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Launching today for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam, SURI: The Seventh Note is a 2D rhythm-driven platforming action-adventure game. The story follows Ajira, a fearless young woman on a quest to find a mystical fruit capable of saving her mother's life. Developed by Tathvamasi Studios, the project stands out for integrating its soundtrack directly into the world's mechanics, requiring every jump, dash, dodge, and ability to be performed in sync with the music's rhythm. Featuring hand-drawn visuals, cinematic escape sequences, and environments that react to the island's mystical beats, the experience combines precision-based challenges with a narrative about harmony and survival.

Supported by Sony's PlayStation India Hero Project, development took nearly four years, resulting in a world shaped by India's diverse cultural and geographical influences. Every environment, character, and animation was illustrated to establish a distinctive visual identity, exploring the variety of landscapes and traditions found across the Indian subcontinent. To achieve this, the team first determined which biomes it wanted to represent before researching local cultures and gathering references from regional architecture, artistic expressions, and traditional stories.

The environments incorporate specific elements drawn from this research, including Rajput architecture and culture in the desert areas, Kerala's tribal traditions and Theyyam aesthetics in the forests, and the distinctive architecture of Sikkim in the mountainous regions. Regional folktales also provided inspiration for characters and visual elements, although the studio chose not to directly reproduce figures or stories from Indian mythology. Instead, the research served as a foundation for building an original world that preserves cultural characteristics without relying on established representations.

Music also plays a central role in shaping the experience, serving as a fundamental gameplay element rather than merely providing a soundtrack. Approximately 80% of the music was recorded using original analogue instruments instead of relying exclusively on synthesizers, preserving the distinctive textures of each performance. The instruments include violins, bamboo flutes, veena, female Carnatic vocals, and traditional Indian percussion instruments such as the idakkai and ghanjira.

The musical composition also reflects the island's different regions, incorporating instruments associated with their respective traditions. In the southern areas of Suri, for example, the veena takes center stage, while the desert environments draw on the musical heritage of Rajasthan. This variety required the studio to find a way to translate the soundtrack's characteristics into accessible and responsive controls, particularly considering the speed of movements performed by players using a controller.

After extensive testing and adjustments, the team established a 480-millisecond interval between the main beats, seeking to balance input precision, rhythmic awareness, and gameplay fluidity. The musical structure combines hip-hop-inspired elements with traditional Indian textures and instruments, resulting in a rhythmic and dynamic sound that avoids an aggressive approach. This integration allows players to develop a natural sense of timing as they progress through the challenges.

"SURI is our love letter to the games we adore with our own twists in terms gameplay and presentation, and it's finally here," says Glen Martin, CEO of Tathvamasi Studios and Game Director of SURI: The Seventh Note. "Hopefully you have as much fun playing it as we did making it." His statement reflects the studio's intention to combine influences from games that shaped its creative journey with an original identity built around the integration of music, exploration, and Indian cultural elements.