Across the African continent, a wave of digital storytellers is using one of the most powerful creative platforms of our time — video games — to showcase heritage, reimagine tradition, and build worlds where African identity leads the narrative. These developers are doing more than creating games for entertainment — they’re building spaces for cultural memory, community values, and ancestral knowledge to thrive.
As the landscape of interactive media expands, so too does the role of African art and culture in shaping how those stories are told. In this article, we explore how various studios are weaving Africa’s rich traditions into gameplay, drawing inspiration from titles featured in the Games Industry Africa Awards (GIAA).
Note: These titles are highlighted for their cultural relevance, not as endorsements.
Art + Culture + Code
Art is how we shape emotion into form. Culture is how we live, relate, and express who we are. When video games bring these two together, they become digital canvases for imagination and identity — giving voice to communities that have long been left out of global media narratives.
African studios are embracing this intersection by building characters, environments, soundtracks, and game mechanics that reflect local realities — from ancestral wisdom and spiritual practices to fashion, language, food, and oral storytelling.
Games Rooted in African Contexts
Let’s take a look at how some standout games are embedding cultural insight into gameplay:
The Wagadu Chronicles – by Twin Drums (Ghana/Germany)
This Afro-fantasy MMORPG is deeply inspired by African ways of living. Instead of grinding for power, players explore life skills like farming, fishing, crafting, and community building. The game’s lineages — its character classes — are all dark-skinned and come with unique backstories that connect to spiritual ancestry and indigenous lifeways.
The game can be played both online and as a tabletop RPG, encouraging real-world community play. As Creative Director Allan Cudicio notes, Wagadu is about collaboration over competition, reflecting communal values from across the continent.
Outliver: Tribulation – by Gbrossoft (Nigeria)
A gritty survival horror game rooted in African mythology. Players follow Bola, a soldier navigating a dangerous spiritual realm. The setting, aesthetic, and enemies draw from local lore, immersing players in an eerie yet meaningful journey.
Instead of fighting aliens or robots, players face supernatural beings, connected to real-world belief systems. The game is atmospheric, with settings that evoke dense African jungles and ancient ritual spaces — turning fear into cultural immersion.
Mortal Darkness – by Dark Faction Studio (South Africa)
This action-adventure follows a warrior called upon by a tribal elder to defend his people. It’s a classic hero’s journey, but with African philosophies embedded in the story structure and gameplay. Fast-paced combat, hand-crafted weapons, and terrain inspired by Southern African landscapes all contribute to the game’s distinct voice.
Mama Mboga – by Usiku Games (Kenya)
A brilliant example of cultural remixing. Inspired by Fruit Ninja, Mama Mboga (“vegetable seller” in Swahili) transforms the slicing game format into a tribute to Kenya’s everyday heroes. Instead of samurai swords and generic fruits, players help Mama chop vegetables with care — avoiding bombs and delivering service with a smile.
This game offers something rare: relatability. It’s fun, hyperlocal, and honors community figures often overlooked in mainstream storytelling.
Video Games as Cultural Expression
These games are not just fun — they’re proof that digital design can carry cultural depth. They incorporate elements of traditional art — from sculpture to textile patterns — and blend them with modern media tools like 3D modeling, motion design, and sound engineering.
They also challenge the idea that African culture is “fixed” in the past. These titles show that tradition can evolve — and that ancestral wisdom still has something to say in virtual worlds.
Technology has expanded the tools we use to tell stories, and African game developers are making sure those tools reflect our own visions, histories, and futures.
In games like Wagadu, Outliver, Mama Mboga, and Mortal Darkness, players experience African culture not as a backdrop, but as a living, interactive force. They fight with it, build with it, grow with it.
At Ancestor Project, we celebrate these digital spaces where memory and creativity meet — where gaming becomes a new language for heritage, and where Africa gets to play, not just as a setting, but as the storyteller.