Not long before starting Jotun i had just finished reading Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology, which is pretty ironic seeing how close the tales in the book and in this game intertwine. Long story short, i was pretty immersed from the get go when i started playing.

And immersion was there definitely, while the story is barebone the themes are deep and rich. All of which is supported by pretty and unique art and animation (i might debate that the animation has something to do with the gameplay issues). But.. a pretty and worthy canvas doesn’t make it comfortable to play.

For a game that essentially is a “boss rush”, the gameplay mechanics are so…. sluggish. Thora is heavy, slow and incredibly limited in movements and abilities. Compare this to Hollow Knight, Bloodborne and the likes and this lags far behind, unfortunately. The fights just aren’t terribly enjoyable 🙁
The game is divided in 5 bosses (+a final one), and to unlock each boss you need to go through 2 sub levels to collect runes. Level designs varied quite a lot and didn’t always feel balanced unfortunately, some were definitely more enjoyable than others.

Conclusion: If Norse mythology is your thing, Jotun is absolutely worth the curiosity (it’s also quite short). It does tip toe on the epic and offers a wonderful canvas to look into. But as a game, it didn’t feel particularly ‘fun’ to play in my opinion.