Jotun first appeared as a game on Steam a year ago, and now comes to consoles as the Valhalla Edition, which includes an extra boss rush mode that's even trickier than the normal game. The game starts with the death of your character Thora, who drowns when her ship sinks. As this is not the glorious death befitting of a Viking warrior, she is given a second chance to prove herself to the gods and take her place in Valhalla. Its your job to guide Thora through the different realms of her Norse Purgatory, and defeat the various beasts, known as Jotun (pronounced Yo-tun).
The first thing that will strike you is the stunning graphics. The beautiful hand drawn, frame by frame animation is a real feast for the eyes and is complemented by the atmospheric soundtrack. What also helps draw you into the the Norse world is the fact that the entire narration is entirely in Icelandic, but don't panic, there are subtitles!
The game eases you in by putting you into the forested region of Jotunheim, which you need to explore and learn the basics of the game. Thora's only weapon is her huge battleaxe, and you have a basic slashing move which should take care of the odd minion and an overhead power hit which although being incredibly slow is something you'll rely on in those later boss battles. You also have a little speed boost that you can use to get yourself out of the odd bit of trouble. That's it with the moves but this simplicity means it feels fluid and instinctive controlling the character allowing you to concentrate on the battles and not having to remember any complicated button combinations. To get through each level you need to explore and find large runes that you stand on to activate their power. Once you have done that you can then go up against the level boss, and be warned these guys are absolutely huge compared to Thora. The first you will fight is Jera, who won't be overly difficult to beat, but be warned, this is your entry level and things will get more difficult from now on.
Once defeating Jera you move through to Ginnungagap, or The Void, which is basically a central hub from which you can go to the various realms in any order of your choosing. The realms themselves are very diverse in appearance, which gives each level its own unique character. You will find yourself wandering the clouds, going up giant trees, trudging through the harsh arctic tundra, exploring underground ruins or using rafts to traverse a volcanic swamp for example. When you find the runes that unlock the boss battles, you may get given a power-up you can store to use in the heat of battle, and ones I found useful was the ability to create a distraction and divert your opponents attention to an area away from you allowing you to attack from behind, or the ability to restore some of your life force when you are at deaths door. As well as that there is the odd spring to be found where you can go to regenerate your life force, and golden apples which will extend the length of the life bar. All useful things, so its advisable to explore the various realms and make Thora more powerful before even attempting to come up against the dreaded bosses.
While wandering through the different levels you'll have to overcome the either the odd minions or battle the elements, but the real meat of the games are the boss levels. Be prepared to die. A lot. I felt like Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow in that the only way to defeat the boss is to die, learn from it and get a bit further next time. You cant go blindly in swinging an axe, its all about recognising the pattern and identifying the weaknesses. It became a bit too frustrating for me though and when I defeated a boss I think I had more a sense of relief than the sense of triumph that the games creators want you to feel.
On the whole the game feels quite sedate and methodical with certainly more emphasis on puzzle solving than frenetic fighting and the sluggishness of your character's movement fits in with the pace of the game but can add to the frustration when trying to defeat the much more powerful bosses. The fantastic look makes Jotun worth checking out but I feel its one of those games you're unlikely to go back to for a second run through once you've completed it.
A big thank you goes to Thunder Lotus Games for supplying us with a review copy
Game: Jotun: Valhalla Edition
Developers: Thunder Lotus Games
Genre: Puzzle/Action
Price: £11.99
