This review contains spoilers
Raji traz consigo uma interpretação muito bonita sobre o Hinduísmo e suas divindades. O game entrega visuais e artes lindíssimas, uma trilha sonora impecável e uma história sensacional digna do nome do game, realmente um épico no maior estilo cinematográfico.
O maior problema desse jogo pra mim é boa porção da gameplay. A exploração é muito fraca, ainda que esteja ali, poderia ser um aspecto muito melhor desenvolvido e que com certeza acrescentaria muito ao jogo.
A decisão de focar em combate é plataforma faz sentido e combina com o tipo de história que querem contar e com a atmosfera. O problema é que ambas as mecânicas são muito mal desenvolvidas. O combate é simples demais e, por diversas vezes, ele se torna frustrante e muito difícil. Mas de longe o pior é o aspecto plataforma, o game por várias vezes cria momentos em que tu precisa pular sobre uma abertura ou de um poste para outro e quer que tu seja preciso quanto ao teu posicionamento, só que o ângulo da câmera do jogo dificulta muito isso. Por diversas vezes tu morre por achar que vai pular reto e acaba pulando na diagonal. É bem problemático.
Raji: An Ancient Epic tem potencial por causa da história, arte e trilha sonora. Mas fica devendo na questão de gameplay e a má aplicação das mecânicas escolhidas. Não é um game que vai fazer falta caso tu não jogue, mas até vale uma conferida. Ainda mais agora que tá na PS Plus.
O maior problema desse jogo pra mim é boa porção da gameplay. A exploração é muito fraca, ainda que esteja ali, poderia ser um aspecto muito melhor desenvolvido e que com certeza acrescentaria muito ao jogo.
A decisão de focar em combate é plataforma faz sentido e combina com o tipo de história que querem contar e com a atmosfera. O problema é que ambas as mecânicas são muito mal desenvolvidas. O combate é simples demais e, por diversas vezes, ele se torna frustrante e muito difícil. Mas de longe o pior é o aspecto plataforma, o game por várias vezes cria momentos em que tu precisa pular sobre uma abertura ou de um poste para outro e quer que tu seja preciso quanto ao teu posicionamento, só que o ângulo da câmera do jogo dificulta muito isso. Por diversas vezes tu morre por achar que vai pular reto e acaba pulando na diagonal. É bem problemático.
Raji: An Ancient Epic tem potencial por causa da história, arte e trilha sonora. Mas fica devendo na questão de gameplay e a má aplicação das mecânicas escolhidas. Não é um game que vai fazer falta caso tu não jogue, mas até vale uma conferida. Ainda mais agora que tá na PS Plus.
Couldn't stick with it - the combat just felt off to me
This review contains spoilers
The coolest aspect has to be level designing. However, the combat system was unbalanced. There is a HUGE gap betwee easy and normal. The last level relies too much on dodging and pure luck and not being able to use your upgraded skills or weapons optimally is frustrating. I had a really hard time, a struggle even, to beat the last boss on Normal that I lost count how many times I died and when I changed to Easy, boom, 2-3 tries and done, how about that?
I hope there will be future projects from the studio and they get to fine tune their games a bit better because I love when people mix their culture and lores into games like this because despite the flaws, the story of Raji is not bad at all.
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เนื้อเรื่องค่อนข้างดีแต่รู้สึกว่าไปตกม้าตายตอนจบ คอมแบทก็สนุกดีแต่ไม่สมดุล ความต่างชั้นของโหมดง่ายและปานกลางช่วงห่างเยอะไป คือพอง่ายก็ง่ายมาก พอปานกลางแล้วเหมือนกำลังเล่นโหมดยาก โดยเฉพาะบอสตัวสุดท้ายที่ใกล้เคียง impossible (ไม่ใช่มุมมองเราคนเดียว) และท้ายที่สุดอาวุธที่มี สกิลที่อัพเกรดมา และสไตล์คอมแบทที่เกมสอนก็ค่อนข้างไร้ประโยชน์เพราะด่านสุดท้ายหินมากและเป็นการวิ่งวน/หลบหลีกมากเกินไป
หน้าจออาวุธไม่มีการสอนเล่น กว่าจะเก็ตว่าสามารถผูกธาตุเข้ากับอาวุธได้ก็ปาไปค่อนเกม
ตัวเกมมีบั๊กบ้าง เช่น ติดกำแพงล่องหน และการเคลื่อนไหวของตัวละครค่อนข้างยึก ๆ ยัก ๆ (กระโดดไปข้างหน้าเร็วกว่าวิ่งก็เลยกระโดดทั้งเกม…)
สิ่งที่ชมคือดีไซน์เลเวลสวยมาก อาร์ตดี มอนสเตอร์ไม่รู้มีที่มาตามปกรณัมฮินดูมั้ยแต่ออกแบบได้หลากหลายดี เพลงประกอบใช้ได้ สามารถเล่นได้ทั้งเสียงพากย์อังกฤษและฮินดี และโดยรวมเล่นสนุก มีภาคต่อได้สบาย ๆ
I hope there will be future projects from the studio and they get to fine tune their games a bit better because I love when people mix their culture and lores into games like this because despite the flaws, the story of Raji is not bad at all.
