Agni: Village of Calamity Brings Cinematic Survival Horror From Indonesia

I attended an Xbox closed-door virtual developer session where fellow creators, media representatives, and I witnessed five indie titles currently in development coming from the Southeast Asian region. One of them was Agni: Village of Calamity, a survival horror game from Indonesian developers Separuh Interactive.

During Separuh’s gameplay presentation of Agni, it was clear they were drawing inspiration from classic franchises like Silent Hill and Resident Evil. Agni, the game's protagonist, isn’t fazed by the unusual case she’s investigating. Despite being ordered by her superior not to pursue it, she presses on—fully aware of the dangers that await.

The gameplay demo starts with Agni captured. Her captors are distracted by a noise outside, forcing one of them to investigate, giving Agni the opportunity to free herself and flee into an abandoned building. It’s evening, everything is dark, and the player navigates from room to room with a lighter as their only light source. You investigate blood splatters and witness mannequins moving on their own. As Agni ventures deeper into the building, she finds a locked door and remarks that she could probably open it with an axe. Thankfully, the player had picked one up a few minutes earlier.

A familiar survival horror flow

This is where the developers introduce the game’s inventory system—a classic grid-based setup similar to Resident Evil. Players can dictate how items are placed in the grid, and effective organization will likely allow you to carry more.

Eventually, Agni finds a dead body. Upon further investigation, she discovers a key inside the corpse’s mouth. This discovery triggers one of her personal traumas: she suddenly finds herself tied to a chair in the center of an empty theatre. A masked man appears to applause, revealing a human head to Agni, which causes her to scream in horror. She snaps out of it and is back in the room with the body—now holding the key in hand. She heads toward a locked door that requires three keys. One down, two to go.

The demo ends with the introduction of the game’s version of Resident Evil’s Nemesis—the Algojo, also known as the Executioner. It's an unkillable force of nature that chases you throughout the game, keeping you on edge since you never know when it might appear. According to the developers, certain actions can trigger the Algojo to show up if the player “acts loudly or recklessly” during their playthrough.

The whole presentation gave us a strong look at the game's narrative direction, horror elements, and how players will progress and explore. It definitely got me excited—I’m a sucker for games like this. What we didn’t see much of, however, was combat. While there was a brief clip of Agni firing a gun at monsters, it looked rather clunky. So for now, that aspect of the game remains a mystery.

It took me by surprise—a survival horror game inspired by Silent Hill and Resident Evil, where players follow Agni’s investigation of a supernatural case. You solve puzzles, manage a limited inventory system, and face off against monstrosities from the unknown.

The cinematic touch in Agni

As Leo Avero, creative director of Separuh Interactive, explained during the Q&A session, the game's narrative and world weren’t built around a specific piece of Indonesian folklore. Instead, the team asked themselves: What if there was an organization established to deal with these kinds of situations? When asked about additional influences, Leo pointed to film creator David Lynch—specifically his work on Twin Peaks.

What impressed me during Separuh’s showcase was the game’s motion capture. Agni’s facial expressions are vivid and expressive—you can clearly see her horror, confusion, and other emotions in both cutscenes and gameplay. The atmosphere had me intrigued, too: foggy environments, supernatural moments that make you question what’s real, and a visual style enhanced by the use of fixed camera angles. The developers purposely chose this perspective to better frame cinematic and horror-driven scenes.

When asked about multiple endings and exploration, Leo confirmed that players who venture off the beaten path will be rewarded with deeper story insights. As for endings, Leo cheekily said, “You’ll find out once you play the game.”

ID@Xbox’s Developer Session showing variety

Agni: Village of Calamity was accompanied by other titles under development across Southeast Asia—13Z: The Zodiac Trials from Singapore, Kriegsfront Tactics also from Indonesia, Vapor World: Over the Mind from Korea, and Nightmare Circus from Thailand. Each left a solid impression in their own way. The session offered a diverse lineup, and with Agni present, it was great to show horror being given the spotlight.

Sessions like these are fantastic—a space where a select group of games get the spotlight and a proper chance to show off to media and content creators. It’s a success in my eyes, because it proves one thing: yes, there are many promising games being made right here in our region. For this particular session two Indonesian projects were highlighted, each delivering a completely different experience. Like all great talent, all they need is a chance to shine and the support to keep going. Thankfully, Xbox is giving them exactly that. It’s a small step, but a meaningful one—as we get closer to more people realizing that Southeast Asia is packed with hidden gems just waiting to be unearthed.

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