Raji: An Ancient Epic – PAX East 2020 Preview
The best stories are always told by those closest to the subject matter. Raji: An Ancient Epic is one such tale. This is as much a video game as it is an exhibit of the seldom told stories of Indian cultural and religious lore. We’ve all spent plenty of time gaming within Greek, Norse and Egyptian mythologies. But this is our first real look at Indian mythology in a video game.
It doesn’t take long to realize that narrative is a cornerstone of Raji: An Ancient Epic. The story sets up as Raji, our protagonist, has her younger brother and several other children kidnapped by a demonic hoard. Raji is granted divine powers by the gods in order to rescue the younglings of her village. Story is delivered through contextual dialogue and shadow puppet inspired cut scenes. This serves to both progress Raji’s journey and, more importantly, adorn the player in Indian cultural tales, figures, and fables.
Gameplay in Raji: An Ancient Epic is a fairly equal mix of platforming, puzzles and combat. From a 2D perspective, traversal is comparable to older Prince of Persia titles where you’re climbing ledges, clambering walls, and clearing gaps with perfectly timed inputs. The games puzzles have you manipulating statues, monuments, and murals to piece together commemorations to Indian cultural figureheads and events. Dispatching enemies is accomplished by hacking and slashing with one of three main weapons such as a staff. These weapons can be enchanted with different elements, each of which can be upgraded multiple times for varying affects to unlock new combos and abilities.
Visuals are a standout feature of Raji: An Ancient Epic. A contextual camera pans in and out at opportune moments to emphasize cultural and spiritual set dressings. Sprawling vistas and ancient constructs are strewn throughout levels to demonstrate the nature and feel of Indian folklore. Narration kicks in at times to move the story along but also give context to what the player is seeing and how it relates to mythical dialogue.
Raji: An Ancient Epic has already built a very strong following ahead of its release later this year – and good for reason. The team at Nodding Head Games have created an ode to their own cultural heritage that is contained with a varied and enjoyable 2D action adventure game. We can’t wait to take in the full version when it launches later this year on PC and consoles.
