Jotun: Valhalla Edition

A magical journey through norse mythology and worth a look, despite some small gameplay deficits.

Jotun is an epic adventure game that surprise for the colossal scope of its battles and beautiful art style.

Jotun: Valhalla Edition is a pretty unique experience with its blend of exploration and boss fights in a beautifully presented world.

Jotun is a short game, and good players can probably plow through it in about 3 or 4 hours, but even with the ending behind me, I find myself dying to witness some images again and wanting to try different strategies. I want to hear Thora tell her tale again. Any good bedtime story that makes you want to hear it again right after it’s over is one for the ages.

Jotun offers the exploration and storytelling of Bastion, and combines it with the epic battles of Shadow of the Colossus. What’s not to like?

Supremely easy on the eyes and simple to pick up and play, Jotun’s depiction of Norse mythology is flamboyantly atmospheric. Somewhat less up to the task however, is the longevity of the game itself which leaves you craving for more beyond the relatively meagre playtime that the game offers. All the same, Jotun: Valhalla Edition manages to secure its place in the pantheon of action adventures with verve and aplomb on account of it's superb boss fights and varied mystical realms.

Jotun is a great game for everything it does right, including its art and overall styling, but misses a lot of the key aspects that could make it a perfect journey to the halls of Valhalla.

Quotation forthcoming.

A nice adventure, as it was originally on its PC version. The new features on this Valhalla Edition are not worth the wait.

Jotun is a good game with an amazing art direction, a nice narrative and interesting boss battles, but it's partially ruined by the lack of rhythm during the exploration and the abuse of a boring backtracking. Keep an eye on it, and give your money to Thunder Lotus Games as soon as Jotun will go on sale.

Jotun: Valhalla Edition is a throwback to retro gaming in terms of both art style and gameplay. While the minimalist design manages to offer quite a bit of variety, the lack of combat and exploration options becomes evident rather quickly. Still, anyone interested in Norse mythology mixed with retro gaming and old-school art design will enjoy Thora's ascent into Valhalla.

The gorgeous scenery and animation combined with the amazing, authentic audio make its bosses something that should be hoarded like Fafnir's gold. Even though the gaps between bosses leave more to be desired with disappointing exploration, Thora's tale is one that manages to enter Valhalla's gates with an adequate amount of flying colours.

Jotun is a stylistically impressive and complete game with great Norse imagery, interesting boss fights and solid gameplay.

Considering the premise and the presentation, I sincerely expected more from Thora's Odyssey: the atmosphere might be there, the overall style might be fascinating and some ideas might be interesting, but that is not enough to truly impress the gods when the core gameplay is a bit lacking and never fully satisfying.

Jotun just falls short of receiving that higher recommendation. It’s enjoyable yet clearly inconsistent, despite its great use of setting and some terrific boss fights.

With a hand drawn art style which needs to be seen to be believed, Jotun plays an enjoyable game of killing Icelandic gods. Unfortunately the short playing time and lack of real replayability stop this game from reaching it’s full potential.

Those looking to explore a lore-filled world heavily inspired by Norse mythology and packed with gorgeous hand-drawn animations will be hard-pressed to find better. But with the limited scope for the interactive aspects of both the exploration and combat, Jotun never quite reaches the heights of Valhalla, instead providing a mediocre experience that inspires as often as it bores.