Jotun: For Those Who Loved Shadow of the Colossus

Platform(s): Windows

Developer(s): Thunder Lotus Games

Release Date: September, 2015

Jotun (usually pronounced yo-tun) is an action-exploration game where you play as Thora, a female Viking. She has been damned in a purgatory like world where she must collect runes and defeat great beings of might called jotuns. In Norse mythology, jotuns are a race of giants, with incredible powers, so this game was inspired by Norse mythology. Thora was once an inhabitant of Valhalla but lost a decisive battle and was forced out, now she must prove herself to the gods by being victorious in battle with all the beastly beings, only then can she return to Valhalla, her home.

First of all, the game is a sight for the eyes. The hand drawn sprites are absolutely amazing, and the animation is the icing on the cake. The backgrounds are grandiose and well detailed. Sometimes, the game zooms the camera out, just to show you the awe-inspiring environment.

The actual gameplay is serene until you encounter the monstrous beings. There are no enemies except the jotuns, and they are located in different parts of the world. This is similar to Shadow of the Colossus, where you only have to defeat bosses. Besides battling them, the game is a mixture of exploration and puzzles. You start the game in a hub world from which you go to different regions to find runes.

Collecting two runes gives you the chance to fight a jotun, and there are a total of 5 jotuns. Each of them is based on a specific element and have specialized battlegrounds. All of them have a weak point which you need to figure out through trial and error. 

Thora starts off with an axe, she can slash stuff using a weak or strong attack, and can also do a dodge roll. As you embark on your journey, you'll come across mysterious objects, and shrines that rejuvenate your health or grant you new powers.

The soundtrack is mostly a mixture of ambient and trance music during exploration, which goes well with the atmosphere. During fights, the music bumps up and it gets a little more exciting.

Jotun was a crowd-funded project on Kickstarter. It was successful and raised the required amount. Currently, the game is in beta, although the exact release date has not been mentioned by the developers, they confirmed that they will release it sometime in September.

If you're looking for a graceful and quiet experience, keep an eye out for Jotun. This is not a game for those who crave action but for those who like to explore and experience the journey.

Website:http://jotungame.com/