While there are powers you can obtain from the gods, these special moves are limited to a certain amount of uses before they expire. It doesn’t help that Thora’s move set is mostly limited to swinging her axe around. Since many of these battles rely on quick movements and precise timing, it’s frustrating to have the frame rate drop suddenly and cause damage that could be avoided. In the Jotun battles, it’s all too common for them to summon hordes of minions to assist them, and the weaker they get the more they call for help. If there’s a complaint to be had, it’s that the frame rate would sometimes dip noticeably when a lot of enemies were on screen at once. Jotun is a pretty game that the gods themselves would be pleased to behold. The story didn’t feel like it was forced down my’s throat. The mystery surrounding Thora’s circumstances, combined with a surprisingly tremendous narration creates a feeling of investment with the hero. Gorgeous backgrounds and character animations come together, and all kinds of references from the god of thunder to the tree of Yggdrasil are represented beautifully. The hand drawn art style combined with the game’s musical ambiance show a side of Asgard that I never knew I was missing. Lovers of Norse mythology, mysterious atmospheres, and beautiful aesthetics will fall in love with Jotun’s presentation. It’s rare for a video game to make me feel so accomplished, but the developers at Thunder Lotus display a mastery of the balance between challenge and reward throughout the handful of hours in Thora’s quest. Beating one boss made me want to press on and fight more Jotun to get that high once again. The feeling of conquering a boss through learned skill in this manner is one of the most rewarding moments I’ve had playing a video game in 2016. The frustration quickly wore off, however, once I experienced my first triumph over a slaughtered Jotun. In my first Jotun battle, I found myself swearing under my breath at each death, wondering if I could possibly continue after taking this sort of beating constantly. The Jotun will not fall easily, and players that aren’t used to the challenge of old school-styled games may quickly become frustrated at the difficulty on display here. The battles against the Jotun are one of the highlights of the game, with each battle requiring quick movement, smart tactics, and identification of attack patterns to conquer. The Jotun themselves are gigantic, easily dwarfing Thora in scale, and providing the player with the daunting task of slaying them. Given a second chance to prove her honor to the gods, Thora is tasked with downing the monstrous Jotun in order to earn their favor. The scenario has the player take control of Thora, a warrior who died a rather mundane death during a storm at sea.

Jotun valhalla edition yggdrasil