Raji: An Ancient Epic is a hack and slash RPG made by an Indian Studio named Nodding Heads Games. The game was in development ever since its 2017 debut in Nasscom Game Developer Conference, the largest gaming event in India at the time. It went up in Kickstarter back then for funding but failed, however, the developer still managed to keep their dream alive by signing a publishing deal with Super.com.
Raji's gameplay consists of action-platforming with dashes of hack & slash. The main character is a young girl named Raji who was picked by the gods of Hindu to fight against the demons who are attacking the human realms.
The events of the game occurred in a world where humanity has grown too complacent with their place and forgotten the old way of alchemy. The demons, summoned by the buffalo-headed demon king Mahishasura, attacked all human settlements and kidnap Raji's brother Golu. Enraged, the protagonist accepted the gods' blessing and go on a journey to rescue her brother and save the world. The game started with the protagonist wandering into an old temple of Durga, the Goddess of War. Raji would then meet with Vishnu and Durga, who announce that they are going to choose her as their herald. She then received one of Durga's relics, a magical trident named Trishul. The weapon is imbued with the power of lighting that crackles and sparks with every swing - its true power can be unleashed later to create a massive lighting storm.
The exploration based on Hindu Myth is absolutely amazing - the game tells its story by having players interact with the in-game murals and rotating mandala puzzles. The cutscenes are pretty unique, with inky, stylish figures that emphasize the historical aspects of the story. The tutorial was pretty well crafted - you would be taught the mechanics of the game and bit and pieces of Hindu mythology through Vishnu and Durga's conversations.
In the sound department, the orchestral music tracks feature classic Indian string and drum instruments. Even the smaller details like the health indicators are displayed as flowery visuals surrounding Raji and her enemies.
Later on, more weapons would be made available to you after you have progressed further and gained more favors from the gods. The game uses a combo system that chains Raji's light and heavy attacks together - the basic combo ends after three hits, with more advanced ones being longer. You would have to dodge attacks from enemies while chaining yours together so it won't be that simple. Movements would also be incorporated into Raji's attacks as well - with her being a circus performer who's very used to do acrobatics like parkour or wall run. A lot of the mechanics are similar to the Prince of Persia series.
Her attacks can be chained into movements and enhance her mobility even further. The game would be a pure action-adventure experience - there would not be any RPG mechanics such as items, loot or level. Healing is done by consuming the small healing orbs dropped from enemies.
Raji: An Ancient Epic will be available in Q2 2020 on Steam. Interested in more of our articles related to video games? Please check out this post for the top 10 best RPGs of 2019.
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