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Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced the first four titles as part of its MENA Hero Project, an initiative that aims to "identify and support original voices and empower creators from [the Middle East and North Africa] to tell their stories through games."

Get the details on each game below.

Red Bandits

• Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC
• Developer: Team Agenda
• Country: Saudi Arabia

Red Bandits is a fast-paced robbery action game set in a hyper-capitalist age where one company rules the world through complete monopoly. In this world, a newly formed thieves organization known as the Red Bandits, emerges to challenge the system and spark a rebellion. You play as Stutt, a seasoned old thief with a stuttering condition and a mysterious past he can't fully remember.

Break into the company's fortified floors, take down the powerful board of directors, and bring back a de-monopolized world order. With a dynamic cover system, evolving heists, and a vibrant comrades' hideout, Red Bandits blends fast, stylish action with a deeply personal story of rebellion.

Enci's Solution

• Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC (Steam)
• Developer: Dark Emerald Studios
• Country: United Arab Emirates

Exiled by humans centuries ago, the Aeons are confined to the desolate underground. Their village is safe, but beyond the gates, danger lurks at every corner, and not everyone can be trusted. No one has left the village before, except for Ji'we.

Inspired by techno-dystopian aesthetics, Enci's Solution is a hand-painted, 2.5D narrative platformer following the story of Ji'we, a young Aeon venturing out into the unknown in an attempt to save his dearest friend. Stumbling upon Enci, a lost encyclopedic robot who finds himself far from home, the two form an unusual bond and set out together to the surface of planet Regalia.

Play through over 40 levels with increasing difficulty and explore uncharted territories. Find collectibles and uncover the secrets they carry about the world and its odd inhabitants. Keep an eye out for hidden levels and challenge yourself to think outside the box.

The Perfect Run

• Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC
• Developer: Lanterns Studios
• Country: Tunisia

Save the world or blow it up yourself, one loop at a time! The Perfect Run is an action adventure RPG game where the player controls Quicksave, a time-traveling hero caught in an epic struggle between supervillain gangs, marketed superheroes, and a powerful mega corporation for the control of the city of New Rome.

With three days to decide the city's fate, the player can go back in time to decide their perfect ending… if they have the skill to do so! Interact with NPCs and unlock new dialogue options thanks to information collected in earlier loops, join a faction in one route and fight them the next, bend time itself in epic battle against superpowered bosses, collect the best upgrades before the reset, and unlock the city's secrets in this memorable superhero adventure.

A Cat's Manor

• Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC (Steam)
• Developer: Happiest Dark Corner
• Country: Bahrain

You awaken trapped in a house infested with spiders and inhabited by an eccentric family. At the end of your tail, you discover a crudely stitched hand. With no memory of who you are or how you got here, you let curiosity guide you forward.

A Cat's Manor is an atmospheric adventure that blends puzzles, combat, crafting, and rhythm-based music challenges. Use your wits to escape the manor. Investigate your surroundings, solve puzzles, fight your way through deadly encounters, or outsmart your foes and avoid trouble.

Inspect, observe, listen, and feel your surroundings for clues and cues, immersing yourself with 3D audio and PS5 DualSense controller features. Uncover the secrets of the manor and unravel what the family is hiding.

PlayStation MENA Hero Project titles announced – Red Bandits, Enci’s Solution, The Perfect Run, and A Cat’s Manor

Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced the first four titles as part of its MENA Hero Project, an initiative that aims to “identify and support original voices and empower creators from…

www.gematsu.com

 

[IAmRei]

cat manor main artwork reminds me to RE7 scene, seems cool though

 

[Topher]

"Save the world or blow it up yourself"

 

[bender]

"Save the world or blow it up yourself"

 

[March Climber]

 

[yurinka]

Looking forward to see exotic indies out of this during the next years.

I'd like them to use -even if subtle- Indian references for their art style, character design, stories, settings, music, etc. That would help them to stand out compared to the rest by being more unique, local and personal.

Trying to chase only a generic "global appeal" would make them things more difficult to compete against the gazillion indies from all around the world.

Include there some traditional food or clothes, local mythology and arquitecture, use some local music instruments unique from there, use an artstyle inspired by some traditional artwork and so on.

And I don't know, maybe they should try something like to adapt some popular Bollywood movie and include songs in the middle of the game with cutscenes that have dancing minigames or something like that.