Isha Foundation, a non-profit organisation recently released a mobile game, called Kari and The Lost Shrines. The game is currently available on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, while managing to garner the top trending spot in the Play Store for the Adventure category.
The game currently holds a 4.7 star rating on the App Store and a 4.9 star rating on the Play Store. Here we will be taking a look at if the game deserves such a high rating or is it just not worth your smartphone’s space.
Kari and The Lost Shrines: Review
The game follows the protagonist Kari who has to find and collect lost relics and restore them to an Indian temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, which once housed them. The game showcases Kari as a warrior-protector who has to sprint through the forests and veils to find all of these lost relics. Slowly after all the relics are recovered, Kari is able to put the shrines back together.
The gameplay features a 2D sidescrolling map where you have to roam around and find the relics. The game is filled with map keys placed everywhere to help you find the relics much more easily. The game has a single map, and you must restore all the relics to a single temple, but the gameplay is divided into three levels, separated by map levels.
The game is not too long, and you can after collecting each relic use the teleporter poles located almost everywhere to quickly get back to the temple and place the relic. Once you place the relic, the temple will grow, showing you new parts of it.
I was able to complete the game within around 8 minutes, but after a point was not impressed with the dynamics or the graphics. Multiple Indian game studios have produced much more visually appealing games like FAUG and WWE Racing Showdown. Considering that the game is too small, I feel that it is a game you play once and that’s it.
Also, to point out, I did not read any of the onscreen information, which came up every time I came across a scroll or even in the cut scenes. If you decide on reading them, the gameplay could be extended to around 20 minutes, but not more than that. Even without reading the information, I was easily able to pass all the missions and complete the game.
Verdict
Kari and The Lost Shrines is a simple side scroller that does not stand out much apart from the fact that it tries to showcase a few Indian relics like the Natraj statue and imparting facts about them. Overall, I feel that the game is simple and can be played once.
The game is a good step from the non-profit organisation.