The eponymous heroine Raji has to watch her little brother Golu being kidnapped by demons - and sets out to save him. This very classic, but naturally gender-reversed, starting situation leads to an action-adventure that at first glance is strikingly reminiscent of God of War. Raji walks on the proven paths of the Spartan from Santa Monica. A fixed camera perspective, a rather small character, a mix of exploring, climbing, and fighting. Doesn't sound very independent and unfortunately feels like it. Raji sprints, rolls, and scrambles through nicely arranged palaces and atmospheric temples with discreetly ponderous controls - all of this is not particularly high-resolution graphically or immensely detailed, but still always looks appealing thanks to the well-chosen perspectives.
Entertaining rotating puzzles alternate with plenty of battles and jumping from one crumbling platform to the next - meanwhile the deities Shiva and Durga narrate and comment on Raji's story. The developers decided against a dedicated jump button, instead, a button has to be used context-sensitively for hopping, dodging rolls, and pole climbing - not a good idea. For one thing, Raji feels more limited with this, and for another, pike rolls and climbing up a pole sometimes get in each other's way, especially during fights. Because Raji can't block and especially the small opponents attack poisonously and quickly, constant dodging in combination with attacks from climbing is often the best means.
Raji initially fights with a lance, which can also be thrown, and fries enemies with electric attacks, later a bow or a saber plus shield join the arsenal, among others. These are changed via the control pad, but the system isn't fast enough for a dynamic change in battle or even in the middle of a combo à la Devil May Cry 3. Besides light and heavy attacks, the above-mentioned interactions with the environment are essential in combat: When Raji swooshes up walls or pillars and then attacks from above, she not only drains the enemies' lifeblood but is also much harder to hit. A super attack, which is only occasionally available, and a life energy system, which rewards finishing off almost finished enemies with plenty of fresh energy, round out the reliable, but also home-baked combat system. Upgrades of Raji's abilities are available, but the system can't compete with the ability trees of other action titles.
Conclusion
The scenario is a beautiful one and, aside from the Assassin's Creed Chronicles episode, still unspent - moreover, the developers capture the beauty of the Indian palace grounds with great camera angles. Unfortunately, neither the exploration nor the romping around or the fights is very enjoyable. Thus, Raji ultimately only throws a small spotlight on the rich Indian mythology but offers far too little on the play side to be able to exist in the action-adventure genre in the year 2021.
