The continent of Asia is brimming with countries that have been widely represented in video games, and India is one of them. It may not be easy to brainstorm titles that are set there, but they do indeed exist, and in surprisingly large quantities to match as well.

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While some games have standalone levels that are set in India, others solely take place here and tap into themes regarding its culture and history. Whether players are exploring the land to loot expensive valuables, assassinate deadly targets, or bring peace in the midst of war, there are indeed so many great titles that take place here.

1 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

Metascore: 87

• Hitman 2: Silent Assassin was a best-selling title for the series for well over a decade.
• For a 2002 game, the visuals and sound design are still very impressive.
• Three levels take place in India and are some of the harder but more entertaining missions.

The second entry in the Hitman series remains a bestseller to this very day. While it may still be a tad unfair, there’s no denying the level of detail and thought put into this post-millennium stealth-action title. Some of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin’s strongest levels take place in India, whereby 47 must first eliminate a squad of rival contract killers stealthily within the musky streets.

After that, it’s off to an island run by an Indian cult. Its chief propagandist and ringleader must be eliminated in a large hospital filled with Sikh guards and innocent patients. There are plenty of ways to get the hit, and the music by Jesper Kyd that plays during these missions is nothing short of stellar as well.

2 Hitman: World Of Assassination

Metascore: N/A

• Hitman: World of Assassination is made up of a trio of Hitman titles compiled together.
• One of the levels is set in Mumbai and is the largest level in the game.
• The slums, markets, train yard, and tower that is under construction offer many different ways to eliminate targets.

Hitman: World of Assassination has Agent 47 visiting various locations across the globe, including Mumbai, India. It’s one of the biggest maps in the game, featuring a tower-in-construction-turned-movie set and a slum queen's HQ in an abandoned train yard, to name but a few landmarks. Most of the map is made up of tight, claustrophobic streets filled with shops, vendors, and poverty-stricken homes, offering plenty of potential disguises and places to hide.

With its massive sizes comes a huge variety of ways to execute targets. Sniper points, propane canisters, a barbershop, tea to poison, a giant fan asking to be tampered with - all of this and more within a single level!

3 Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Metascore: 84

• Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is a standalone expansion pack set after the fourth game.
• The protagonist searches for a valuable artifact with cultural significance.
• There are breathtaking sights and engaging levels set in jungles and temples.

Recurring protagonist Nathan Drake took a backseat for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, which sees Chloe Frazer exploring India to find a valuable artifact called the Tusk of Ganesh (named after the titular four-armed, elephant-headed god of luck and wisdom). The protagonist does show interest in this particular item, not simply for its value but also because of its relation to her culture and background.

With destinations ranging from jungles and temples to more urban environments, there’s a lot to explore here. Compared to the fourth entry, while still linear, the developers at Naughty Dog aimed to widen up the levels to offer more places to explore and get through.

4 Tomb Raider 3

Metascore: 76

• Tomb Raider 3 takes Lara Croft around the world, including India.
• An Indian temple can be explored in order to find a valuable stone.
• It has a complex, labyrinth-like design and an atmospheric soundtrack.

Lara Croft was in her prime in the nineties, traveling to all sorts of locations to plunder priceless artifacts. In Tomb Raider 3, she visits India to look for the Infada Stone in nearby temple ruins. Tigers and apes can be found at first, while nasty traps and a mighty six-armed foe guards the Ganesha key in its complex and challenging labyrinth. It all looks even better in the remastered trilogy.

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The music deserves a mention, too. With its steady drum beats and glittering sitar, it sounds both mesmerizing and mysterious at the same time, almost as if it’s hinting at danger to come.

5 Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India

Metascore: 64

• Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India is one of three spin-off side-scroller titles.
• It is inspired by the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles graphic novel.
• Luscious color palettes meet challenging gameplay.

Fans of engaging side-scrollers may very well get quite a kick out of the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles spin-off, and the same goes for its India-based chapter. Set two years after the events of the graphic novel Assassin's Creed: Brahman, players don the role of Arbaaz Mir in the mid-19th Century, who is after a special diamond in the midst of a war.

There are some eyesore visuals to soak in throughout this shorter adventure. There is a lot to appreciate here, including the environmental puzzles, non-lethal moves for knocking out foes rather than outright killing them, and a mix of stealth and action-centric sequences.

6 Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King

Metascore: 77

• Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King is a compilation of retro games.
• It features the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis ports of the Aladdin side-scrollers.
• The vibrant, colorful depiction of India from the movie is retained in these as well.

This one is a bit of a cheat, as the Aladdin side-scroller video games of the nineties are obviously based on the Disney movie, which is also set in India. Regardless, anyone who enjoys old-school titles of the nineties may very well enjoy a more colorful, vibrant, and cartoon depiction of the setting that is prevalent in the bundle of games on offer here.

Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King contains multiple console versions of the Aladdin games, albeit with modern visual tweaks and bug fixes. Otherwise, it offers some entertaining platforming experience for kids and grown-ups who grew up playing these alike. The smooth animations and appealing visuals are sure to please, too.

7 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Metascore: 92

• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is an action-adventure title from 2003.
• The titular prince can reverse or speed up time with an enchanted dagger.
• Its art style, level design, and visuals are all strong points.

An unnamed member of royalty must bring peace back to his native land, and to do so, he’ll need the power of an ancient dagger that offers its user the ability to manipulate time. This ability, paired with the game’s tight platforming, solid controls, and engaging combat, has cemented Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time as a bit of a classic from days gone by.

While its remake remains in limbo, the original game remains on sale. India still looks wonderful in this game, which showcases some stellar graphics and set-pieces for the time. It’s quite an achievement since it came out all the way back in 2003.

Special Mention: Far Cry 4

Metascore: 85

• Far Cry 4 is set in a fictional location near the Himalayas.
• The visuals and set pieces hold up well after almost a decade.
• There are plenty of things to do, whether helping its inhabitants or hindering the land for personal profits.

While Kryat is a fictional location, it is indeed located near the Himalayas in-game. With it comes some truly breathtaking sights to enjoy. Far Cry 4 may be nearly a decade old by this point, yet it still looks beautiful and is brimming with detail.

Arriving amidst a bloody civil war, players will find themselves clearing out enemy outposts, hunting for items to use for crafting, and shady deeds galore if they choose to do so. There’s always a job to do and bad guys to shoot in this open-world first-person shooter, which has pleased critics and fans alike ever since its release.

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