Escape From Naraka

Survive a Balinese Hindu hell in Escape from Naraka

As the Sanskrit word for hell, Naraka refers to the eternal place of torment for religions with Indian origins. And it’s this infernal realm that’s being referenced in Escape from Naraka, a first-person platformer developed by Indonesian studio XeloGames. You’ll be leaping across treacherous traps and other dangers, while featuring mythical beings and demons from Balinese legends. 

Like most games that’s centered outside Western/European/Nordic mythologies, Escape from Naraka is yet another rare and fascinating glimpse into a culture that’s rarely showcased in mainstream games. Delving into a temple adorned with statues of Balinese Hindu deities—many of which are actual statues that are photographed, scanned and placed into the virtual environments of Escape from Naraka—the place is filled with precarious traps that require you to vault over them with finesse. Along the way are guardians of the very temple who would be prowling the halls, who you can fend off with your acrobatic stunts, and through blasting them with magic gathered from elemental crystals.

It should be noted, of course, that there are some distinct differences between the Balinese Hinduism religion that’s featured in Escape from Naraka, and the form of Hinduism which is practiced in India—with the latter being a heavy inspiration for the critically acclaimed action platformer Raji: An Ancient Epic. Yet a similar sense of wonder—and perhaps even reverent fear, at least for Escape from Naraka—will probably be evoked in the Indonesian game. 

FInd out more about Escape From Naraka on Steam, which is slated for a release in the second half of 2021.