Raji: An Ancient Epic Reviews
However, the gameplay is outdated, its worlds although impressive, they quickly prove to be uninspired and the story never reaches a satisfying ending.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Nodding Head Games' Raji: An Ancient Epic tells an interesting story but is simply not be functional enough to enjoy.
Raji; An Ancient Epic has a lot of potential and a unique style and story, but seems to be actively working against the player's enjoyment in many ways. While the first level is enjoyable, the rest of the game is plagued with performance issues and incomprehensible design decisions.
The lack of difficulty settings makes that a harder proposition, but I don’t want to dismiss the game outright simply because I didn’t have fun with the gameplay, when the core of the game is about celebrating a culture I’m not familiar with.
Unparalleled presentation and atmosphere spoiled by unwieldly combat and clumsy level design. The most memorable moments happen when your hands are off the controls.
The appeal of a beautiful environment and unique theme saves Raji: An Ancient Epic from being little more than a latent bore.
More of a rough stone than a dazzling gem, Raji is glimmering with potential in lots of important ways and has some truly wonderful moments, but leaves something to be desired in terms of polish and consistency, especially where player movement is concerned. Overall this is a solid debut effort from a new developers and I suspect that the Steam version might be the one to play when it comes out later this year. Still, even with its flaws, Raji: An Ancient Epic offers a unique experience and a great story that are worth seeing, if you can get past the rough edges.
Raji: An Ancient Epic can offer you some scenic locations, plenty of platforming, and a rather boring combat system. The main selling point here is not Raji herself, but the godlike beings, telling the tales of the Indian mythology, heavily intertwined with with the game's overall storyline.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Raji: An Ancient Epic is a solid first attempt for Nodding Head Games, but there are issues that will need to be addressed for future games. The Indian setting and use of Hindu mythology differentiates Raji from similar titles, lending it a fast-paced story and interesting protagonist, but the presentation, quality of voice acting and platforming all need improvement.
Raji: An Ancient Epic delivers a fascinating depiction of Indian art and culture, but it disappoints due to unrefined and sometimes frustrating gameplay and to a bit too many bugs and performance problems.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Raji was a decent experience. While it never stood out from the combat focused platformer crowd, it never buried itself in the crowd either. It’s fine game that I think fans of this style of game will enjoy even with the issues I had. If only the loading screen wasn’t so long, I wouldn’t have had as many issues with failing at my jumps and at the combat with several enemies. In the end, this is a different take on a familiar style of game that is just fine, but doesn’t stand out.
The game plays similarly to the original God of Wars with fixed moving cameras over a 3D world, although the camera feels incredibly far away making Raji almost a speck on the map. Combat is a standard affair with normal/heavy attacks and the dodge button, but Raji can also pull out some Prince of Persia moves with her wall jumps and swinging around poles to attack the beasts that show up.
What Raji: An Ancient Epic’s most notable point to take in is the limited personnel. Of course this debut title has a few cracks in the pavement, given the circumstance, but so was my audition tape to play guitar in a garage rock band. It’s exciting to see India make moves in hopes to secure relevancy in a growing global market. Support the artists here and purchase this game, so we can hopefully experience what Nodding Heads Games can accomplish under a full-scale operation.
Overall, while I do wish the ending hadn’t disappointed me as much as it did, my time with Vishnu and Durga was full of character and charm, and my issues with the controls were minuscule. I learned about Hinduism and ancient India through a fictionalized, interactive tribute to the country’s culture and history, which was such a unique experience in an industry dominated by the United States, Western Europe, and Japan.
Raji: An Ancient Epic is a game that aims to make known and disseminate Hindu and Balinese culture and mythology, and it does so with a story of struggles between gods and demons, and among them Raji, a young woman who only wants to save her brothers from the clutches of evil. Simple but enough to immerse ourselves in these stories of deities with beautiful art, and a soundtrack that knows how to accompany. India as we had not imagined it, the rest? Some simple platforms, some easy puzzles, and a correct hack & slash.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
While certainly rough around the edges, Raji: An Ancient Epic is an earnest swing that shows a ton of heart and some great ideas.
While not without its flaws, Raji: An Ancient Epic is a competent and enjoyable debut from Nodding Head Games that leans on some video game classics for its mechanics and combat but blends them with Hindu iconography and Balinese mythology to give it oodles of character.
For such a young studio, still finding its way in 2020’s complex gaming landscape, “Raji” is a strong foundation to build on.
It's worth noting the developer announced a bugfix update is in the works, but tread with caution if you decide to buy-in beforehand. But all that said, those demerits weren't enough to sour my experience with Raji: An Ancient Epic. The well-worn game structure is adorned with a decorative style that's wholly unique in video games; a striking soundtrack with heavy sitar notes and an ancient Hindu history lesson compel you to see this personal story of sister and brother to its conclusion. Even with performance caveats in mind, there's a lot of beauty to uncover here if you give it a chance.