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เนื้อเรื่องค่อนข้างดีแต่รู้สึกว่าไปตกม้าตายตอนจบ คอมแบทก็สนุกดีแต่ไม่สมดุล ความต่างชั้นของโหมดง่ายและปานกลางช่วงห่างเยอะไป คือพอง่ายก็ง่ายมาก พอปานกลางแล้วเหมือนกำลังเล่นโหมดยาก โดยเฉพาะบอสตัวสุดท้ายที่ใกล้เคียง impossible (ไม่ใช่มุมมองเราคนเดียว) และท้ายที่สุดอาวุธที่มี สกิลที่อัพเกรดมา และสไตล์คอมแบทที่เกมสอนก็ค่อนข้างไร้ประโยชน์เพราะด่านสุดท้ายหินมากและเป็นการวิ่งวน/หลบหลีกมากเกินไป
หน้าจออาวุธไม่มีการสอนเล่น กว่าจะเก็ตว่าสามารถผูกธาตุเข้ากับอาวุธได้ก็ปาไปค่อนเกม
ตัวเกมมีบั๊กบ้าง เช่น ติดกำแพงล่องหน และการเคลื่อนไหวของตัวละครค่อนข้างยึก ๆ ยัก ๆ (กระโดดไปข้างหน้าเร็วกว่าวิ่งก็เลยกระโดดทั้งเกม…)
สิ่งที่ชมคือดีไซน์เลเวลสวยมาก อาร์ตดี มอนสเตอร์ไม่รู้มีที่มาตามปกรณัมฮินดูมั้ยแต่ออกแบบได้หลากหลายดี เพลงประกอบใช้ได้ สามารถเล่นได้ทั้งเสียงพากย์อังกฤษและฮินดี และโดยรวมเล่นสนุก มีภาคต่อได้สบาย ๆ
Un juego interesante, con un apartado artístico muy pulido y cuidado. Se nota que es un producto que se hizo con cariño. No obstante, la jugabilidad puede resultar un poco caótica a veces, y los escenarios no dejan muy claro por dónde hay que seguir, aunque sea un juego lineal. Los bosses son interesantes y, en general, es un juego divertido, pero el final es abrupto y sin mucho sentido.
The story and set-design of Raji was a delight at times, especially due to the fact of being developing by an indian indie studio, telling their folklore first hand. But as a game it gets boring, tedious and repetitive over time, losing my attention in faceless enemy-waves and lame and non-challenging combat situations. The bosses are neat, but easy to master. You can feel the lack of monetary foundation, that maybe could have pushed this game in the right direction.
Where it Shines:
Representation of Hindu Mythos - 10/10
Art Style - 9/10
The Good:
Games about India are so rare. So incredibly rare, that it's sad being one and not seeing yourself represented enough. This game is also made by an Indian studio. They portray Hindu architecture, mythos, and art so well. It's truly a beautiful and unique experience.
The Bad:
Unfortunately all this is spoiled by the end. It has an ending that plays out like a "bad ending". There's no good ending. There's no "maybe I need to replay with NG+ or collect all the maguffins". It's just a bad ending. And it really sours the hole experience. It turns an otherwise awesome game into a "Wtf? That's it? What a rip!"
It also has a very obtuse upgrade weapon system that makes no sense even when you know how to use it. It's like everything is labeled wrong or they stopped building it halfway.
Summary:
There are so few Indian game studios, so few games based on India, and so few Indian protagonists that this game really needed to be a home run. We can't afford to make subpar games and Raji really underdelivered in the end, and it makes me sad. It would have easily been my go to recommendation for people to play games about India, but instead it sits in a do not recommend slot solely for it's ending and how it handles it.
The honour instead goes to Venba, so play that if you want a great Indian story.
****note on my ratings:
half ⭐: hot trash garbage
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
half star ratings between those mean it's slightly better or worse than stated in this list.
*
Representation of Hindu Mythos - 10/10
Art Style - 9/10
The Good:
Games about India are so rare. So incredibly rare, that it's sad being one and not seeing yourself represented enough. This game is also made by an Indian studio. They portray Hindu architecture, mythos, and art so well. It's truly a beautiful and unique experience.
