On Friday (21 Nov), HoYoverse, best known for gacha titles ‘Genshin Impact’ and ‘Honkai: Star Rail’, published a 31-minute gameplay demo for its new game called ‘Varsapura’.
Although the video game company’s name alone would generate buzz, what got netizens talking is that ‘Varsapura’ appears to be set in Singapore, with certain in-game locations seemingly modelled after the Lion City.
These include locations like City Hall, Clarke Quay, and Rochor.
After a short opening where the player character gets recruited into a police force for the supernatural, they drive to their first case along roads and sights that should be familiar to many Singaporeans.
But this familiarity is also laced with creative divergences that left some Singaporeans scratching their heads.
Source: Varsapura on YouTube and Google Maps
“They essentially took whole pockets of Singapore downtown and mixed them all up,” one commenter on Reddit said. “My mind keeps screaming — wait, this road doesn’t lead there, and why is this building next to that?”
One quipped that they’ll finally be able to drive around Singapore without having a Certificate of Entitlement (COE).
Source: Varsapura on YouTube
A map of Varsapura, seen earlier in the demo, reveals a very familiar-looking island but with some parts missing.
Source: Varsapura on YouTube
Varsapura also appears to be a play on Singapura — the Malay name for Singapore.
In addition to being inspired by Singapore, HoYoverse also has openings for jobs based in Singapore, specifically for the development of Varsapura.
These jobs include concept artists, quest designers, gameplay animators, and a live operations manager. The openings can be seen on their website here.
The description on their YouTube video also lists job openings at their Shanghai office.
Also read: Genshin Impact Developer HoYoverse Opens HQ Office In S’pore, Will Recruit Hundreds Of Employees
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Featured image adapted from Varsapura on YouTube.