Impress the Gods! || Jotun (PC)

“It is better to stand and fight. If you run, you’ll only die tired.” –Unknown, a Viking saying

Title

Source: Screen Capture in Game

Jotun is a hand-drawn action-exploration masterpiece set in Norse mythology, created by Thunder Lotus Games. I’m going to try not to geek out too badly because I waited so long to get to play this game. A couple weeks ago my good friend Gigi over in Gigi’s Neck of the Woods DMed me to tell me that Jotun was free for a limited time, and I never ran to my laptop so fast to download a game in my life. So, a big thanks to Gigi, and you can click on the link above to visit her Youtube channel.

So that’s the story, let’s talk about the game. You play as Thora, a Viking warrior who dies at sea and ends up in the Norse equivalent of purgatory, called Ginnungagap. Now Thora must impress the Gods to be able to ascend to Valhalla, lest she suffer in Ginnungagap for eternity. You impress the Gods by collecting the runes and defeating the Jotun. Jotun, by the way, is a word of Scandinavian mythology meaning ‘a member of the race of giants, enemies of the Gods’.

What a view~

Source: Screen Capture in Game

The art of Jotun is beautiful in every regard. Thora herself, the environments, and even the Jotun are beautifully drawn in a way that makes me feel that the artists really put their heart into it. This blog will be pretty picture heavy, so take a look at any of the screenshots to see what I mean.

As far as gameplay… man, this game gave me a challenge. It was a Dark Souls roll-for-your-life feel combined with a dash of Shadow of the Colossus when you’re looking down upon your tiny body next to a Jotun. I’ve never been particularly skilled at those types of games, so it was a lot of practice and error to learn patterns and timing. I wish there was a wider combat moves variety, since you either have a one-two combo hit or a power shot.

One of my favorite side worlds, building constellations! With lightening!

Source: Screen Capture in Game

The music and sound effects are fitting and beautiful. The soundtrack, in particular, is mesmerizing, and masterfully crafted. Jotun probably has my favorite soundtrack of any game since Legend of Mana or the Final Fantasy games. I even looked up the OST on Youtube to listen to while I typed all of this out. The OST can be found *here* by the way.

The world of Jotun varies widely, and while you traverse through the different areas to collect runes, you’ll learn a bit about the Norse Gods and mythos. You’ll be able to gain powers of the gods as well, to help you defeat the Jotun in battle. Now, remember when I said that Jotun is a name for the race of giants, enemies of the gods? Well, giants they are. Their size can become overwhelming and really makes you feel your insignificance.

Someone send help, please.

Source: Screen Capture in Game

   

Overall, this game is beautiful in so many ways that I don’t feel I can do this game justice on my own. While the game is no longer free, I would say that it’s still worth the 14.99 price tag. If you don’t have that kind of cabbage laying around, keep it in mind for the next steam sale. You can visit the Steam page *here*. This game deserves to be played. Are you up to the challenge of proving yourself to the gods?

Thank you, as always, for spending some of your time with me today. Good luck against the Jotun, and happy gaming.

Bell

Haunt the House: Terrortown (PC)

"When I was a child I was afraid of ghosts. As I grew up, I realized that people are more scary." --Unknown

Source: Screen Capture from Game

Haunt the House is an action (with a dash of strategy, maybe) game created by SFB Games. You play as a ghost, and your job is to scare the humans away.  You do this my possessing the items in whatever area you happen to be in. There are achievements to be won, and people to give a fright, so let us take a closer look.

There are 4 different areas to play, thus far: The mansion, Terrortown(which has 5 different areas itself), the north pole and the train. The train is the newest area added.  Each area has a unique layout, and a plethora of unique possessable items that you can use to scare the bejeebers out of people. It’s great fun to find the different uses of each object. As the terror level rises, you can perform more actions with each item as well. Since scaring all of the humans away usually takes a bit of time, it keeps the experience interesting.

Source: Screen Capture from Game

The graphics are very cute, and cartoony, which I like. The animations are smooth and attractive, and the game over all ran very well for me—and I don’t have that powerful of a laptop to play on just yet. I mean that I was impressed by how well it ran. It did crash once, but I’m not sure if it was the game or something of my doing. Typically while I play I have other things going on as well, so that might have been an issue.

