Many gamers and game enthusiasts are on the edge of gaming news, looking out for exciting new releases. Whether it’s from an indie developer, or a large multi-million-dollar gaming studio, a new game is the promise of new opportunity, new story, a new favorite, a new experience. Other gamers choose to master select games, pouring time and money into MMO’s, mastering MOBAs, or Battle Royales. A headset to communicate, multiple screens to maximize their visual range. They dish out dollars for the next best console, the newest graphics card, the shiny AAA title that promises fun, escape, and a welcome distraction from the stresses of life.
Unless your broke.
New generally comes with a hefty price tag, and expertise with a plethora of time. What about those gamers who don’t have the cash on hand for new, or are unwilling to invest their time and money without knowing if it’s worth it? Not everyone is flush with time and money, and that’s where Broke Boy Gaming Reviews come in. This series will investigate games on active sale, or on free offer, share tips, tricks and sites for maximizing the gaming investment. It will focus on the free-to-play, temporary free offers, deep sales, and the cheapest of the dirt cheap games to see if they’re worth the time and money. We rate these games in two separate criteria: Broke ratings, and the game itself.
For our Broke Rating we’ll be looking at how viable the game is in terms of purchase price, replay value, average playtime, pay-to-win issues, microtransactions, hardware requirements and optional extras. For the Game Rating, we’ll be looking at it’s overall design, storytelling, experience, and mechanics, without really looking too hard at things like graphics. The easier to run, the better for broke gamers.
On the menu today: Jotun: Valhalla Edition.
One of the three games on offer until May 19th on the Epic Games Store, Jotun: Valhalla Edition is a single player exploration, action, and I’d add puzzle game that takes place in the realm of Norse mythology. Since Norse mythology is a passion of mine, it was the obvious first pick of the selections. You play as Thora, a warrior who in death, has to prove her mettle in the battle in order to earn her place in Valhalla. I was pleasantly surprised to learn the lead in this game was female, given how grizzled male Vikings tends to be the norm, and the cover art on the Epic store didn’t make her femininity obvious.
The first thing that really stood out to me about Jotun was the sheer atmosphere. The art style is simplistic, but beautiful and effective, not to mention hand draw. There was obvious artistry and care that went into the creation the world, and especially the jotun antagonists. Each jotun is monstrous and unique in its own way, making them intimidating to first come upon. The narration is in Icelandic, a charming detail which further drew me into the world of Thora and her fight for glory and recognition. There are only two narrative voices, the female voicing Thora and a male voice urging her forward. I am not a native Icelandic speaker, but the tone of the words wasn’t lost on me, despite needing to read their English meaning. As Thora moves through the different levels, the player learns more about her story, and Norse mythology. For those who couldn’t care less about it, it doesn’t impede your game play at all, mostly being exposition provided by Thora, praising the gods she loves and in the same stroke, telling us who they are and what they mean to her. Then there is the music, which brings the world and action in it to a new level. Drums and horns hark to the Viking influences, and interactions in the world and during boss fights are timed to musical ques. Whether etherical or intense and battle focused, the music really holds its own, and is a soundtrack I’ve added to my personal collection. The boss themes are a favorite.
These are not easy boss challenges either. The fights are brutal, and punish heavily for mistakes. Part of the challenge is that much is left for the player to discover. Mechanics are not obviously spelled out, and a recognition of move tells, and how to deal with spells or abilities, is found through experimentation, and repetition. The lack of a giant glowing weak spot begging to be exploited was extremely refreshing. Excellent use of movement and a knowledge of move ques is required for victory. What mechanics there are for the player to discover are clever, but not so hard to figure out you’ll miss them if you’re paying attention. The powers gained throughout the game via the God alters are not necessary in any fight either. Your handy axe and Thora’s basic move set will carry you through the game with persistence, and patience. They are not impossible fights, but they are a worthy struggle, which suits Thora’s story perfectly. Each victory feels well earned, and hard fought. In between the boss fights are levels of puzzles, minor enemies and the search for the runes, power ups, and abilities dusted throughout the levels.
The gameplay itself is simple and easy to learn. You hack, you hack really hard, you dodge, move, and use your God-granted powers. It doesn’t hand hold you as you fight enemies, or search out runes, leaving you to figure out what a puzzle is asking of you. My experience reflected that there were enough visual clues to lead players in intended directions, without outright forcing them. All the boss fights I experienced were a fun and sometimes frustrating battle of persistence as I inched closer to victory with every attempt. Thora’s story is interesting, without being overcomplicated. It carries you into, and through the story without forcing itself center stage. You lived, you died, and now you fight to prove your mettle, and impress the gods. I found myself pushing eagerly into new levels and new fights, puzzling out how to handle fights and get where I was going with a sense of light-hearted determination. This is a game I plan to finish in my off-time, for the joy of it, and I think that’s praise enough for the game itself. It was a very fun an immersive experience.
There are some downsides to the game, one being that its short. Jotun’s average finish time is about five hours for those who want to run through the main game, and about seven for those of us who, like me, need to find every secret and collect every power up. Thora’s walk speed can be a mild annoyance when back-tracking cleared levels, or in dealing with some boss mechanics, and the hit boxes of the jotun are a little wonky at times. None of these is enough to really derail the game. As a word of warning though, the dodge roll does not have invulnerability frames, use it to move out of mechanic ranges, not to stay in them. There isn’t much replay value if Jotun either, the new Valhalla Edition adds a new level of difficulty to challenge the particularly masochistic, but outside of self-imposed, no god power or no hit challenge runs, it’s a one and done story. There is no official DLC to buy, and the only additional purchase I looked at was for the soundtrack which, while worth it, you can also access on Spotify, or Youtube.
On the Broke Boy scale, its so worth it for a free game, certainly pick it up while it still is free, but the lack of a real replay value lowers its rating just a bit. Accessibility wise, Jotun: Valhalla Edition has very low system requirements, so it will run well on most computers. While I played on PC, it is also available on all major consoles. It’s single-player so no microtransactions, no pay to win, and no multiplayer annoyances.
All Ratings are my personal opinions given arbitrary numbers based on my experiences with the game.
Game: 8/10 – A good game with a sense of wonder and achievement. Atmospheric and immersive, with a bit of a difficulty surprise and some small annoyances.
Broke Rating: 9/10 – Get it while its free or on sale and enjoy the journey. It only lacks for a reason to play it again.
Jotun: Valhalla Edition is available for free on the Epic Game Store until May 19th 2022. Reading this in the past and lamenting the missed chance? Take a look for deals on Jotun: Valhalla Edition on isthereanydeal.com.
Author Profile
- Jericho Moore is a level 5 Rogue, and three level 2 Warlocks in a trench coat. He's a completionist gamer, with an enthusiasm for storytelling, tabletop and challenging fights. Frequently found hiding in his hermit hovel with a hoard of coffee and opinions.
