A Central African games studio by the name of Kiro’o Games has officially launched its first Kickstarter for their African-themed 2D fantasy-action-RPG, Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan.

Situated in Yaounde, Cameroon, the young startup has been hard at work since 2011 developing Aurion under difficult conditions, ranging from power cuts to the lack of local talent studying game design in the region. However, despite it all, they recently signed up with French publisher Plug In Digital and turned to Kickstarter earlier today to showcase what has turned out to be a rather stunning game.

Aurion aims to pay homage to the culture and legacy of Africa with a "deep storyline" that plays out over 20 hours of gameplay. Hand-drawn environments, characters, and animations inspired by African culture and legends compliment the distinctly home-grown nature of the game.

The story takes place in the world of Auriona and follows the adventures of a young prince named Enzo. On the eve of his coronation and wedding, he becomes the victim of a coup instigated by his new brother-in-law, Ngarba Evou. He and his wife, Erine, must make use of their "Aurionic powers" to defeat their enemies and reclaim the throne.

“We are twenty young Cameroonians working on Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan, one of the few, if not the only, game developer in Cameroon," said Olivier Madiba, founder of Kiro’o Games Studio. "We want to show the world our professionalism and stand as models of inspiration for our young brothers and sisters not just in Africa, but around the world.”

The team is looking for €40,000 (~$45,000) to finish the game. They plan to use the funding to update the current interface, create new models and animations, and possibly hire new team members to expand onto other platforms. The game is currently PC-exclusive, but likely won't be for too long.

Here is a list of the game's features:

Aurion's gameplay combines African legends and lore with fast-paced real-time combat.

Gather your legacy, unlock devastating strikes with combos, and mix Aurions to create new combos.

Confront enemies as Enzo, with Erine’s assistance, and make the best out of the couple in combat.

Powerful duels with fascinating and immersive dialogues

Join a spiritual quest that takes our heroes to journey across a wonderful world of African fantasy



Kiro’o Games hopes to release Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan sometime in Q2 2016. The Kickstarter ends on 20 October, so that gives you plenty of time to support them. Actually, the sooner the better. Have you backed them yet? We're waiting.

Kyle Lautenbach is a freelance writer for IGN Africa. You can follow him on Twitter as he awkwardly traverses the canals of life.