Hmmmm okay this one is really hard to rate - part of me wants to think much more highly of this, because I adore the ambition of the devs and I think Jotun is, overall, a pretty unique and fun experience. I'm conflicted because there are a lot of qualities that I appreciate here!

Unfortunately, for everything I really enjoyed I pendulum-swung back against points that kept me from loving this game. For all the abilities you pick up, combat is pretty repetitious. As gorgeous as all the character designs and animations are, the world feels too open and empty. As appealing as the structure is, by the 4th area I was beginning to lose steam with the core loop.

I am glad I finished the game because the final fight and cutscene were really spectacular. Honestly the characterisation was phenomenal, I was more hooked by the biographical snippets of the main character than I was by any of the boss fights. Also I LOVED the Icelandic dialogue, the effort put into everything is so palpable.

This is definitely worth playing, I'm glad it was recommended to me. It's imperfect but super interesting.