Jotun is a gorgeous game. I mean honestly, just look at it; generously swathed in hand-drawn animated backgrounds and characters, Jotun evokes its mythological Norse setting with aplomb. Though beneath its accomplished visual spectacle lies a top-down action adventure that once owes a debt to the likes of the Legend of Zelda as much as it does more recent offerings such as FROM Software’s Dark Souls.
Play as a brave Viking
Cast as Thora, a brave Viking who after suffering an ignoble death is given a second chance to impress the gods and take her place in Valhalla, players must travel to each of the Norse realms to conquer the challenges and titans that lay within in order to fulfil the young warrior maiden’s destiny.
Although Jotun does assuredly borrow from the top-down action adventures of old, it’s structure is markedly different. Each of the realms that the player will travel to are themed around the deity that they represent, and it’s these different themes which really lend every world in Jotun a real sense of identity. This uniqueness plays out in real terms too, since each world also boasts its own puzzles and specific elements which must be overcome, rather than a set of uniform game mechanics that remain the same from beginning to end.
Whether you’re dealing with ferocious snow storms that must be weathered, taking on an army of crazed, rock-lobbing Dwarves, or evading a screen-filling sea creature that bursts through ice glaciers in an attempt to feast on Thora, each and every world feels fresh and the challenges feel equally so by proxy. Certainly, without these elements, each level would arguably feel far less eventful than it currently does; though the easily digestible duration of each world ensures that any sense of boredom is unable to set in before you are able progress onto the next area.
There are certain rules in place that govern progression in Jotun however, since before Thora can tangle with the titan that rules each area, the requisite number of runes must be collected from other locations within that domain. Away from the pursuit of these runes, each of the areas in Jotun’s realms encourage exploration on the part of the player as health-boosting magical fruit can be discovered as well as, more crucially, a range of godly powers such as Freya’s speed, or Loki’s ability to create an explosive decoy that can buy you precious seconds to escape from a group of enemies.
Stunning art direction
Clearly the stars of the show though, are the titan bosses that make up Jotun’s dastardly cast of villains. A group of gargantuan, screen-filling marvels, their unearthly stature is emphasised by the fact that the camera pans out so far that Thora becomes almost a speck when stood in their vicinity. They’re a beautifully realised lot too, with Don Bluth style art direction being underpinned by some superbly extravagant flourishes of animation, these towering fiends are as much fun to watch as they are to fight against.
Not just wonderfully realised from a visual standpoint, the bosses in Jotun do that great thing which all videogame bosses do where they force the player to call upon their knowledge of the mechanics of that particular section, rather than introducing something totally new and jarring. Jera, the sprawling and grotesque boss of the Nature realm for example, uses toxins that can choke Thora, but so long as she stays in the vicinity of cleansing purple flowers, the poison will not affect her; a trick that the game teaches the player prior to the encounter with the earthly titan.
In addition, each of these boss fights are multi-phase affairs too, with the declining health bar of each boss triggering additional powers and abilities that challenge the player further, and in a manner similar to Dark Souls, these boss fights never feel unfair, which naturally makes the inevitable initial defeat far less frustrating than it would otherwise be. Vanquishing each of these foes also serves a further purpose too; since with each fallen titan, a piece of Thora’s backstory is revealed, that while not quite a stellar tale on its own merits, nonetheless succeeds in cementing the brilliantly realised Norse atmosphere yet further.
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Over too quickly
As resplendent as Jotun undoubtedly is in many respects, the Thunder Lotus Games product certainly has a few chinks in its armour. At its core, the combat in Jotun veers far too much toward simplicity, with Thora only ever using an axe and boasting a couple of different strikes and a typical rolling evasion move. Of course, the various collectible powers the brilliantly conceived boss encounters both help to conceal this shallowness to some extent, but there’s no denying that the combat side of things feels slight at best.
Elsewhere, Jotun does little to tempt players back to its story campaign. Indeed, outside of scouring each realm for missed health boosting collectibles, there is little to encourage players to return to Jotun’s lushly realised and modestly sized realms, which is a shame because the potential for a more sprawling, generous game is clearly there. As it is, most folk will blaze through the Jotun’s four to five hour campaign with ease.
One other niggle is how tricky navigation can be in Jotun. Without any way to zoom the camera out to get a better idea of your surroundings, navigating Thora through Jotun’s different worlds proves to be an unnecessarily challenging endeavour. A large part of this is down to the fact that the in-game map doesn’t actually show the current location of the player, and instead forces them to rely upon abstract symbols as landmarks in order to try and keep themselves orientated. While I get the fact that the developer was going for something a little different and more thoughtful here, it nonetheless feels like a misfire as it frustrates more than it reliably informs the player.
In case you’re wondering what the Valhalla bit means in the Jotun’s title, it pertains to a new boss rush game type called ‘Valhalla Mode’ which has been included in this version of the game, allowing players to test their mettle against stronger versions of Jotun’s bosses. It’s a nice feature to have in all honesty as it neatly taps into Jotun’s greatest strength; it’s bombastic boss fights, though it’s just a shame that there isn’t a wider selection of modes and additional content beyond this.
The sheer amount of promise in Jotun is clear. From the visuals, to the great boss fights and the bespoke design of each of the world, it all indicates the burgeoning talents of a developer who could do much more; a prospect that potential future instalments could conceivably realise so long as Thunder Lotus Games pairs the calibre of their artistic craft with the ambition to match.
In Summary
A lovely surprise, digging beneath Jotun’s beautifully realised Norse veneer reveals an effort that combines the likes of The Legend of Zelda and, dare I say it, Dark Souls, to grand effect. Though brief in length and modest in scope, Jotun nonetheless sets the blueprint for what could be an eye-opening series of games should developer Thunder Lotus Games press onward with the series.