Samuel Adoga Builds 20-Level Mobile Game to Bring Nigerian Heritage to Wider Audiences

Nigerian game developer Samuel Adoga has built a 20-level mobile game that uses Yoruba mythology to bring Nigerian heritage into a form people can experience on their phones.

The game, Sango: The Thunder God, places Ṣàngó, the Yoruba figure associated with thunder, at the centre of an action-driven story. Players move through four worlds and face four boss fights, with the main story offering about five to six hours of gameplay.

The project reflects a broader conversation around how Nigerian stories can remain visible in a digital entertainment landscape where players are regularly exposed to mythology and historical figures from other parts of the world.

“Nigeria has some of the richest stories in the world, and our children are growing up playing everyone else’s,” Samuel said. “Every child in this country can name a Greek god or a Norse one from a game or a film. Very few can tell you who Ṣàngó was, or what the òṣé in his hand means.”

According to Samuel, that concern shaped how Nigerian heritage was incorporated into the game. Players can discover 32 scroll cards containing information about Ṣàngó and the Yoruba world, with the sources identified on each card.

The references include Samuel Johnson’s The History of the Yorubas, UNESCO’s inscription of the Ṣàngó Festival of Ọ̀yọ́ and collections held by the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian.

The cultural references also extend to Ṣàngó’s weapon. The òṣé Ṣàngó shown in the game is based on the twin-bladed carved wooden axes held in museum collections, while an in-game gallery presents 11 museum artefacts. Yoruba names and expressions are written with the appropriate letters and markings.

Samuel incorporated those details into the gameplay so the cultural material could remain part of the experience rather than appear as a separate lesson.

“If we are going to put our heritage in a game, we have to get it right,” Samuel said. “That means citing sources, spelling names properly, and being honest about what is history, what is tradition and what is fiction. Our cultural heritage is rich and vast. And we will bring this to the world one story at a time.”

The current version grew from a smaller mobile runner Samuel first introduced in 2018. He later rebuilt the project with a new storyline, combat system, artwork and levels.

Samuel designed, programmed and directed the new version through Xiden Games, his independent studio based in Abuja, using the open-source Godot 4 engine.

While the game draws from Yoruba heritage, its fictional elements are kept separate from the sourced cultural material. The villains are original creations, and no òrìṣà is presented as a demon.

The project also shows how gaming can provide another channel for Nigerian cultural stories to reach players within and outside the country.

Samuel plans to extend the approach to other Nigerian cultures through future titles, including Ikenga: Unbroken, Amina: Dauntless and Gods of Our Land. No release dates have been announced. According to him, expanding the series would require support from institutions and organisations interested in Nigerian culture and gaming.

“I am asking brands, cultural institutions, state ministries of culture and tourism, universities, schools and investors who believe in this to reach out,” Samuel said. “Every download and every share tells the world there is an audience for our own stories.”

While Samuel is seeking support to take the cultural series further, the current game already extends beyond its main story. Sango: The Thunder God includes an endless Survival mode with daily, weekly and all-time leaderboards, supports gamepads, works offline and includes accessibility options.

The game is available free on Google Play without in-app purchases, while an iOS version is projected for September 25.