MAYA: The Birth of a Superhero

MAYA: The Birth of a Superhero is an interactive narrative adventure from Just Another Production Company, released under the publisher listing Just Another Production Company & France Télévisions. The piece is the work of Poulomi Basu, an artist and activist, with CJ Clarke as co-director and Indira Varma and Charithra Chandran in the cast. It is available on the Meta Horizon Store.

How it plays

Maya is an ordinary girl growing up in present-day London. Her first period turns her life upside down: she runs into the strict traditions of her conservative family and the shame, stigma and taboo that still surround menstruation in the city. To get through it she has to beat her own fear and shame, and the powers she gains as a female superhero come from menstruation itself.

As the player you go through that change with her, in a piece that mixes realistic scenes with magical ones. It grew out of Basu's art project 'Blood Speaks', which looks at women in South Asia being exiled during their periods and facing violence. Its themes are resilience, self-love and solidarity. In Sanskrit, the name Maya means magic and illusion.

The project was made with France Télévisions' Francetv Storylab and Meta's VR for Good program.

Comfort

Meta rates MAYA as moderate, meaning comfortable for some people. It supports seated, standing and room-scale play, and you can use controllers or hand tracking.

Platforms and what to know before buying

• Price: $5.99 on the Meta Horizon Store.
• Headsets: Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S, Meta Quest Pro and Meta Quest 2.
• Internet: not required.
• Ads: no in-app ads.
• Early access: no.
• Themes: the story deals with menstruation, family pressure, trauma and violence against women.
• Languages: English and French (France).
• Age rating: 7+.