PlayStation India Hero Project unveils first five games from the country

A good variety of desi games are on the way

PlayStation has its sights on nurturing game development talent in India, and after its first developer-focused event in the country, the company announced the first wave of games added to the India Hero Project.

The PlayStation India Hero Project was announced late last year at the India Game Developer Conference (IGDC) in Hyderabad. Games selected for the incubator program will receive support and mentorship from Sony’s internal teams, including access to SIE’s publishing tools. This initiative comes off the back of the China Hero Project, responsible for F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch and the upcoming Lost Souls Aside, among other games.

The five games selected for the program will release on PC as well, further showcasing PlayStation’s push into a multi-platform territory. 

The first cohort of games was selected at the Develop India event in Bengaluru, with a PlayStation blog post revealing more details about them. The five games selected for IHP are:

• Fishbowl
• Meteora: The Race Against Space Time
• Mukti
• Requital: Gates of Blood
• Suri: The Seventh Note

Fishbowl

Developed by the two-person team of imissmyfriends, Fishbowl is a cozy coming-of-age adventure that sounds like it’s learning the right lessons from games like Unpacking. With gorgeous pixel art and a moody lo-fi soundtrack, Fishbowl follows Alo, a twenty-one-year-old on a journey of self-discovery as she settles into a new city. It looks like Fishbowl will include a host of different gameplay mechanics, including video calling Alo’s friends, playing various minigames, and partaking in light life-sim mechanics.

Meteora: The Race Against Space Time

Big Boot Games

Meteora is an arcade combat racer that looks like Thumper set in space. The game is being developed by Mumbai-based Big Boot Games and puts you in the shoes of a meteor if meteors could wear shoes. According to the game’s Steam page, it has already been tested by players with a demo. The game takes place in a nascent universe, letting you control the meteor as it travels through the cosmos, and is one of the more unique games on the list. You can wishlist Meteora on Steam right now, and the game will be coming to PS5 as well. It's also the only game in the group that is getting a release on PS VR2 as well.

Mukti

Underdogs Studio

After releasing Driving Thrills, a relatively low-key mobile game, underDOGs studio has big ambitions with Mukti. Described as a first-person game focused on exploration, Mukti is set within an Indian museum tackling a sensitive subject: human trafficking. The PlayStation blog post doesn’t reveal any specific gameplay mechanics, though it makes one thing clear: this won’t be for everyone. Mukti, translating to “freedom”, is designed to “provoke empathy, spark dialogue, and ignite change.” An early look at gameplay through its announcement trailer does set the stage for some horror elements.

Requital: Gates of Blood 

Holy Cow Productions

Perhaps the most well-known developer from the list, Holy Cow Productions has shipped four games, with one on the Nintendo Switch. Requital will mark the developer’s first foray into the PlayStation environment and looks like the studio’s most ambitious title. Requital will be a 2D side-scroller inspired by Egyptian mythology, with players taking on the role of Zahrah, who must traverse the underworld of Duat while battling gods and demons. Requital: Gates of Blood will be launching on PC and PS5.

Suri: The Seventh Note

Tathvamasi Studios

Suri: The Seventh Note is a 2D Metroidvania set in mythical India where, taking a page out of Hi-Fi Rush’s book, the world reacts to the music beats playing in the game. The game will take players on a voyage from the Himalayas to the forts of Rajasthan. It takes inspiration from folk music and the history of the lands it is set in. As for combat, developer Tathvamasi Studios is pretty open about its clear influence from games like Hades and Hollow Knight. You can check out its world responding to the music in the developer’s first playtest video, which looks promising.

PlayStation, in recent years, has focused primarily on game publishing in India after the PS2 era, so its renewed interest in nurturing development is a welcome change. Sony’s insistence on bundling PlayStation consoles with franchises and subjects favored by Indian gamers, like Cricket 24, seems to be the first step in establishing a more meaningful presence in the country. 

During the PS2's heyday, Sony led development on several games in India, including  Hanuman: Boy Warrior, Desi Adda, and Street Cricket Champions. The hot streak ended due to rising costs, studio mismanagement, and in most cases, a declining quality of the games themselves. One can hope that Sony's second foray into game development in India will pay off with better success.