Khumail Thakur | 13 Oct 2025 05:30 PM
Remember the AI guy telling you about AI on Instagram? Well, if you haven’t heard, Varun Mayya’s startup, Aeos Games, has been hell bent on proving a point: can India make a triple-A game? While the answer to that is never straightforward, the man has decided to put his money where his mouth is; he’s building a polished single-player game inspired by Indian mythology, and just 5 months after the reveal trailer dropped, we’re greeted with another 12-minute gameplay reveal trailer.
Ready to parry and pray? Bengaluru-based indie developer Aeos Games has just dropped a hefty gameplay trailer for its upcoming title, Unleash the Avatar, and it’s looking like a spicy take on the Soulslike genre. This is not a jaunt through a gloomy castle (we’re talking about you, FromSoftware!), the game is inspired by Indian epics and set in an alternate version of India where things have gone a bit pear-shaped.
The story goes that the barrier between Naraka (hell) and Earth has crumbled, letting all sorts of Asuras and Rakshasas through to ruin everyone's day. You, imbued with a sliver of Lord Vishnu's power, are tasked with restoring balance to the universe and kicking the forces of darkness back where they came from. The new trailer shows off the once-tranquil coastal locale of Vishwapur, now crawling with monstrous Nisthari Rakshas.
The combat features genre staples like dodging, parrying, and staggering your foes. But Aeos Games is adding its own flavour with new tricks, including a ranged chakra and a rather dazzling "feather prism form". It's all built from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5, with the studio boasting about its bespoke enemy AI, full-body mo-cap, and photogrammetry assets scanned from old Indian towns. Crucially, the team confirms no generative AI has been used; the game is lovingly handcrafted by fans of the genre.
The 40-strong team at Aeos Games is a mix of fresh talent and veterans who have worked on AAA hits like Ghost of Tsushima and Hogwarts Legacy. The project is entirely self-funded, making community support extra critical, which you can see in the helpful donations in the YouTube comment section of the first trailer.
Unleash the Avatar is slated for a 2026 release on PC, and you can add it to your Steam wishlist right now. Other platforms are being considered for the future, but for now, the focus is on PC.