Jotun Impress the Gods

What a beautiful game. The art is all hand drawn and is complemented extremely well with the music and narration.

Strangely the game is more focussed on exploration and discovery than combat, and you rarely have to fight lots of enemies, except for during boss fight. Boss fights which are grand and large, along with being very difficult. The Giants do not go down easily, and their mechanics get more complex as you continue your adventure. The same can be said for the puzzles during exploration. This is where you'll spend the majority of your time. Exploring the new lands, and searching for the Seals to unlock the chambers for the giants. During this you can find golden apples that increase your health, and shrines to the gods. Here you'll be granted a special ability, and finding similar shrines means you get an extra charge of said power. Along with these are the ones dedicated to Mimir, which will replenish your health and powers. Don't waste these willinilly, as they can only be used once. Combat is the main problem for me. Despite your character being a seasoned warrior and leader of her village; she's very slow and cumbersome. Especially with her broadaxe. Basic swings do little damage and you mainly need to use your heavy attack to damage a giant. This however is the slow part, she lifts the axe and then you have to wait a bit for it to glint, then you can strike. This pause slows the combat flow, and is usually the time when you'll get hit, swatted, smashed, or the giant simply mouse out of your attack area. It can be rather frustrating at times. Even so the battles are very exciting as you know a simple mistake means you die. You're just a little mortal trying to prove your worth and impress the gods after all. The powers of the giants range quite a bit, from spawning thorny tendrils, to creating dwarves straight from the earth. For some the game might seem rather short, there aren't many giants. Although I think the meat of the game is the beautiful world, exploration and puzzles with the giant battles thrown in for fun. I've certainly been enjoying it, and I'm sure many others will as well.