Raji: An Ancient Epic mixes Prince of Persia with demonic ass-kicking in ancient India
Raji's 2017 Kickstarter didn't work out, but work continued anyway and the game really appears to be shaping up.
We first heard about Raji: An Ancient Epic in late 2017 by way of the Nasscom Game Developer Conference, the largest industry event in India. Right around the same time it went to Kickstarter in search of £120,000 in funding, which it did not come close to getting. Despite that stumble, the developers continued to work at it, and in March signed a publishing deal with Super.com. Today the studio released a trailer it put together for GDC 2019, and it looks (and sounds) pretty great.
Raji is an action-platformer about a young girl chosen by the gods to face and fight the demons who have invaded the human realm, which has grown lazy and weak, and forgotten the ways of alchemy. As cities crumbled and fortresses fell under the onslaught, Raji's own little brother was taken by the demons; now, armed with the blessings of the gods who still stand with humanity, she's on a quest to rescue her brother, save our world, and kick some demon ass.
I may have embellished that last part a bit, but you get the idea: Raji looks to be a beautiful game, but there is violence to be done and she's going to do it. She can choose from the powers of multiple gods, each with its own unique weaponry, and game levels will also contain "intriguing locations and exciting puzzles" to discover and solve.
Raji: An Ancient Epic is listed on Steam and there's a demo available there too—developer Nodding Heads Games confirmed that it's the same demo that was released in 2017, so it's not quite up to the visual par of the new trailer, but even so it's really quite promising. The full game is slated to come out in early 2020.
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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.