The Bad:
Unfortunately all this is spoiled by the end. It has an ending that plays out like a "bad ending". There's no good ending. There's no "maybe I need to replay with NG+ or collect all the maguffins". It's just a bad ending. And it really sours the hole experience. It turns an otherwise awesome game into a "Wtf? That's it? What a rip!"
It also has a very obtuse upgrade weapon system that makes no sense even when you know how to use it. It's like everything is labeled wrong or they stopped building it halfway.
Summary:
There are so few Indian game studios, so few games based on India, and so few Indian protagonists that this game really needed to be a home run. We can't afford to make subpar games and Raji really underdelivered in the end, and it makes me sad. It would have easily been my go to recommendation for people to play games about India, but instead it sits in a do not recommend slot solely for it's ending and how it handles it.
The honour instead goes to Venba, so play that if you want a great Indian story.
****note on my ratings:
half ⭐: hot trash garbage
⭐: below average, needs work
⭐⭐: average
⭐⭐⭐: pretty good
⭐⭐⭐⭐: excellent
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: all time favourite
half star ratings between those mean it's slightly better or worse than stated in this list.
*
I maybe haven't played enough of Raji for this to be truly fair - but it's a pretty smooth 3D action-platformer with excellent visual design and strong storytelling. Unfortunately it falls down somewhat in its action elements, especially the combat which has impressive athletic abilities - but lacks any sort of real bite. The platforming is similarly fine, but unspectacular. Raji is certainly a polished game, but doesn't excel enough in important areas to be truly great.
This game is wonderful!
- old-school God of War vibe, Uncharted platformer, Soul-like battle (not very much as difficult tho but it's obviously soul-inspired)
- the battle is not clunky. There's a rhythm to it and when u get the hang of it, you will feel like home
- VO is well-done!
- However, the text is a bit small on a smaller screen like Steam Deck
Impressive 9/10 from me!
- old-school God of War vibe, Uncharted platformer, Soul-like battle (not very much as difficult tho but it's obviously soul-inspired)
- the battle is not clunky. There's a rhythm to it and when u get the hang of it, you will feel like home
- VO is well-done!
- However, the text is a bit small on a smaller screen like Steam Deck
Impressive 9/10 from me!
very short game with nice combat but it is a little hard to manage an aim with quickly. overall simple, creative and fun story based on ramayana mythology. not really worth 24usd but i thought it was worth it to support this studio that really put their passion into this.
Really short and the combat kinda feels clunky, but a souls-like based on Hindu mythology is a neat idea
A pretty but somewhat boring indie game. Combat is flat and an uninspired plot make this game hard to play though. Although it is gorgeous.
This game is visually stunning, the theming and atmosphere is fantastic and it shines a great light on a cultural setting almost completely ignored by other games. The writing is decent, the music is awesome and the voice acting is pretty good too. I really appreciate it and what it's going for... and I wish I liked it a bit more.
For the most part the gameplay is serviceable; some very basic platforming in the style of Uncharted, some short gallery-like sections where you can hear stories from Vedic mythology (I actually liked these sections quite a bit, even if they did seem to have very little to do with what was happening in the game's plot) and action combat sections.
The enemy variety in the action sections is good, as is the variety of moves available to the player, but even so, these parts of the game just aren't that fun to me? There are a few features of the combat that make no sense to me; you have very very few i-frames after each hit, making it very easy to get combo'd from full health to zero in a blink of an eye, and for some reason you can only heal by performing finishers on enemies. This second feature is a particular problem with boss fights; no smaller enemies means no healing, so bosses in this game become tense endurance matches, but not in a good way.
Despite all this, I was still enjoying this game quite a lot for most of its runtime; the visuals and theming were enough to really carry the experience for me. But towards the end, I feel it all just falls apart a bit; I'm not sure if there was a rushed development towards the end, but that's what it feels like. One of the last bosses is an extremely frustrating stealth section that feels like it wasnt playtested too much, because its very difficult to predict what the boss is going to do and absolutely no fun at all. The last level is bizarrely short and the ending of the game is possibly one of the least satisfying I've ever seen.
All in all, its a bit of a shame, because the game really is stunning. Personally I think it's probably still worth a play, if only to get lost in the gorgeous world of this game, but I do think the cracks at the seams are a little great to ignore in this one.
For the most part the gameplay is serviceable; some very basic platforming in the style of Uncharted, some short gallery-like sections where you can hear stories from Vedic mythology (I actually liked these sections quite a bit, even if they did seem to have very little to do with what was happening in the game's plot) and action combat sections.
