4 Zambian made games you can play right now

Game development is more accessible than ever and if you’re Zambian you might have wondered what any of the local developers have been up to. Some still have their works on their machines and are yet to share their content online but a few exist that you can get your hands on.

1. Star Scooter (Demo) by Alister Mwase Phiri

Heavily influenced by the MegaMan, Sonic and Super Nintendo games of yore, this is a fast paced side scrolling platformer with some nostalgic gems that can make for an exhilarating speed run. The idea for Star Scooter has been something Alister has been passionate about since high school. This game is set to be a small part of an entire universe created for the many adventures of the titular protagonist that include the cosmic Princess Meteorette and various fantasy zones like a mystic hallucinogenic forest.

Alister is currently a graphics designer and is dedicated to furthering his skillset to bring the rest of this game to life.

2. SCND Genesis: Legends by Ifunga Ndana

Based on his web comic — Lit Shade of Heaven, the events of this game take place in a dystopian future where factions in Africa are uniting under the common threat of a mysterious celestial weapon. Ifunga took inspiration from popular fighting games and RPG combat to create a strategic turn based fighter accompanying the comic. No button bashing here. The combat style for this game hinges on strategic attack/defense queues that can set you up for either a victorious fury-pumped Rage Combo or a punishing humiliating loss.

Ifunga is currently working on the sequel, SCND Genesis: Legacy. Follow the progress here.

3. Save Our Souls: Episode 1 (Pre-Alpha Demo) by Martin Kalimukwa

Save our souls is in it’s early stages of development but looks to be an impressive piece of work already. This sci-fi survival tale, was created by Martin Kalimukwa and follows three young female protagonists banding together to survive the supernatural aftermath of a devastating 3rd world war. Many secrets still lie in the world but the superb architecture of the environment will capture you immediately once you try out the demo. You can also follow his development process on his youtube channel and watch him speed build some of the impressive environments.

4. Various Christian Games by Trevor Sinkala

Trevor Sinkala has put an interesting spin on some classic casual pass-times by incorporating bible themes into them and publishing these games for Android. His games have had over 100,000 downloads from the Google Play store. Being a proclaimed Christian nation, this is something many Zambians of all ages could appreciate. It’s a target audience that never seems to be catered to with video games but from the activity on his app store page, there’s definitely an engaged audience for these games.

Do you know anyone else who has a Zambian game available online? If you’d like to play some of these or have any of your own games to show, join Ubongo Game Lab in Lusaka this Saturday for a Creative Digital Media Show and Tell event for game developers and other creatives.