Jotun: Valhalla Edition

All in all, I give Jotun a solid 3.5 even though it has quite some flaws. I'm a sucker for games with hand-drawn arts :P Pros: - Stunning Visuals - Good Soundtrack - Nice Boss Stages - Nice tidbits about Norse mithology Cons: - Lacking story - Poor character development (we barely know Thora the whole game) - Regular stages feel like a chore most of the times - Clunky combat controls

I really, really wanted to like this game. I love Norse mythology. I try to support indie studios whenever I can. I love games with hand drawn animations. I love games that aren't just running around shooting and blowing stuff up. And I LOVE games with stories. But although Jotun can click off all these checkboxes, it just sucks. There's no manual for the game, which is not uncommon, but most games that don't provide a manual do provide an optional tutorial level. Not Jotun. It drops you into the game with no context and no explanation. Yes, there's a very short cutscene at the beginning of the game, but unless I'd read reviews, I would've had no idea the goal of the game was to redeem Thora by defeating the Jotun's (or big bosses). God Powers are absolutely critical to defeating the bosses. No explanation is given. Just trial and error. The camera is awful in this game. User has absolutely no control of the camera, and 99% of the time the developers have it zoomed in super close to Thora. And since they reused the same trees, plants, and other elements over and over, it all looks very much the same. So, the results are (a) it's easy to lose your bearings and get turned around, (b) you often walk into hazards because you don't have a decent field-of-vision, and (c) when you do run into trouble you have great difficulty figuring out where in the hell is the path you used to get here in the first place. Thora's attacks are pitifully slow, especially the strong attack. Wouldn't be a problem is she was nimble, but she isn't. Yes, she can do a roll, but she doesn't roll very far, and there's a slight delay before you can roll again. Which usually means you're going to take damage as you're trying to roll away to get out of trouble. And Thora isn't very tough. Even weak opponents like tentacles that pop out of the ground do an inordinate amount of damage, and the bosses do an insane amount of damage. So, expect to be replaying the same sections over and over again.

It's a beautifully drawn 2d action indie game with minimalist mechanics and a moody, introspective story. You explore a world of different environments with little going on in them other than typically one environmental puzzle per region. You have to figure out what you're even doing. Then, once you do, you fight a boss, and then die because you don't know how the boss fight works, try again and succeed, because once you figure out the trick to them, they're not especially challenging, rinse and repeat. Is it terrible? No. Is it great? No. Some of these moody, beautifully drawn 2d games are really great, some of my favorites. But this is... acceptable. I'd give it three stars except as I played, I found myself not caring. I play more because it's easy to do in bitesize chunks, but I find my mind wandering to other things I could be playing. It's also quite short. I wouldn't buy it for more than $5. But if you like small, bite-size indie games that are nice to look at, you could do worse.

The people who made this game did their research well. You can learn so much from the Viking culture's view of the world and myths. The game's graphics are sharp and well done. Everything is clean and of epic proportions. There could be more power-ups, more moves for the character and the game could be longer. Just by playing a few hours for three days straight I finished the game already. I know it has a Valhalla option that makes the game more challenging. I'm the kind of person that requires a certain level of challenge but not an almost impossible one. I enjoy more the storyline, gameplay and game length than a more challenging version of the same game. I probably won't be playing the Valhalla option of the game. I liked this game. Very entertaining and somewhat challenging.

Jotun is not a game for everybody. To those players it will appeal to, they will find a wonderful gaming experience. The animation is top-notch, the music is fantastic, the game's story is excellent, the Norse Mythology theming is phenomenal, and the voice work is superb. This is a beautiful game that definitely furthers the concept that video games are an art form. With all of those positive aspects mentioned, where the game may not find reasonance with players is it's actual gameplay. The gameplay is reminiscent of Shadow of the Colossus (SOTC). For a game that is billed as part of the action genre, there is not a whole lot of action. Like SOTC, the bosses are the main show. With the exception of one level, you will not fight any enemies until you faces the bosses, the titular Jotuns. The bosses are fantastic. They are huge spectacles that are wonderfully animated, and provide a tough challenge. After beating the game, you can play the Valhalla Mode which is a boss rush with tougher versions of the Jotuns. As a fan of difficult boss rushes like Cuphead, this is highly appealing to me. The bosses are pretty much all of the action though. Even with the aforementioned level that has some fighting in it, even that level is still low on action. This game is more about exploration and enjoying the excellent environment that the game provides. If a game that is about 85% exploration of a beautifully done hand-crafted world, with a smattering of intense boss fights thrown in here and there is appealing to you, then Jotun will be right up your alley. If you want your action games to be action all the way through, and a heavy focus on non-combat exploration does not appeal to you, then steer far away from Jotun.