While innovation often leads to some truly creative endeavors, there's something to be said for taking an established formula and doing it really well. That’s what Röki sets out to do: take the traditional elements of a point-and-click adventure title, and elevate the experience in impactful, meaningful ways. And the title by-and-large succeeds. You play as Tove, a young girl on a quest to rescue her brother, Lars, from the clutches of an evil god. The story dwells on many important themes and messages, like family, letting go, and loving oneself, flaws and all.
Mechanically, you’ve definitely played this title before. You collect a variety of items and must interact with all manner of environmental facets trying to pair the correct tools with the correct objects. It’s all rather straightforward, though it never strays into the territory of solutions so obtuse no sane person could possibly figure it out like point-and-clicks of yore. Some more interesting mechanics are introduced as you progress through the title, like having to hop between two characters to add that extra little bit to the experience. It’s only present in the game’s final area though; an environment that overstays its welcome and doesn’t pack quite as much punch as everything that comes before it.
The real star of the game is the environment design. This game is beautiful. Its adherence to both Norse architecture – an incredible Stave Church being the standout – as well as accurate depictions of creatures from Norse mythology –such as trolls – complement one another, presenting a lovingly crafted world. Tove's character and her brother leave a bit to be desired, however.
With a compact, but dense world to navigate – most of the game takes place in one sprawling interconnected area – you’ll learn your way around in no time. This is aided by the game’s clever fast travel system, which cuts down on pointless back and forth greatly.
Comments 4
This looks/sounds amazing!
This won the Best Narrative award so it must be pretty good. Nice review.
Sounds right up my alley. Looking forward to playing it at some point.
I'm about half way through and I love it. It looks beautiful and is a great chill out game with real meaning.
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