The enemy variety in the action sections is good, as is the variety of moves available to the player, but even so, these parts of the game just aren't that fun to me? There are a few features of the combat that make no sense to me; you have very very few i-frames after each hit, making it very easy to get combo'd from full health to zero in a blink of an eye, and for some reason you can only heal by performing finishers on enemies. This second feature is a particular problem with boss fights; no smaller enemies means no healing, so bosses in this game become tense endurance matches, but not in a good way.
Despite all this, I was still enjoying this game quite a lot for most of its runtime; the visuals and theming were enough to really carry the experience for me. But towards the end, I feel it all just falls apart a bit; I'm not sure if there was a rushed development towards the end, but that's what it feels like. One of the last bosses is an extremely frustrating stealth section that feels like it wasnt playtested too much, because its very difficult to predict what the boss is going to do and absolutely no fun at all. The last level is bizarrely short and the ending of the game is possibly one of the least satisfying I've ever seen.
All in all, its a bit of a shame, because the game really is stunning. Personally I think it's probably still worth a play, if only to get lost in the gorgeous world of this game, but I do think the cracks at the seams are a little great to ignore in this one.
This was an underwhelming little game that I really wanted to like more. The art style and location design are gorgeous but the combat is a bit too simplistic and the ending was frankly baffling.
Setting is beautiful but gameplay and story not fun. The Gods dialogue was annoying. I liked the boss battles tho.
This game is currently in the Humble Choice for November 2022, this is part of my coverage of the bundle. If you are interested in the game and it's before December 6th, 2022, consider picking up the game as part of the current monthly bundle.
An exploration of Indian mythology.
Raji is a story about a circus performer whose brother is kidnapped and she has to save him while battling monsters. The Indian Mythology is pretty fresh and is explored well here. The world though is exceptional with the game’s backgrounds just being beautiful. You often see parts of the level you’ve traveled through or will traverse later and the animations are incredible, showing off the character’s acrobatic background.
I played this on Game Pass, and I’ll say the first twenty to thirty minutes is a little rough. After you get a good handle on the combat, the game starts letting you use upgrade points and then gives you a second weapon, and suddenly everything clicks, but that opening is looks amazing but is on the weaker side.
Pick this up if you’re like a solid platformer with good combat, or are interested in Indian Mythology. The story here works extremely well and the character and world design are exceptional. I enjoyed this game quite a bit the first time I played it, and I am thrilled to have added it to my collection and will be giving it another playthrough.
If you enjoyed this review or want to know what I think of other games in the bundle, check out the full review on or subscribe to my Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/sFC7gi3ZDQc
An exploration of Indian mythology.
Raji is a story about a circus performer whose brother is kidnapped and she has to save him while battling monsters. The Indian Mythology is pretty fresh and is explored well here. The world though is exceptional with the game’s backgrounds just being beautiful. You often see parts of the level you’ve traveled through or will traverse later and the animations are incredible, showing off the character’s acrobatic background.
I played this on Game Pass, and I’ll say the first twenty to thirty minutes is a little rough. After you get a good handle on the combat, the game starts letting you use upgrade points and then gives you a second weapon, and suddenly everything clicks, but that opening is looks amazing but is on the weaker side.
Pick this up if you’re like a solid platformer with good combat, or are interested in Indian Mythology. The story here works extremely well and the character and world design are exceptional. I enjoyed this game quite a bit the first time I played it, and I am thrilled to have added it to my collection and will be giving it another playthrough.
If you enjoyed this review or want to know what I think of other games in the bundle, check out the full review on or subscribe to my Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/sFC7gi3ZDQc
Interesante propuesta, especialmente por su sistema de combate y ambientación india. Le falta premiar un poco más la exploración. El plataformeo es lo peor, como suele pasar en estos juegos con esta perspectiva.
woah india is actually a nice and peaceful spiritual place who would of thought ?!?!
Tenho tanta coisa pra jogar agora, por que me manter num jogo tão desinteressante?
I think this game is the definition of the most "fine" game ever. The setting, atmosphere, music and world design are all very inspired, I love the Indian folklore and mythology. But as far as the actual game goes, there's really not much to it. Very basic puzzle-solving and platforming, almost no exploration, and a combat system that could've been interesting but falls a bit short. The graphics and voice acting are both a tad underwhelming as well. It's not a bad game, but it's about as middle of the road as it gets.
This game was... A bit mid. The aesthetic was excellent, the setting, music and parts of the story were well done. However, the game looked a tad ugly on release, and ultimately the plot didn't go anywhere. A tad clunky and felt a bit unfinished.
