Review: Jotun
While browsing a number of games on sale one fateful day in Steam I came across Jotun. At the time it was only around $10, from the introduction video it gave me all the information I needed: It included vikings, Norse mythology, incredible artwork, and a set difficultly. I’ll let you watch the trailer for the game before I continue, so you know exactly what I am talking about in this review.
Plot
The story for Jotun is short and sweet. A female warrior by the name of Thora was traveling with her people across the sea when a storm caught her ship and she died by drowning. She refused to die such an inglorious death and is given the chance to prove herself to the gods for the right to enter Valhalla. Yes, this is a fucking awesome story. With every boss defeat she gives the player more of her background. I honestly wanted more story from Thora because I loved her character so much, however Jotun gives you exactly what you need to care about her and her end goal. The way they handled the plot is a style that I miss from many triple A titles who have convoluted story lines and lackluster twists. By the end of Jotun you’ll feel as though you as a player even earned the right to enter Valhalla.
Art
One of the first things I noticed about Jotun when I booted the game was how majestic it looked. Everything from the environment to the enemies is hand drawn and animated in a unique style that sets itself apart from a majority of games. I honestly believe that if they went to a 3D world it would have cheapened the experience. Every boss is more memorable than the last, all levels are incredible from an aesthetic stand point. There were times that I had to stop what I was doing to admire the world around me in multiple levels. This is a feeling I haven’t had in a game for a long time. On a side note, the entire game is dubbed in Icelandic and subbed in English which was a fantastic choice because it adds to the immersion tenfold.
Gameplay
After you boot up Jotun and appreciate the art style, the second thing you notice is how simple combat is. Thora, the main character, has three basic moves: Light, heavy and dodge. There is a satisfying aspect that the world around you does all it can to murder you and yet you overcome these obstacles using your a series of hit and run attacks. The health bar given to you in the beginning of the game is fair, it’s enough to take a few hits but short enough to die as punishment for not dodging in time. In every level there is both a new spell/spell enhancement and a Golden apple that increases your health bar slightly. Collecting every spell and health increase you can does help significantly however you can still beat the game without them and die horribly with them.
Skill is what this game demands and I respect it a great deal because of this. There is no difficulty setting, the game is just hard. Every boss I fought had to be repeated around 15 times before I defeated them. By the final fight I had every move the boss used memorized and their timing ingrained in my head. I cheered time and again every time I downed a boss because it made me feel like an actual gamer once again.
In Conclusion
Jotun was a breath of fresh air for me, it brought me back to a time where games did not cater to the player, the player had to accept the game for what it was and move forward. It demanded my very best and would not settle for anything less and although I shouted, cursed, walked away from my computer out of seething rage I came right back only moments later. This is a quality game that made me feel as though I earned the right to learn about Thora, see what new god was around the corner and ultimately enter Valhalla. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good challenge, can appreciate art and enjoys Norse mythology.
Jotun
Pros
- Norse Mythology
- Challenging
- Wonderful Art/Audio
- Fair Price
Cons
- A Bit Short
Chicano | Fighting/Writing for Diversity | DM since 08 | Anime Lover | Site: https://www.thegeeklyfe.com | info@thegeeklyfe.com | http://twitch.tv/that_deangelo | https://linktr.ee/deangelomurillo
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