Today’s Xbox Partner Showcases ended with a truly epic recent game trailer that took me completely by surprise. It is called Raji: Kaliyuga and is the sequel to Raji: An Ancient Epic.
If you don’t know the first Raji, it is a 2020 action-adventure game created by Indian studio Nodding Heads Games. The plot tells the story of Raja, an orphan who wants to recover her brother kidnapped by an army of demons. Along the way, she is watched and sometimes supported by Goddess Durga and Lord Vishnu. The story delves into Indian and Hindu mythology and ends on an amazing cliffhanger, suggesting that a sequel was always on my mind. The game received mixed reviews, but this year it was nominated for The Game Awards in the best debut category.
Raji: Kaliyuga seems to be a direct sequel, and the trailer apparently shows Raji and her younger brother fighting together against an encroaching army of demons. It looks like this pair will be dual heroes that you will control at different points in the story. But what’s truly amazing is that while the first Raji game was presented in an isometric view, this sequel is a full-fledged third-person action adventure game. While we’ve only seen a video and no gameplay so far, it looks quite promising.
In Xbox Wire Mail following the announcement, we learned that Kaliyuga will be set six years after An Ancient Epic and will feature Raji and her brother Darsh traveling to the Eternal Summit through many different mystical lands. As a dual hero, you can switch between Raji, the warrior, and Darsh, the dreamwalker, each with unique abilities. The two are separated for most of the game after the events of An Ancient Epic, and the story follows their separation and eventual reunion. “Kaliyuga explores the coexistence of belief and illusion, where the narrative tone, graphics, music, and gameplay systems must reflect this duality, changing to reflect the perspective and truth of the character currently playing.”
Raji: Kaliyuga is currently scheduled for release on Xbox, PC and PS5, and will be available on Game Pass on day one. There is no release window yet.
Here you can follow all the information announced during today’s partner presentation.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Her posts can be found on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Have a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
