Olija

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Pure Playstation
    Apr 28, 2021
    70
    Olija delivers a simple and easy hack and slash platforming experience. There is a severe lack of context at relevant times which serves only to take away from the immersion. All in all, Olija works well as a filler title between bigger games and when in need of “video-game junk food” and is easy to jump in and play.
  2. We Got This Covered
    Feb 9, 2021
    70
    Olija may fail to make as big of a splash as its influences, but it's a worthwhile adventure with a palpable atmosphere.
  3. Eurogamer Italy
    Jan 28, 2021
    70
    Quotation forthcoming.
  5. IGN
    Jan 28, 2021
    70
    Olija is a short-lived odyssey, and it would’ve been great if there were additional difficulties or any sort of incentive to replay its brief, four-hour campaign. But as a bite-sized 2D action adventure, it leaves a very strong impression thanks to a magical harpoon that makes fighting, moving, and discovering secrets especially rewarding. Its combat in particular packs a surprising amount of depth and flexibility, even if its enemies and bosses never really stepped up and demanded that I engage with that depth to defeat them. Much like Faraday himself, I don’t see myself ever returning to Olija’s mysterious world, but it’s an adventure I won’t soon forget.
  6. Push Square
    Jan 28, 2021
    70
    When you're not spearing baddies, there are many things to discover: keys to unlock new areas, map pieces that open up the world, and your old crewmates in need of rescue. As you progress, a safe hub will grow, and you can put money into things like an alchemist that offers health upgrades, a sailor you can pay to go and find treasure, and more. Visually, Olija might not look like much, but you'd be surprised how atmospheric it is. A handful of bugs aside, this is an intriguing adventure worth taking.
  7. Gamer.nl
    Feb 12, 2021
    60
    Olija's main mechanism works great, but then fails in performance. Levels rarely excite the player with interesting variations and complex level design, which makes the game disappointing as a platformer.

Awards & Rankings

28
#28 Best PS4 Game of 2021

User Reviews

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User Score
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No user score yet- Awaiting 1 more rating

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. onemorelevel_1
    Feb 3, 2021
    8
    A LEGENDARY HARPOON:
    Olija seemed to be very ominous game at first. It got minimal pixelated visuals, but rich gameplay and movie-like sound    A LEGENDARY HARPOON:
    Olija seemed to be very ominous game at first. It got minimal pixelated visuals, but rich gameplay and movie-like sound design. Its melancholic vibe reminded me of a recent game I played Inmost. I love Japan and its mythological history and folktales, and Olija seems to dive into that realm. I knew where I was getting myself into, when I saw some early gameplay footage of it; fast-paced action, lots of gore, lore and the odd, gloomy atmosphere. I played this fully on PS5 console.

    GAMEPLAY, CONTROLS, GRAPHICS, WEAPONS AND SOUND:
    The game starts strongly; with a shipwreck and a man Lord Faraday, who gets stuck into a mysterious place called Terraphage. I found other castaways, a legendary harpoon and an actual place, that I could build up as I went on a journey. Everytime I got back from caves and dungeons, the place was more full of survivors I rescued along the way.

    Olija is almost linear, mixed with some RPG elements, as I could buy health upgrades and craft various hats from materials, that gave extra protection or extra moves. I like the options and, obviously, I used all the help I could get. The game hides lots of secrets out of the boundary and I liked the satisfaction after trusting my guts and finding secret areas and items.

    With my main weapon, a legendary harpoon, I also got new alternative weapons, as I progressed in the game. Unfortunately, I found it tedious and slow to change the alt-weapons. The gameplay is fast-paced and my inputs always felt too slow. Also the controls could need some tweaking, for example, adding secondary button for the alt-weapon, to scroll them to opposite direction. Definitely these little details were the biggest problem in Olija, everything else was just so enjoyable.

    The detailed sound effects of enemies getting cut in pieces to enviromental audio was well-thought-out. What comes to the visuals and pixelated graphics. At times, I had to stand up and back away from my TV screen, to really see the whole picture clearly. It was rather diffcult to play on TV screen (55″), when so much was happening and all the pixels were so big.

    THE LAST WORDS:
    Olija is beautiful, enjoyable and rare game, but the controls might need some fine-tuning. I enjoyed those insane fight scenes, puzzles I had to solve, the storytelling and dungeon bosses. I’m sure every hack&slash gamers will enjoy this. I did too, and I don’t usually play this type of games.

    Olija is a great game, not too long, not too short, about 4 hours. I do recommend this, but if you still hesitate to buy it, there’s a free demo on Steam.    … Full Review »
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