Indian Studio Unveils Mythology-Driven Soulslike

A small independent studio is betting that Indian mythology and demanding gameplay can capture the attention of global gamers hungry for challenging action titles.

Aeos Games on Monday released 12 minutes of gameplay footage for "Unleash the Avatar," a PC game that blends punishing combat mechanics popularized by the "Dark Souls" series with settings drawn from Indian epics. The previously announced title from the studio, which employs 40 developers including veterans from "Ghost of Tsushima" and "Hogwarts Legacy," is targeting a 2026 release via Steam.

The game unfolds in an alternate India where the barrier separating Earth from Naraka (the realm of hell in Hindu cosmology) has collapsed, unleashing demons across the coastal region of Vishwapur. Players navigate combat that combines dodge-and-parry systems standard to the genre with new mechanics including ranged chakra abilities and a shapeshifting "feather prism" form.

Unleash the Avatar Gameplay Showcases Indian Mythology and AAA Production Values

The newly released gameplay trailer demonstrates boss encounters and story-driven sequences that reveal how Naraka was unsealed. "Every single bit of 'Unleash the Avatar' has been lovingly hand-crafted to make a game you—and us—would be happy to play," said Rohan Mayya, chief executive and co-founder of Aeos Games.

The self-funded studio is relying heavily on Steam's wishlist feature to measure market interest and maintain visibility ahead of launch. The game will be sold as a one-time purchase without battle passes, loot boxes or microtransactions.

Aeos Games deployed production techniques typically associated with major publishers, including Unreal Engine 5, full-body motion capture and photogrammetry to create detailed environmental assets. The studio also developed proprietary enemy artificial-intelligence systems.

The project represents an uncommon effort to marry regional mythology with a genre dominated by Japanese and Western developers. Few Indian studios have attempted to compete in the premium PC market with locally rooted intellectual property aimed at international players.