К сожалению, разочарован игрой т.к. многое от нее ожидал. Ожидал, что получу интересный платформер, вдохновленный Journey, а получил растянутый, скучный геймплей и посредственный сюжет. Возможно, понравится тем, кто интересуется индийской культурой, но это не факт.
This game had the makings of an indie version of God of War, however, it fumbles quite a lot both in its controls and its performance. The story itself is a really interesting look into Hindu mythology and graphically the game presents these themes and ideologies are presented quite well. The base controls make sense, and combat is "responsive", but the enemies feel like they don't respond properly and it can feel disjointed and sluggish. Along with the slow down that is quite frequent, and you get a game that could be so much more.
Raji’s setting and atmosphere is its high point. The combat is okay, but lags at some points. Overall though the lore was enough to keep me going to the end!
(Review from 2021)
(Review from 2021)
(Game Pass) A game based around Indian mythology; Raji is a beautiful and challenging action platformer. Lots of traversal mechanics and tough combat with cool weapons and damage types. 100% Achievements!
me agradar é muito fácil
I loved the unique setting and mythology Raji draws from, but the gameplay was a bit repetitive.
Played on an Xbox One S
Also Available on PC, PS4 and Nintendo Switch
Play Status: Abandoned
Raji: An Ancient Epic is a game developed by Nodding Head Games and Published by Super.com. They are an indie developer. They are also indian. That's important because the game is all about indian mythology.
Because i have abandoned, AKA couldn't finished the game, i am not rating the game. I am also not going to go and talk about the story, gameplay, technical side of things. I will just tell you why i abandoned it, and do i think you should give it a chance.
I abandoned this game because of 2 reasons. One, after an hour of playing, i found it to be very repetitive. You are platforming or you are fighting. Unfortunately, platforming is very automatic. You almost can't fail them. And the combat is just too button mashy.
You will fight with the same enemies over and over again. Story is also not good. Actually, there is none. You are a girl trying to save your little brother from demons. Also there are some gods helping you. While the game definitely shows the indian culture beautifully, most of the time it feels like a classroom more than a game. And as someone who has very little idea about the indian mythology, i understood almost none of the things the gods in this game talks about.
Second reason why i abandoned the game is the difficulty. The game is too repetitive, so i wanted to be done with it quickly. But some enemies can 2,3 shot me. Combat isn't great enough. And it's boring.
In the end, if you are into indian culture, you might try it. It's on game pass. Other than that, i think you shouldn't play this game. I was very interested by the art style and i wanted to learn about a new mythology, but i just couldn't finish it. I think the game has like 6 chapters. I abandoned it towards the end of the second one.
Also Available on PC, PS4 and Nintendo Switch
Play Status: Abandoned
Raji: An Ancient Epic is a game developed by Nodding Head Games and Published by Super.com. They are an indie developer. They are also indian. That's important because the game is all about indian mythology.
Because i have abandoned, AKA couldn't finished the game, i am not rating the game. I am also not going to go and talk about the story, gameplay, technical side of things. I will just tell you why i abandoned it, and do i think you should give it a chance.
I abandoned this game because of 2 reasons. One, after an hour of playing, i found it to be very repetitive. You are platforming or you are fighting. Unfortunately, platforming is very automatic. You almost can't fail them. And the combat is just too button mashy.
You will fight with the same enemies over and over again. Story is also not good. Actually, there is none. You are a girl trying to save your little brother from demons. Also there are some gods helping you. While the game definitely shows the indian culture beautifully, most of the time it feels like a classroom more than a game. And as someone who has very little idea about the indian mythology, i understood almost none of the things the gods in this game talks about.
Second reason why i abandoned the game is the difficulty. The game is too repetitive, so i wanted to be done with it quickly. But some enemies can 2,3 shot me. Combat isn't great enough. And it's boring.
In the end, if you are into indian culture, you might try it. It's on game pass. Other than that, i think you shouldn't play this game. I was very interested by the art style and i wanted to learn about a new mythology, but i just couldn't finish it. I think the game has like 6 chapters. I abandoned it towards the end of the second one.
This LOL character introductions are getting out of hand
Plataformas ligero de acción al estilo Prince of Persia inspirado en la mitología hinduista. No destaca por nada en particular y la conclusión parece muy precipitada y no se termina de entender. Correcto para resolverlo en una o dos tardes.
Man, as an Indian I was excited to try this out. Extremely disappointing. The only thing they got right was the aesthetic and Hindu culture. This games’ outer shell is fantastic. It’s the inner core which is Meh at best. I can’t think of another word other than Meh.