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As a hardcore gamer since 2003, I can play the role of a loyalist advocate for gaming all day long, as I have done in many of my previous pieces. But today, I’m not going down that road. Sometimes it’s not about the graphic resolutions, the storyline, or the character development. The geographic setting of a game can sometimes make or break it. Throughout the years, India has been the backdrop of several video games made by American, European and East-Asian studios. Sometimes it has been an immaculate portrayal of our beautiful country and countrymen. However, more often than not, it has gone hilariously wrong where the game incorporates elements born out of a very Westernized perception of an ‘exotic India’. Now, when an Indian plays such games, they tend to get angry with such a portrayal of their homeland but for me, it just elicits giggles, when I look back at those games.
Here are some video games that have portrayed India in various questionable, bewildering, and sometimes even interesting ways.
Tomb Raider 3 (1998)
As you can see, I decided to start with the game that got India wrong in probably the worst and most rib-tickling way. Most people today know of this game for its polygonal models and limited texture-detailed environments that look suspiciously like the present Tesla car design but for a 1998 game, its graphics were way ahead of its time. I don’t think that's where the problem with this game lies.
It portrays India through an imperialist fantasy reminiscent of the film, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In this case India has a temple and Lara Croft, the explorer or should I say, colonizer comes to plunder valuable artifacts. Plot sounds familiar? Tigers and apes attack her followed by a mighty six-armed enemy guarding the Ganesha key, which is crucial to accessing a challenging labyrinth. The foe looks like a cross between Ma Kali and Ma Durga, if they were done no justice.
Gods + Temples + Wild Animals = India.
That’s what this game will have you believe. And my eyes have never rolled so far into my head.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (2017)
Have you ever met one of those white hippies who come to India to ‘find themselves’ and their favorite words are Om and Shanti? Well, the protagonist, Chloe Frazer, talks just like one of them except she is a skilled fighter and a firearms expert, unlike any hippie in the world. The interactions the protagonist has with the people of the Western Ghats (that’s where the game is set) make it seem like Indians are a homogeneous group of folks with no spice and individuality. We take pride in our country’s diversity and the game completely fails to capture it. It presents a romanticized and skewed Orientalist view of India, focusing on iconic landmarks and cultural elements lacking depth, authenticity and nuanced representation of Indian culture.
Far Cry 4 (2014)
Before I go on to say anything mean, which I most definitely will, I should declare that I love the Far Cry franchise. Far Cry 4 is set in the fictional land of Kryat is a fictional location and in-game it is indeed located near the Himalayas. So it is safe to assume they want to portray northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, or Tibet but ends up making a cultural hot-potch of all these countries. Though it has some breathtaking visuals of the mountains that are true cinematic beauty, the game's portrayal of the region often relies on clichés and stereotypes and the representation of the local people and their customs is not at all accurate. Mountainous regions in these countries are not only the abodes of tribes, who dress up in fur clothing, fight with spears and pray at shrines. All that being said, it is important to mention that the protagonist, Ajay Ghale, has a compelling backstory and the fact that Ubisoft used the civil war in Nepal as inspiration makes for an admitedly intriguing storyline.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012)
Even a person who has never played a single video game in their lives must have heard of Call of Duty (COD) — such is the level of popularity of this franchise. In Black Ops II, one of the DLC multiplayer maps, Vertigo, is set on the top of a skyscraper in Mumbai. I highly doubt if a Mumbaikar imagines a version of their city in which such a high-tech building exists. It feels more like out of present-day New York than a futuristic Mumbai. A building like that bodes well in a game like Cyberpunk 2077. That being said, the close-quarters action in this map tunes up some exhilarating gameplay.
Hitman: World of Assassination (2016)
Hitman is most definitely on my list of top five gaming franchises ever and its second part, Silent Assassin will always be my favorite. The nerve-wrenching difficulty, the masterful disguises, varied professional ways to eliminate a target accompanied by Jesper Kyd’s brilliant soundtrack have kept me going through unbridled days of gaming during my childhood.
Hitman: World of Assassination is a relatively new addition to the series. One of its missions is set in Mumbai, India and is one of the biggest maps in the game. Slums, poverty, and Mumbai are like the three musketeers when it comes to most popular depictions of the beautiful city and the game could’ve underplayed that a bit. That said, the mission offers impressive visuals, including a tower being used as a movie set and a slum queen's headquarters in a deserted train yard, among other notable locations. The majority of the setting consists of narrow, crowded streets with shops, Hindi-speaking vendors, and impoverished residences, providing numerous opportunities for disguises and concealment. There are also several ways to execute your targets in the City of Dreams. While my brother always goes out guns blazing, I prefer to stay true to the titular character by following the well-forged path of the silent assassin.
