Some games are strange because they are trying too hard. Others are strange because they were made in a time when nobody had fully decided what games were “supposed” to be yet. TOMAK: Save the Earth ~ Love Story ~ definitely belongs in the second camp.
The Korean cult title, first released in 2001 by indie studio Seed9, has returned after 25 years as TOMAK: Save the Earth Regeneration. If you have never heard of it, the premise is properly wild: it mixes raising sim and romance game elements around a goddess whose severed head is stuck in a flowerpot.
Yes, bro. A goddess head. In a pot. You look after her.
In a recent Game*Spark interview covered by Automaton Media, members of the original development team looked back on how TOMAK happened at all. Kim Gun, now CEO of Netmarble Monster and part of the original staff, said the game was born from both limited resources and a much more experimental creative mood in early-2000s Korean entertainment.
According to Kim, the team did not have much to work with back then, which pushed them toward a raising simulator format because it allowed them to save on production resources. TOMAK began as a free title, before the developers expanded it for a proper release by adding romance game elements.
But the low-budget setup was not the only reason TOMAK became so odd. Kim said the concept came naturally while he was trying to create a story that could make players empathise deeply with the character. Since it was the team’s first game, their hope was apparently quite simple: they just wanted TOMAK to be accepted as a “normal game.”
That is the funny part, because what counted as “normal” in 2001 was very different from today. Kim described TOMAK as a product of its era, when Korean pop culture had a stronger appetite for eccentric concepts. At first, it was seen as a niche work riding that wave, but its reception in Japan ended up being better than expected.
He also admitted something interesting: if the team tried to make TOMAK today, they probably would not arrive at the same result. In his view, the game only exists the way it does because the team was inexperienced. That lack of polish, confidence, and industry rulebook somehow became part of its identity.
Kim was also honest about the rough edges. The branching paths to the endings were apparently undercooked, mainly because of time pressure and the team’s lack of experience. He also called the romantic scenario somewhat immature and chaotic. Still, when he revisited the writing recently, he found it more coherent than he expected.
For TOMAK: Save the Earth Regeneration, the developers did not try to turn the game into a shiny modern remake. Instead, the update focuses on upscaled visuals and some balance adjustments, especially because the original was quite difficult. The goal was to preserve the old look and feel rather than sand off everything weird.
For Malaysian and SEA players, this is the kind of release that matters if you enjoy digging beyond the usual big-budget gacha, esports, and AAA cycle. Korean games today are often associated with massive productions, mobile RPGs, and polished live-service titles, but TOMAK is a reminder that the scene also has a messy, experimental history. It sits closer to the cult visual novel and oddball sim corner — the kind of thing you might discover through YouTube deep dives or niche PC gaming communities.
It also lands at a time when retro PC games and strange regional titles are getting more attention globally. Not every old game needs to be “fixed” into something mainstream. Sometimes the weirdness is the whole point.
TOMAK: Save the Earth Regeneration is available now on PC via Epic Games.
Source: Automaton Media