendition called Rasa Sayange), as the lyrics here feature verses that are known to Malaysians as the common pantun, ethnic Malay poems where verses have an ABAB rhyming scheme. Ask any Malaysian that grew up and went to school here and they’re likely to recognise those lyrics of a couple of cats running and that cempedak fruit over the fence by heart.
That being said, Ondeh Ondeh isn’t necessarily set out to depict specifically just Malaysian folklore, rather it’s taking inspo from cultures and traditions across Southeast Asia. The Nusantara part of SEA has a lot of overlapping, interconnected cultures after all. But keen Malaysians can spot a little bit of home. You can hear that “Ewah!” interjection near the start of the trailer, for instance.
We’ll have the usual discourse of who owns what culture later. Right now, a major Japanese publisher just picked up an indie game made in Southeast Asia and have its new trailer played on a Nintendo Direct! That’s something we all can be proud of.
Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale will be out in 2027 for the PS5, PC (Steam), Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2.