The music and sound effects are also fitting, and they also offer a good variety in the game. The musical score is beautiful. Each area has it's own music to fit in with its theme and they all sound wonderful. It kind of gave me the old time-y "dastardly villain tying a damsel to the train tracks" feeling at times. I think the train music is probably my favorite track, however. 

You start off with a default ghost, but through the course of the different areas, you may kill of some humans to gain other ghosts to keep you company. Seems cruel, but so is life, people. You can then play as the different styled ghosts. As far as I could tell, I didn’t see any discernable differences in gameplay, except for their ghostly calls, “OoooooooOOOOoooo~” and so on.

You get rankings when you complete an area. An area is completed once you have scared away every human there. You are ranked on the number of items you used, the time it took you to complete the area, and the terror levels you achieved. I S ranked all of the levels without much trouble.

Source: Screen Capture from Game

A lot of people have stated that the game is too childish and not suited for adults to play, but uh…. I really enjoyed it, and I’m 27—almost 28. I did think the game had a bit of a child-like aesthetic, but I didn’t enjoy the game any less because of it. In fact, I really enjoyed the art style and bright colors. I didn’t find the game particularly challenging, but not every game has to make you want to shake your keyboard in frustration. Every once in a while, it’s nice to play a simple game that is just fun. While the game isn’t teeming with replayability, it is good for killing 15 minutes now and again.

I did have some issues with the game. Other than the one time the game crashed, I had some issues with humans getting caught on items, particularly in the mansion area. I also had issues with the humans getting stuck running between floors. They would run up the stairs, stop, run back down the stairs, stop, run back up, and repeat. It would take long amounts of time for them to get unstuck. Or, they would be running hysterically towards the front door, then stop and run another way. Sometimes it just didn't make sense. 

In any case, I personally recommend the game, if you can get it on the Steam sale. This game was actually a gift to me from a dear friend of mine (She runs a Youtube channel where she does let’s plays—lots of SIMS and she recently started Subnaituca too, so you can check her out *here*) and I’m not sure what the price was at the time. Normally the game runs at $4.99 on Steam, and that is what it is currently. Isn't the spring sale coming up soon though? You can find the Steam store page *here*. If you don't have a Steam account, you can also get the game from Itch.io *here*.

If you've played, let me know what you thought. Did you find the game too childish? Did you have any issues with the game? Let me know below!

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

I Hope You Enjoyed Your Holidays!

Hello, Friends! The Christmas weekend has come and passed. I hope that everyone was able to spend some time with their family and feel the warmth and love of the season. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then I hope you enjoy the other Holidays that December has to offer. I did enjoy my holiday with my daughter and boyfriend. I got to see my younger brother, who lives far away so I rarely get the chance. I got to enjoy my grandmothers cooking, and the company of my family. Holidays are exhausting, but they bring happiness as well.

I received much more than I anticipated this year in terms of gifts. I don't ever really expect them, and I was happy to know that so many people thought of me in this season.

One of my good friends, who I am going to call Gigi, gifted me some new steam games, and I returned the favor for her, of course. If you want, you can even check out her YouTube Channel, GamerGirlsNetwork, by clicking *here*. She does plays of a variety of games, but a lot of Sims action happens on her cahnnel. It's pretty entertaining! She's also been a good friend of mine for a long time so it would be a nice gesture to both of us. As a gift from her, I received:

• BattleBlock Theatre
• Hatoful Boyfriend
• Kitty Powers' Matchmaker
• Stardew Valley
• Haunt the House: Terrortown

Thanks again, Gigi!

I also took advantage of the Steam winter sale to build up my own library a bit. I purchased for myself:

•  Oh...Sir! The Insult Simulator
• Amnesia(TM): Memories
• DRAGON: A Game About a Dragon
• Dream Tale
• Fingered
• Forget Me Not: My Organic Garden
• Golf With Your Friends
• Home is Where One Starts...
• If My Heart Had Wings
• Last Word
• Long Live the Queen
• Mold on Pizza
• Plastiland
• Replica
• Road Not Taken
• Rose Winter
• See No Evil
• The Happy Hereafter
• The Way We ALL Go
• Turbo Pug DX
• Wind Child
• The Men of Yoshiwara: Kikuya

So I look forward to playing all of those! Thanks to everyone again who comes to read my blog, I really appreciate it. And a special thank you to everyone who has been sharing my blog with others. You guys are the real MVPs! I hope you all have a fantastic New Year celebration!

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

See my Gaming in Pajamas Compendium *HERE!*

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