The situation in Myanmar continues to dominate the news in Southeast Asia for the sheer tragedy, barbarism and continued suppression of democracy. This crisis has also inspired an indie developer to create this game project, Lost Souls.
What’s happening in Myanmar now? A brief summary of the situation is that the government of Myanmar has been taken over by a military coup. On the 1st of February 2021, the National League for Democracy (NLD) party were elected into government. But the military refused to accept the election results and took over the country by force. Since then the Myanmar people have taken to the streets to protest and have been met with brutal violence. To this date, more than 150 people have been shot dead by the military.
The creation of Lost Souls is the fire that was sparked by Myanmar’s current political climate. Developed by a single self-taught Unity developer – Thet Naing Oo. This project initially began a year ago after he quit his full-time job to support his family farm. Thet admits that the latest crisis in Myanmar has inspired him to push on with this game.
When he is not busy helping out on the farm or working on this game, Thet is out there on the streets of Myanmar protesting against the coup. Stay safe, Thet!
What is Lost Souls?
Lost Souls is a 2D pixel art action-adventure platformer where you play the role of a Knight seeking revenge for your older brother. At the behest of the Queen, your brother had gone to fight the monsters in the underworld. But he never returned. It is now your turn to follow in his footsteps and find out what really happened to your brother.
Thet explains that Lost Souls is a platformer heavily focused on exploration. And I think we can all agree that the beautiful environments are definitely one of the game’s best selling points. On your journey, you’ll need to explore, enlist the help of strangers and discover the secret treasures of the world.
Gameplay itself is uncomplicated and should be familiar to most Metroidvanian players. Your Knight can attack, double jump, dash, do a ranged attack and heal.
Everything in Lost Souls is meticulously hand drawn with frame by frame animation. Including all of the enemies of which there are many for you to fight. Each enemy in this game will have a unique ability so you will be challenged on how best to defeat them.
The World
There are many beautiful places to explore in the world of Lost Souls. There is Heart Cityand the Under Well that lies below it. The Hidden Forest, a magical place that connects the surface with the underworld. There is Taung Tee, Han Hol which are mountains and forests and villages. Even ancient ruins and the Forgotten Kingdom are all there for you to explore and meet people that will help you on your journey.
Lost Souls On Kickstarter
Lost Souls has just gone live on Kickstarter so be sure to check it out! You can also download a demo of this game to try out for yourself! The demo itself is still a bit rough but it allows you to get a feel of the fight and jump mechanics. As of this demo, there is no aforementioned dash or heal ability.
Thet is looking to raise USD$5,000 to create finish the game as he needs to complete the NPC interactions, game level designs and “memorable boss fights”.
Lost Souls has a targeted release date of October 2021.
