Suri: The Seventh Note by Tathvamasi Studios is set in mythical India and brings a unique blend of rhythm-based gameplay and bold and colorful art style.
Suri: The Seventh Note is a 2D action-exploring game that stands out in the gaming world. It's a Metroidvania-style game, which means it combines action, adventure, and exploration like the classic Metroid and Castlevania games.
What makes Suri: The Seventh Note unique is its rhythmic twist—everything in the game moves to the beat of the music. This includes the environment, platforms, traps, and enemies, making the gameplay exciting and engaging.
Every detail in Suri: The Seventh Note is carefully designed by Tathvamasi Studios, making the game not only fun to play but also a celebration of India's rich cultural heritage.
Unique Gameplay Mechanics of Suri: The Seventh Note
Suri: The Seventh Note's gameplay involves exploring a world that constantly changes in sync with this rhythm.
In this game, everything in the world moves to the beat of a mysterious rhythm, like the flickering of flames or the turning of waterwheels. This rhythm controls the world, but the player is one of the few who is not affected by it.
The player must uncover the secret behind the rhythm by navigating through different areas inspired by India's diverse landscapes and mythology.
The music in the game is influenced by Indian folk music, reflecting the rich musical traditions of the various cultures and regions within the game.
The game has different stages inspired by various places in India, such as temples in the Himalayas, deserts and old forts in Rajasthan, ancient civilizations, jungles in the Western Ghats, the Ajanta and Ellora Caves, and more.
Storyline of Suri: The Seventh Note
The Suri game's story is about the Wanderer, a traveler who arrives in Ragamandala and gets involved in a conflict between a king and six celestial beings called Gandharvas. These beings are known for their music, singing, and dancing, and come from Indian religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
In Ragamandala, everything moves together because of a curse called the Rhythm. The traveler has to find the Seventh Note, which a prophecy says will break the Rhythm and set everything free.
Development Journey and Selection for PlayStation's India Hero Project
The game is created by a talented team of Tathvamasi Studios, a small independent team from Bangalore, India, who have put a lot of creativity and passion into it. They’ve crafted every part of the game with creativity, from the bold and colorful pen and ink art style to the diverse landscapes inspired by India and its mythology.
As revealed by the team in their blog post, developing this game was unique and challenging because of its special rhythm twist, where the game world reacts to the beat of a mysterious rhythm.
One of the biggest challenges was adding rhythm elements to a 2D Metroidvania game. The team wanted to keep the player's freedom of movement, which is a key part of Metroidvania games, but also make the environment move to the beat. This meant that platforms, traps, lasers, spikes, and enemies would all react to certain parts of the song and change their state (move, attack, flip, etc.) on the beat.
A major breakthrough came with the successful use of FMOD Markers. The idea came from their audio engineer, who noticed that markers included with the tracks in FMOD could perfectly synchronize the game world with the music. After a few quick prototypes, it started working really well, giving the team confidence to fully pursue this idea.
The game turned out to be so good that Sony decided to include the game in PlayStation's India Hero Project (IHP), which works with Indian developers to promote their games. Suri was among the first games under the new program when Sony announced it.
It is also Tathvamasi's debut game and will be released on PS5 and PC.
Overall, Suri: The Seventh Note is a unique game that mixes rhythm-based gameplay with vibrant art and rich cultural elements. Set in mythical India, it uses Indian mythology and music to create a deep and authentic experience. This game could inspire more diverse stories in the gaming world.
Though it’s still early for the game, it shows great promise. It will be exciting to see how it grows and influences future games.