A point-and-click game full of wonder and remarkably coherent puzzles for the genre. There's nothing really spectacular in the story to warrant a higher rating
Profoundly high on my personal kickstarter/indie point and click collection. Excellent puzzles and lots of areas to explore. Wonderful character moments. There's always a fresh new mechanic that's used to very good creative effect. Gameplay works really well, simplifying the point and click style to its bare essentials. And it tells a complete story, with love and care. Charming and delightful all around.
This review contains spoilers
Röki is a game that addresses death, family relationships, and, consequently, the impact of death on family relationships. The game addresses these issues from a child's perspective, constantly conveying a heartache feeling. The story develops along with the maturation of the character's relationship with the death of Eva, Tove's mother. This development is very well written and very beautiful, but it doesn't make the game cozy because it constantly hurts. Despite not being a cozy game, it is indeed a peaceful game, as the characters' maturity makes them come to peace with themselves. And we have the opportunity to experience their whole process of maturation.
We can better appreciate the game if we think about what it would be like if it had gone down a different path. Imagine that Eve hadn't died, but was in the forest helping to restore it. Or that she had some relationship with the Jötnar, and that she had needed to fake her death for some reason. The characters would never have the chance to develop. Fortunately, the game took the story in exactly the opposite direction.
By making Eva's death something definitive and real, the game allowed Tove and Henrik to develop. At the beginning of the playthrough, I didn't know how Henrik would behave throughout the story. I was afraid Henrik was a character who could only be happy again if Eva appeared alive somehow. That was not the case. He became a healthier person, and his participation in the third chapter was incredible. Playing with father and daughter explored very well the feeling of family unity, and how it is fundamental to overcoming past shared traumas.
Röki made me reflect on why the study of literature at school doesn't treat video games with the same care as it does with books. Röki, as well as What Remains of Edith Finch, contributed greatly to the literature on death, leaving nothing to be desired compared to great classics such as The Death of Ivan Ilych. Röki is a game that helps us mature our relationship with death and appreciate what we have while we have it.
We can better appreciate the game if we think about what it would be like if it had gone down a different path. Imagine that Eve hadn't died, but was in the forest helping to restore it. Or that she had some relationship with the Jötnar, and that she had needed to fake her death for some reason. The characters would never have the chance to develop. Fortunately, the game took the story in exactly the opposite direction.
By making Eva's death something definitive and real, the game allowed Tove and Henrik to develop. At the beginning of the playthrough, I didn't know how Henrik would behave throughout the story. I was afraid Henrik was a character who could only be happy again if Eva appeared alive somehow. That was not the case. He became a healthier person, and his participation in the third chapter was incredible. Playing with father and daughter explored very well the feeling of family unity, and how it is fundamental to overcoming past shared traumas.
Röki made me reflect on why the study of literature at school doesn't treat video games with the same care as it does with books. Röki, as well as What Remains of Edith Finch, contributed greatly to the literature on death, leaving nothing to be desired compared to great classics such as The Death of Ivan Ilych. Röki is a game that helps us mature our relationship with death and appreciate what we have while we have it.
The snowy landscape and fairy tale aesthetic pulled me in, and good open area puzzling in the first half and some interesting dual-layer tasks in the second kept me playing. A few technical hitches on Switch here and there but overall a very enjoyable experience.
Röki is an adventure game, that is similar to point and click games. You gather items and solve puzzles. But, the game's strength is the story. You play as Tove who is looking for her brother Lars within a forest with four guardian deities at the helm of it.
The puzzles aren't all that intense at most points. They were enjoyable, some head scratchers, but they were not all that awful when they were. You gather items, some might need to be combined with another item you have to progress in the forest, which does feel like you are getting closer and closer to your goal.
Röki has some control issues and direction leading, but the game is a grand adventure game despite those issues because of the story.
(Review from 2021)
The puzzles aren't all that intense at most points. They were enjoyable, some head scratchers, but they were not all that awful when they were. You gather items, some might need to be combined with another item you have to progress in the forest, which does feel like you are getting closer and closer to your goal.
Röki has some control issues and direction leading, but the game is a grand adventure game despite those issues because of the story.
(Review from 2021)
(Played on PS4. It exists on that system as well.)
Anyway, a pretty standard little jaunt. The puzzles are intuitive and make sense, but there is a lot of tedious backtracking through the levels. The story is alright, but didn't emotionally land for me, especially because the little brother character is super annoying.
It's fun enough for what it is, though.
Anyway, a pretty standard little jaunt. The puzzles are intuitive and make sense, but there is a lot of tedious backtracking through the levels. The story is alright, but didn't emotionally land for me, especially because the little brother character is super annoying.
It's fun enough for what it is, though.