14 DAY TRIAL // 
Can the killer of one’s father be redeemed, or does he need to die as quickly as possible? Should one always tell the truth or is it better to make sure that some people are protected from it? Who is a good candidate for stunning and who should get the real edge of a blade? How many choices can a game deliver before it feels like the main character is the only one in the world with any agency, breaking all immersion?
Hindsight 20/20: Wrath of the Raakshasa is both developed and published by Triple-I Games. I got it on the PC using Steam, but it is also available on the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X, older consoles from Sony and Microsoft as well as the Nintendo Switch.
The protagonist is Jehan, and he starts out having to carry the trauma of losing his father, seeing his home destroyed, and losing people to the zombie-like Raakshasa plague. As the name of the game implies, he gets a chance to go back in time and make things right, although this is harder than it seems.
The city of Champaner has deep problems and seems ill-prepared to deal with outside threats or to make its citizens feel safe. Jehan does not have all the answers, but he needs to make choices that will determine the fate of the world and its characters.
The writing is decent but not impressive, although the actual decisions are designed to exist in a gray area. The entire experience is designed to be played more than once to see the various endings. Gameplay in Hindsight 20/20 also incorporates the idea of choice. Jehan can use a red sword to kill opponents, or a blue stun stick to destroy their morale.
It’s not always a great idea to be merciful but killing is also a bad idea. Regardless of weapon the character has good mobility and relies on combos to take down his enemies. It’s initially fun to run around, avoid close-up and ranged attacks and find the best ways to deal with groups of enemies (the slow-motion final attack of a battle is a highlight).
Magical energy called Shakti enables the use of special attacks and ranged strikes, adding more options for the toughest engagements. The game also has puzzles that gate progress, and although they are not too difficult to solve, they do feel perfunctory. The mechanics are not innovative, and more simplicity might have served the game well.
Unfortunately, there’s little in the way of variation. Boss battles are limited in scope and are long only because both the health and morale bars of these enemies are long. Combat arenas start to feel the same. Enemies that pop into existence sometimes attack from unseen angles, which leads to unfair deaths. The repetitive nature of the combat and exploration, especially on a second or third playthrough, is the title’s biggest issue.
Making choices is all fine and good but this concept cannot sustain a game on its own. The world of Wrath of the Raakshasa lacks context. Jehan is not an interesting character. Champaner feels like a mix of influences with no personality. And the focus on morality makes it seem like the main character is the only one in the world who can make a significant choice, reducing everyone else to automatons.
Hindsight might be 20/20 but it still takes time to move through choices. And this Raakshasa filled world is not interesting enough to justify trying to see how other decisions lead to new changes in the world. I like the concept Triple-I is working with, but the results are not spectacular.
Hindsight 20/20: Wrath of the Raakshasa looks like a game from a small team with big ambitions. The main character and the rest of the cast have some interesting designs and some nice detail. But the world feels very low cost and the art style feels ill-suited to the narrative. This is a PlayStation 2 game delivered in 2021 on modern hardware. The presentation is not helped by the fact that there’s little in the way of immersive atmosphere, mainly because the soundtrack is very generic. This world of choices never comes to life.
The Good
- Plenty of choices
- Two weapons with different effects
- Some cool combat moments
The Bad
- Little narrative context
- Repetitive combat
- Limited presentation
Conclusion
The development team does have some names from studios like BioWare and others, but they clearly need to further hone their craft. Their past successes might have left them overconfident. Their chops for decisions and choice creation might be better suited to another genre or require a more established functional setting. Wrath of the Raakshasa has some good ideas but it never delivers on its potential.
Review code provided by the publisher.
