Raji: An Ancient Epic

Such a pretty game, very good story, but I really hated the combat. It is slow, it is sloppy, many controls like riding walls end up losing effect in battle... I think it needs improvement there. But for the rest, it is a nice new refreshing story, and worth the purchase

All and all, Raji is a game with lots of heart. Playing a game based around Hindu mythology was really refreshing and I found Raji's conviction very inspiring. The story and the characters were definitely the highlight for me. Now, the reason why I gave this a 4 instead of a 5 is because the controls could be a little clunky. There are many weapons and acrobatic techniques you can use to progress through the game and, while it was nice to practice them, I found many of them hard to use in battle. Enemies can QUICKLY overwhelm you and it wasn't until the end when you got a ~certain power-up~ that I felt like I had some control. Until then, I was literally just fighting for my life lol. What it comes down to is that the controls take some getting used to, but certainly I was able to make it to the end of the game with all of that being said. I also will say that an enhanced edition IS coming very soon, so I imagine that patch may tighten up a few of the control-related things and offer easier modes as this game is on the more challenging side. Not impossible or even brutal, but def a challenge. But, all and all, it was an enjoyable experience that I would recommend to anyone looking to explore Hindu mythology and also embody a type of protagonist/story that is woefully underrepresented in gaming <3

Kudos to the developer for a bold debut effort, and I hope to see much more from them in the future! If you like the Indian setting or Hindu mythology I would get the game full-stop, this is one of very few games that explore this setting. Here are my caveats: I see a lot of positive reviews here and on other platforms, particularly praising the inclusion of historic Hindu mythological stories. I think it would have been powerful if the game was tying the plot directly or metaphorically to these mythological stories, but as far as I could see there was no real connection. This may be a failure of my own understanding of the mythology, or may be because the plot is overall weak. But one way or the other the game left me feeling like a tourist, looking at these religious stories packaged out of context and for my entertainment. Also like others have said, the controls are not the easiest, and there is no option to turn down the difficulty level. As someone who is not a pro at this gaming syle, there were a few sections that I 'rage-quit' before finding the motivation to continue (including physically, in terms of the number of button presses in a row you have to make repeatedly on the controller). But it worked out eventually.

If you like action/adventure games that are gorgeous, present a unique atmosphere (in this case, Indian folklore and mythology), and let you run and jump all over the place while tearing up baddies with cool weapons, then you can't go wrong with Raji. I loved the entire experience, and can't recommend it enough.