Is a 2024 Indian animated film guilty of borrowing—or blatantly copying—a scene from the 2018 blockbuster God of War? The evidence is startling, and it’s sparking a heated debate. Let’s dive into the details and let you decide for yourself.
The film in question is Mahavatar Narasimha, rumored to be the first installment in an ambitious seven-part animated Mahavatar Cinematic Universe. Honestly, I hadn’t heard of it until this morning, when a post from a well-known PlayStation fan account, Black Thunder, popped up on my social media feed. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Sony Santa Monica paid homage to them with an Easter egg in God of War Ragnarök—Black Thunder is the name of the pub within Asgard’s walls.
But here’s where it gets controversial: Black Thunder shared a side-by-side comparison of Kratos’s iconic first encounter with Baldur in God of War and a strikingly similar action sequence from Mahavatar Narasimha. The resemblance isn’t subtle—it’s almost frame-for-frame. In both scenes, a character is hurled through the air in a way that feels eerily familiar. And it doesn’t stop there: a character in the Indian film pulls up an entire tree to use as a weapon, mirroring Baldur’s move in the game. The clip is only 20 seconds long, but it’s enough to raise eyebrows.
And this is the part most people miss: While the visual similarities are undeniable, the question of inspiration versus plagiarism is murky. Is this a case of homage gone too far, or a deliberate attempt to replicate a beloved moment? You can watch the comparison below (embedded from X) and judge for yourself. Eurogamer has reached out to Sony for comment and will update if we hear back.
Meanwhile, God of War is making waves beyond the gaming world. Amazon announced a live-action TV adaptation back in December 2022, with showrunner Ronald D. Moore promising to stay faithful to the 2018 game’s tone, though it won’t be a shot-for-shot remake. Filming is reportedly set to begin in March of next year.
Here’s the burning question: Does Mahavatar Narasimha cross the line, or is this just a coincidence? And more importantly, where do we draw the line between inspiration and imitation in art? Let us know your thoughts in the comments—this is one debate that’s far from over.
