At Project House, Leeds over 40 games will be demoing, along with 300+ developers, game industry publishers, investors and platforms in attendance for GaMaYo 26! Join us on the 21st of May for a day full of demos and round tables, networking and more.

This event is brought to you by Game Republic along with their Official Partners Red Kite Games, Double Eleven and Xsolla, with event sponsors Plus Accounting, Kudos Games, Steel City Interactive and Escape Technology.

Today we are looking at ‘Samsara’ which is confirmed to be at the event, from INFINITY27!

Samsara, by INFINITY27

What would be your description of your game?

Death is not the end in SAMSARA® – a souls-like, action-RPG inspired by the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Trapped after life in a dreamlike, cyclic purgatory. Seek a way to escape within 49 days or be eternally reincarnated as six unique avatars based on the karma of your past life.

How did development start? (Were there any key inspirations or ideas that drove you?)

Souls-like games focus on repeated failure, which we wanted to explore further by turning death and rebirth into a core game mechanic. Through Samsara, each death teaches the player that improvements can be made based on what was learned and achieved before. In essence, it helps the player accept loss. Dan, our founder, explored elements of Buddhism to influence this idea, allowing us to build a karma system that tracks players’ current life actions (and inactions), determining who they will become upon rebirth.

Tell us about the team behind the game?

The team has worked diligently on this game for several years, while also taking time out of development to assist emerging talent learn what it means to work in a studio environment on a real live game project.

What kind of experiences do you hope to bring players?

We aimed to build a challenging but relatively short title that players need not grind for hours to progress. There are 49 in game days to escape Samsara, or be thrust into the cycle once more. We hope players will reflect on their choices and experience defeat and success with a fresh perspective. Drawing rich influence from the Tibetan Book of the Dead we expect players to build their own understanding of perseverance.