This week I’ve been making progress in Jotun: Valhalla Edition. I’ve completed every level, and collected all the golden apples and skills. Now I just need to kill the Jotuns. After killing the first Jotun, I learned something new about this game and the story it intends to tell.
Exploring this world leads to some amazing images. As I said in my last article, a lot of the enjoyment from this game comes from the artwork itself, and it doesn’t fail to deliver.
One example of the good use of art is during a level where you have to avoid snowstorms. A strong snowstorm will pick up, and you will have to hide behind a rock to shield yourself from the gusts of snow and hail. The artwork here helps to indicate where you can hide.
But another thing happens when you hide from the snow. The camera zooms in, obscuring more of the level from view. It helps to show that isolation you feel as you cower behind a rock hiding from the elements.
After playing the game for a while I finished all of the main areas. The only thing left for me is the Jotuns. So I’m making progress killing them one by one. I have managed to defeat four out of five so far.
The Jotuns are challenging to defeat, requiring both patience and strategy. Too many times have I gone for the kill too early, only to be met with defeat.
After I defeated the first Jotun, I discovered something. Where completing the levels reveals stories of Norse mythology, defeating a Jotun rewards you with a part of Thora’s story. How she became a warrior, how she was betrayed, and how she died.
As a warrior she has been tasked to prove herself to the gods, so that she may enter Valhalla. She only needs to defeat one more Jotun and she may enter the realm she belongs.
Unless of course, the gods have one last challenge for her once the Jotuns are defeated…
