Something I love about the horror genre is how malleable it is. During Gamescom 2026, I saw this firsthand with Agni: Village of Calamity, a survival horror game that serves as a love letter to the genre’s history. While that premise isn’t necessarily unique, the fact that it is heavily based on Indonesian culture certainly is. Even though I had a little bit of time to play the demo, and there were some technical glitches here and there that I noticed, these weren’t enough to detract from my enjoyment of the experience.
You play as Agni, a member of an elite Indonesian police force who defies orders so that she can investigate mysterious village known as Desa Purba. The reason for this is because she wants to find her missing partner, a noble pursuit that will be undermined by the countless horrors that stand in her way. The segment I played in particular showed off a slasher-esque character that attacked Agni in a setup that was eerily similar to both The Shining and Resident Evil 7.
Even though some may take issue with the overt inspirations in a game like this, I actually found it kind of charming. Especially since while a lot of the nods are towards Western games and movies, there seem to be several references towards Indonesian horror movies, which is a really rare influence for a game like this. While the premise is compelling though, I must say that the visuals look slightly off. They have an uncanny look to it that is more distracting than creepy, which is particularly in with some of the animations and cutscenes.
That said, Agni seems to have a good gameplay base judging by the little bit I played. The use of both fixed and third-person camera perspectives was a bit jarring at first, but in execution, it helped to make certain moments more claustrophobic than others. Though the shooting gameplay is a bit basic, the quick-time events are a neat callback to some of the Resident Evil games and David Cage’s games, the latter of which was apparently a big inspiration for the developers.
Where Agni particularly won me over was with the world. The short amount of time I was able to explore Desa Purba was very eerie, due to the overwhelming use of red lighting and the sense that someone or something is watching you at all times. Further, throughout the environment you can scan certain signals through exploration. These are vital for progression, as these signals can be used to reverse the polarity of objects in your path. It is an interesting mechanic, that makes me even more curious to see how it is explained within the story.
Despite some of the minor concerns I had with my short play session of Agni: Village of Calamity, the compelling premise and exploration mechanics were more than enough to deter any and all worries. The use of Indonesian culture as a base, alongside a very clear mystery that promises terrible horrors lurking beneath the surface has me excited to check out the full game whenever it releases. While the game still does not have a release window, Agni: Village of Calamity will launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
