Escape Samsara

Samsara is a souls-like action RPG based on Buddhist mythology. The story is based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead, which explains the experience of consciousness in the “Bardo” - an intermediate state between death and rebirth. In this state, you are trapped in the mysterious and deadly afterworld of Kamadhatu, where death is not the end. You have 49 days to find a way to escape Samsara, or be trapped in the endless cycle of death and rebirth to which all life is bound.

“Life is suffering” - the Buddha

In the intermediate state between this life and the next, await strange and terrifying visions that reveal to you the true nature of reality: impermanence. Are you enlightened enough to recognise the true nature of reality and reach Nirvana?

In the dying recesses of your mind, endlessly pressured by an imagined world that seeks to destroy you, will you learn what it takes to reach Nirvana, or will you be trapped forever, born again into endless suffering?

Samsara is a game of cycles that fuses Buddhist themes with souls-like gameplay in a tight and replayable action-adventure RPG. In Buddhism, Samsara is the cycle of death and rebirth to which all life is bound. Your ultimate goal is to escape from this cyclic existence - to escape Samsara.

Gameplay Pillars

1. Rebirth

Everything in Samsara is bound to a cycle of life, death and rebirth - from your avatar to the world itself. Through the Karma system, you will reincarnate as different avatars after death, based on the actions of your past life. Death is not defeat in Samsara, but it is how you progress, grow and succeed.

Choices in combat, dialogue and exploration grant you both positive and negative Karma, which crystallises into Karmic Seeds (experience points) upon death, which you can spend to upgrade your stats, unlock new abilities, or acquire equipment to aid you in your next life. Death is not the end.

Upon death, the karma gained in your previous life results in your rebirth as one of 7 different avatars that span the range of karmic balance…

• Manusya - Smaller and weaker, but balanced - the only avatar capable of escaping.

  • Playstyle: Jack of all trades, master of none.

  • Abilities: Protective gestures to shield, immobilise and contain enemies.

  • Lore: Symbolic of hope and closest to karmic harmony.

• Deva - Those who distinguish themselves with acts of mercy and kindness are reborn as the Deva, who glide lightly through the air and boast a deep well of magical power.

  • Playstyle: Weaver of magic, with healing and destruction hand in hand.

  • Abilities: Capable of creating illusions, healing and causing damage with the air element.

  • Lore: Pristine, deific beings residing in the heavens atop Mt Meru.

• Asura - Righteous fury incarnate, the multi-armed Asura grows more powerful as their being diminishes.

  • Playstyle: Fury personified, overwhelming enemies with their physical strength and elemental magic.

  • Abilities: Able to summon all five elements to cause damage, buff themselves with invulnerability and debuff enemies' defences.

  • Lore: Wrathful demi-gods known for their fiery tempers and prowess in battle.

• Naraka - Hellish beings wielding fearsome and potent combat abilities that allow them to obliterate foes even at a distance.

  • Playstyle: The Trickster, armed with dangerous magic that manipulates the battlefield.

  • Abilities: Wields fire at a distance to engulf, debuff and ensnare, while summoning more of its kind to overwhelm enemies.

  • Lore: Those who walk a path of violence or ill-will are attuned to and revel in punishment and suffering.

• Tiryag - Animalistic with keen instincts that help them sense unseen foes and augment their focus in the heat of battle.

  • Playstyle: A Hunter with the power to hone their senses to spot danger and become deadlier in combat.

  • Abilities: Able to astral travel, call on nature, sense enemies through their surroundings and slow time in combat.

  • Lore: Bestial warriors, fueled by their instincts.

• Preta - Their greed requires them to sustain their life at the expense of others but leads them to treasures most would miss.

  • Playstyle: Avarice manifest, feeding off of enemies and sharing their torment through afflictions.

  • Abilities: Senses hidden treasures, leeches health, debuffs and damages enemies over time.

  • Lore: The sorry fate of these beings is to know hunger unending, even in places of abundance.

Each new life offers a new opportunity. Learn to let go of the past. Accept your fate. Find a way to escape Samsara.

2. Conflict

Vanquish your enemies in souls-like action combat that is easy to learn but rewarding to master. 

Dodge, parry, block and strike precisely to build Focus, which both protects you and gives you more power to overcome even the toughest challenges. Build Focus faster through the use of Mantras, magical chants that imbue special effects, and unlock Mudras, hand-gestures which allow you to unleash even more powerful spells and abilities.

Become a master of many arms - both physical and magical - with a diverse selection of weapon types, spells and elemental effects that you must learn to utilise to succeed in combat. Customise your avatar’s build using equipment and skills that you can gain by defeating enemies, finding treasures hidden in dangerous corners of the world, or engaging in discourse with those you meet on your journey.

Death is not the end. Choose the path of violence or that of pacifism, to end conflict decisively and reap the Karma of your actions.

3. Discourse

Samsara takes place in the intermediate state between death and life. It is a spiritual journey. Samsara is not a place in time or space. It is a manifestation of the dying mind. Nobody lives there but the beings you encounter, both terrifying and benevolent, are manifestations of your own Karma.

Converse with these fragments of your dying self, which appear as apparitions of strangers in dire circumstances. Listen to their pleas, or ignore them. In your quest to escape Samsara, you will encounter many moral dilemmas, not just problems easily solved with violence or ignorance. These are the Challenges of Mara, the tempter, who seeks to lead you from the path of enlightenment to darker outcomes. In the face of your death will you choose to aid them or conquer them, to gain their help or to take their power, in pursuit of your goals?

Death is not the end. You can choose, and you can change - but many paths will lead you back into the cycle.

4. Exploration

The world of Kāmadhātu - the “Desire Realm” - exists only as a vision created within your mind. It appears to you as a deadly and dying world at the end of time, at the end of its cycle.

Meditate on spectacular vistas as you adventure across interconnected dreamscapes that are hostile towards you: filled with terrifying hallucinations of violent enemies that seek to tear you apart, cryptic characters whose motives are unclear, and deadly traps that will ensnare and destroy you. Fractal anomalies reveal non-euclidian shortcuts, and traversable portals connecting far places.

Climb, fight and evade danger as you traverse the world. Mt Meru at its centre, flanked in the cardinal directions by the Four Great Continents, separated by vast bodies of water and encircled by impassable mountain ranges. Traverse dense tropical jungle and ancient ruins, cross scorching dunes of a sunken oasis, trek up a glistening ice and gem-encrusted mountain, and leap between precarious perches high above the serene lakes of a seemingly abundant paradise.

Will you seek enlightenment to ascend to the domain of the gods atop the mysterious and sacred Mt. Meru, or choose to fight legions as you descend beneath layers of frozen and fiery hells to reach the gold-laden deep root of the world?

Death is not the end. Find a way to escape Samsara before the inevitable end.

Support the Next Generation of Game Development Talent

Samsara is brought to you by INFINITY27, a small indie team with a vision to open the games industry to the next wave of aspiring talent. Samsara is a platform which has been used to inspire, develop and showcase the skills of hundreds of overlooked and talented aspiring game developers who were seeking their first step of breaking into the games industry.

From levels and quests to props, weapons and spells - there’s a huge contribution of content waiting for you to experience that has been created as a testament to their abilities and talents. Turn on PROTOGÉ mode to get in-world information showing who made what.

Samsara has helped remove barriers for those needing skills and experience to prove themselves in an often difficult and indifferent industry.

Thank you for your support!